Bristle worms

[Ody]

Ho guys having a major problem I think the bristle worms are killing my small fish I no wat ur thinking no ways I thought the same and went throu all the usuall steps water primiiters all fine so thought maybe sea urchin but no spent haste anybody and clowns lov him so in the last 2 days set up with blue led torch and looked to see wat was going on bare in mind it's only the bottom dwellers treat are perishing ie mandarin dragon yellow goby turbo snail so far but the side of the worms are unbelievable and I read up and wen so big can become predators so the only plan I came up with us to get a arrowhead crab to sort out the problem risk maybe but the worms are 6" and bigger and was told buy previous owner of the rock that they pack a punch when touched any ideas thanks

 

[ktomminello]

It's a common argument among aquarists. I believe, though, that it is usually just a bunch of bristle worms doing major housekeeping after a death, making them a good hitchhikers- chucksaddiction.com has a good guide to common lr hitchhikers, good, bad and ugly oh- and if your bristle worm is hungry enough to go after gobies- known bristle worm eaters, then chances are your livestock would have starved and eaten the bristle worms first..... I think....

 

[MikeYQM]

Unless you have a predatory bristle worm like a fire worm, they are just cleaning house. I have a bristle worm bigger around than my yellow watchman who shares a burrow with the watchman & pistol shrimp.

 

[Ody]

Just went down for another check I'm in Belfast so it's 130 am and there is quite a lot of them kicking about I only have a 20g tank and that many the lfs guy told me that the arrow head would keep them under control and could be doing the damage

 

[Dude1982]

Hi ody mate, bristle worms thriving could mean you are over feeding too, I would cut back a little on feeding as they eat all the left over food and detritus.
How much, what and when do you feed your tank mate ?

 

[Ody]

Hi dude man only about a half a cube of frozen brine shrimp or other frozen food per day do you think I'm doing the rite thing with the arrow head crab it's just to keep the population down

 

[Dude1982]

Never had an arrow crab mate as i have heard mixed reviews on them being reef safe or not but some wrasses eat them like crazy, ill have a look to see which wrasses eat them for ya !

 

[Dude1982]

Six line wrasses eat them mate I have 1 in my tank and its a lovely little fish

 

[Ody]

Yeah have been looking at them in the lfs and nice fish but they can be a hard on other fish in the tank

 

[Dude1982]

My six line wrasse was one of the last fish I put in my tank and its been a good boy up to now lol
Oh no come to think of it, it went for my mandarin and cut his tail a little but has never done it again !

 

[Ody]

I lost my mandarin yesterday the nicest fish in the tank and had the tank well populated with pods mate was gutted that why I think it's the worms mate he slept rite at the bottom of the tank every morn I seen him getting worse with little pices nibbled of him and at mute he was grand and he was eating frozen food as well poor thing must have dreaded the dark lol

 

[Crystal A]

Bristol worms are doing their jobs by eating the dying or the dead. They are not predators that kill fish they simply clean up the aftermath. The reason you have so many and that they are so big is because you are over feeding. This allows the population to multiply at an alarming rate. I only feed my tank every 2-3 days and not a lot at that my worm population is at a stable level. If your tanks has as many pods as you stated your fish will not starve without daily feedings.

Now am I correct in sayin that you only got these fish about two weeks ago? I do remember another thread that was started. Are you testing your water parameters? If not I would start. If I am correct you added the mandarin the goby and the Blenny all at once which is quite a heavy bioload for a 20gallon tank all at the same time. That is also a lot if bottom dwellers for that size tank. In mine I have 1-YWG and pistol combo and I wouldn't add anymore.

When adding fish to a tank on the smaller side I would suggest adding them one at a time. This will give your beneficial bacteria time to build up inbetween additions which creates less fluctuations. I would hold off on getting another mandarin fish as well. They are notoriously hard to keep and as you found out they die more often then not I won't even get one and my tank is almost a year old.

Feed less to bring down your worm population and hold off on getting another fish until your tank is a little more stable and then I would add one fish and see how that goes. Don't get the arrow crab they get fairly big and won't last in you tank. Not a fan of adding livestock to cure tanks problems it is only a cover up to the real issues that need to be dealt with first.

Man that was alot but I hope it helps any questions just ask.

 

[mr_X]

I agree with all before me! Wow! Unanimous!
Yep, common bristle worms are just slow scavengers. No way could they catch fish. Think of them as earthworms, with defensive spines. If you have a lot of them, you have an abundance of nutrients. Cut back on the available food, and they will slowly diminish. Adding more livestock is not the answer.

 

[Ody]

Thanks guys all taken onboard lol and noted thanks again I'm sure I won't be long till I'm bk with something else lol

 

[Holygral]

Arrow crabs do eat small bristle worms, many You Tube vids of them in action.

 

[ktomminello]

My watchman goby and my spotted puffer both eat bristle worms, I call it 'eating mexican food'.

 

[Ody]

That's cool lol just got a arrowhead crab small 1 I no they grow big but looking out for a bigger tank the small 1 s are hard work as I've found out think 50- 60g tank should suit me and the arrowhead is really freaky and cool freaks out my wife lol

 

[ktomminello]

I'm obsessed with nanos, but they come at a very high price- lost my 2 peppermint shrimp today- I added my puffer yesterday and think I had a nitrate spike/ mini cycle they were perfect together. Did a 10g change and found a ton of baby shrimp- so did puff and goby did too. All parameters normal. Time to get new shrimp.

 

[Ingy]

Ummm, I think you may be looking at the wrong end of the puffer as to the cause of the shrimp loss. I think they eat shrimp.

 

[Riverhawk]

Puffers eat anything with a shell..shrimp crabs and snails....puffers and shrimp..only if you want to feed puffer.....