Controling bristle worm population

[dough]

I literally have hundreds of small 1 inch and smaller red and brown bristleworms in my tank. I know that these guys are good but they are everywhere. In the DSB, on the LR, in my corals, and on the glass. I really need to find away to control the guys.

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Doug

[Brooke]

Doug just count your blessings and enjoy them. My copperband has eaten all of our small ones. What harm are they doing?

I know they are a bit ugly to look at, but their population will wax and wane with the growth of your reef.

Enjoy them for what they do....in keeping your tank clean.

My .02-
Brooke

[David Grigor]

IMO: the population will level itself off based on available food.


I personally wouldn't put the effort into it and let it settle on its owne.............

[dough]

Brooke,

How long have you had your CBB? What is it eating. I have come close to purchasing one but heard they can be delicate fish. Do they eat you pods (assuming you have some).

No, the bristle worms are not bothering any thing, but with only three small fish, there does not seem to be that much food available in the tank. And yes the worms know when it is dinner time. They come out in droves. I just counted 41 one visable just in from of the tank. Besides my wife does not like them and does not understand their functionality. Got to keep her happy, so I can talk here into new fish and corals!

Doug

[oregon_gorge]

We had an overpopulation in our 100g. It was not balanced well and too many nutrients. Poor or no skimming was a big factor. If you have an explosion of them, IMO, try cleaning some.

One thing we did, was to lift rocks and corals. You can place them where they are easy to get too. In the morning, lift the rock and there will bee bunches of them under it for you to net. I agree that they are good, but I am with you, too many is just nasty!

Our Maroon Clown eats them too!

Hang in there. These things usually swing. Too much food, the worms follow. When the food supply dwindles, so will the worm population. Hence, the ''B'' word all of us reefers dread or covet. BALANCE!

Chris

[MontanaRocknReefer]

Bristle worms are music to my ears! Love these guys as they are a very important part of your infauna!! My levels go up and down depending on how much I feed the tank. I had not seen many for awhile and now I have a few showing up again. I know I have one in the tank that is at least 8" long and quite big!