LARGE Bristle worm?

[SeeDemTails]

I spotted a 3 inch long bristle worm this morning, about the size of an earth worm! A little to big for my dottyback to eat!

So, will this thing eat my corals?...Do I need to trap it? It is red and black.

 

[dskidmore]

Some people find bristle worms to be useful detrivores. They certianly can get alot larger, so don't freak out when you see him a year from now, he'll still be peaceful.

 

[Scottm]

I have few monsters much bigger then that in my tank and I have no problems with them. They are actually kind of neat. Although I did find one that was almost a foot long hanging from my mag float once....... he took a ride down the porcelin slide.

 

[SeeDemTails]

He is cool, but he isnt as cool as my coral....and I figured since they made traps for them, there had to be a reason people dont want them in their tanks.

That fugger is quick, I tried to catch him yesterday when I saw him.

 

[dskidmore]

People are afraid of them, therefore there is a market for traps. Very rarely do they develop a taste for coral, and that would be the time to get a trap.

 

[SeeDemTails]

I know they are called bristle worms, can they poke you with their bristles when you are moving LR or what not? I doubt one would let you get that close to it anyway!

 

[dskidmore]

As long as it's not a fireworm.... It might pay to do some research to ID your particular worm.

 

[Scottm]

bristle worms do hurt because the little hairs called setae will pierce your skin, it is very uncomfortable. fire worms have poisonous setae and they hurt even more.

 

[SeeDemTails]

The work I have is half black, half red. IUt also is much fatter on the red end so I am guessing this is the head.

 

[Wolf]

I had some small bristleworms in my rock from liverock.com. I left them in my tank after reading about them being detritivores. A year later the had grown to 3"-4" and I removed them after catching them in the act of eating my zoanthids. HTH