Bristle worms

powderblue · 09-30-2006, 12:31 AM

My tank is infested with bristle worms. I've tried everything to get them out including: traps, arrowhead craps, 6 lined wrasses, etc... and nothing has worked. There are hundreds burrowed in my live rock, corals, and living in my gobies' dens. How do I get rid of them without killing my live rock? I know they die pretty quickly if they are exposed to fresh water. Would soaking my live rock in fresh water work?

Fly Guy · 09-30-2006, 12:43 AM

Get your nutrient import/export in line and their population will go down on its own. The reason you have so many most likely is there is a ton of excess food not being eaten so they are thriving.

I have felt your pain. When i didnt know any better i had two lions and a eel in a 46 gallon tank. 10 inch bristleworms were commonplace and i found several more than 2 feet long. Removing your substrate would be a quick way to get rid of the vast majority of them and im guessing your substrate has got to be pretty much tapped out as it is if you have that many bristleworms. I used to be able to pull a cup of crushed coral out of anywhere in my tank and pull out 50+ bristles every time.

If you do decide to replace the substrate with new post a thread about how to go about it. You dont want to leave any fish or corals in the tank while doing it.

Have you looked at your tank at night with a red flashlight??? If not do so if you want to know just how many bristleworms youve really got.

hth

coralcat · 09-30-2006, 12:51 AM

and do not!!!!!!!!! soke the live rock in fresh water. You will end up with a massive, emmediate die off!!!! By, By tank, Fly is right, setup a holding tank for the livestock,coral ect, skimm very wet for severall days

JennM · 09-30-2006, 07:10 AM

Those bristle worms are doing you a favour - cleaning up excess food and waste. As mentioned above, cut back your feeding, the population will scale back on its own.

I wouldn't want to get rid of all of them - they're a beneficial janitor. Worms won't harm healthy fish or coral but they'll clean up the dead stuff FAST.

Love thy worms.

Jenn

partobe · 09-30-2006, 07:26 AM

not to hijack this thread but about a month ago a saw a cpl in my sump and now I see at least 10-12. The are all pretty small the biggest being about an inch. Since seeing the first one I have cut back on my feedings from 2x a day to 1x every other day. Ive also bought a new skimmer(coralife 220) Ive also bought a new ro unit and have started doing bi weekly water changes. My question is why haven't mine experienced a die off? I haven't seen any in the main tank and I have checked it through the night. Since talking with fly guy I'm no longer afraid of them.

JennM · 09-30-2006, 07:30 AM

Depending on the size of tank - it's normal to have many dozens of bristleworms. It's when your rocks are literally *crawling* with them at feeding time, that you're 'overpopulated'.

My seahorse tanks were typically heavily fed, and thus, the rocks would seethe with them at feeding times. Otherwise it's not unusual to see a few here and there - that's 'normal'.

Jenn

partobe · 09-30-2006, 07:32 AM

Thanks Jenn, I've not seen even one in the main tank so I guess I'm ok. My tank is a 150

JennM · 09-30-2006, 07:35 AM

Well even having bunches of them doesn't mean *they* are a problem. Overfeeding *is* a problem though.

The bristleworm has been much maligned and misunderstood. Older literature would have you extricate every last one of them - and that's simply silly - and unnecessary.

If you're overrun with them, they are telling you there's a problem. Fix that, the population will subside a bit. They are good to have in the tank - very desirable - just don't pet them

Jenn

partobe · 09-30-2006, 07:39 AM

Thanks Jenn I freaked out when I saw the first one in my sump. I had heard nothing but awful things about them. I posted a thread and realized maybe they weren't so bad after all. Now I enjoy seeing them in my sump.

JennM · 09-30-2006, 07:46 AM

Yeah there's still a lot of old info circulating about them. The ONLY thing I've seen them harm are teeny tiny dwarf seahorses (H. zostrae)... I actually watched one pluck a baby off its holdfast. Otherwise they leave healthy stuff alone, but they are very efficient at cleaning up excess food, waste and dead bodies - and that's a good thing. Better to have something eat it quickly than for it to foul the tank, right?

I even got kicked off a seahorse forum a few years ago - for maintaining this same stance - I conceded that H. zostrae were at risk, but respectfully disagreed that a worm would take down a larger (4" plus) seahorse. The owner of the forum ripped me a new one... and kicked me off right after I posted a photograph I'd taken of one of my ponies 'stalking' the same piece of mysis that a big ole worm was stalking. Oh well... there was way too much mythinformation in that group anyway - but I digress

There is a specie of worm that's destructive to soft corals, but they are few and far between, and they can grow to amazing size. However the garden variety bristleworm and fireworm are good to have.

Here's a link to a thread here about Steve Weast's 6-foot worm

I don't think the pictures are there anymore - too bad - it was a sight to see... but this is an exception, rather than the rule where worms are concerned.

Jenn

http://thereeftank.com/forums/showth...highlight=worm

leveldrummer · 09-30-2006, 07:49 AM

your probably getting a bunch in your sump because a sump is a settling spot for lots of organics, might be a good idea to syphon the bottom of it, or hook a hose up to a power head, and "vaccuum" what gunk you can out of it during your next water change.

partobe · 09-30-2006, 07:55 AM

Thanks Jenn I went to the link but there are no pix just post. Thanks Andy If I syphon my sump won't I remove the sand and pods? The good news is I have tons of pods in my sump

hng · 09-30-2006, 10:49 AM

Here's the active webisite to see the giant worm:

http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm

partobe · 09-30-2006, 11:33 AM

Thanks Hoang doesn't sound like he was reef safe

Hardhead Cat · 09-30-2006, 12:31 PM

I agree with Jenn, bristleworms are ugly and like cockroaches to some people but in fact they don't hurt anything and are helping to keep the substrates clean. I have learned to leave mine alone and if I start seeing them in the daylight I know I'm overfeeding my tank. I have some pretty large ones even in the nano tank and I just let them be - - all my corals are fine and the tanks are thriving.

They are ugly though (smile). Also if you're cleaning your tank or moving rocks around, do not put your fingers on a bristleworm, they hurt!

HHC