How many bristleworms are too many??

lime · 03-10-2002, 02:03 PM

Hello all, I have a lot of bristleworms in my 20 gallon tank. Big and small, I am just wondering if this is ok? So far I counted at least 15 in my tank out at the same time. I have read in different threads many different stories ( good and bad )about this worms so I don't know which I would follow. So far they have not done any damage in my tank, I will be transfering my 20g to a 55g so I was wondering if I should dispose some of this worms. One more thing, I have cycling my 55 for about a week now, I was just wondering if I could empty out my 20g to my 55g, take out 20g of water in my 55g and replace it with my 20g tank(livestock and all) that has been running for about 8mos now? Would this speed up cycling or would it hurt my livestock? I have about 20# of LR and about 10# of LS in my 20g and some corals and fish. In my 55, I am cycling it with about 20# of LR and 35# of Dead rock and about 50# of sand that I bought from HD. Any advice? Thanks....

Alice · 03-10-2002, 04:10 PM

Hi Lime

That doesn't sound like a over-population of worms to me; bristleworms are healthy for your tank and won't hurt your corals, fish or clams. They are great for cleaning up left-over food and detritus. They will however, feed on sick or dying clams, which is where (IMO) most of the bad press stems from regarding bworms.

If you have a real population explosion of bristleworms, however, it can be an indication that you are overfeeding your system. More food=more reproduction=more worms!

As far as switching over tanks, wait at least until the 55 is completely cycled. If you add the rocks and sand from your 20, it may be up to handling the bioload but just keep an eye on the water parameters. You might get a mini-cycle from the switchover itself.

HTH,

Alice

MontanaRocknReefer · 03-10-2002, 04:38 PM

Bristleworms are an important part of your infauna(critters) and I never will have enough of them!
I agree with Alice, the more you feed, the more worms! Johnny