Bristle worms

[Scooterdragon]

Go or bad inside my reef tank

 

[HN1]

Long and often debated question...

IMO, good (detrivores) unless they turn out to be a fireworm or are allowed to grow massive. They can provide an added level of drama/pain for working in the tank though.

 

[mr_X]

Common bristle worms are good. It's the Eunicids and oenones that people lump in with the common scavengers and give the whole a bad name.

 

[Scooterdragon]

It's there a way to tell the difference

 

[carey]

Also keep in mind the more you feed the tank the more bristleworms you will get. I have some extremely large and fat ones in the tank I have my mandarin in but I feed that tank a few times a day so that explains it. But overall they are good and can be left alone.

If you have pictures of your worms they can most likely be identified so you'll know if they are the regular bristleworms or something else.

 

[Scooterdragon]

This thing

 

[Sniperhank]

That is a bristle worm.

 

[Scooterdragon]

So I should worry about them I have five or six 6" long ones in my reef

Or more

Is there anything that eats them?

 

[scoles_b]

If you're dead set on getting rid of them- I know a coral banded shrimp will. I catch mine chomping on one every now and then. (Not why I got him, he's just awesome to watch, hopefully he doesn't wipe out all my worms!)
Bristle worms are not pretty to look at, but they are good for your tank, and will not cause any harm. Cleaning crevices in the rock and left over anything really. But, to each is own

Also, I have a FOWLR, not sure if that shrimp would work in a reef tank.

 

[carey]

I'm pretty sure wrasses eat them, I know in my mostly wrasse tank that I dont have a single one anymore. lol But really, they arent going to hurt anything but you if you happen to be in the tank and brush into one. Thats my biggest fear to be honest, I was dead set against them but I have come to appreciate them in a way. I usually wear rubber gloves when working in the tank that has the most, I have some as fat as my thumb and so long in length that i sometimes see 10 inches out and there is no end in sight. Kinda scary but I have clean rock and sand and I bet its attributed to them.

 

[Scooterdragon]

Sounds like there staying just wanted to make sure they are not harmful

 

[Brad M]

I'm pretty sure wrasses eat them, I know in my mostly wrasse tank that I dont have a single one anymore. lol But really, they arent going to hurt anything but you if you happen to be in the tank and brush into one. Thats my biggest fear to be honest, I was dead set against them but I have come to appreciate them in a way. I usually wear rubber gloves when working in the tank that has the most, I have some as fat as my thumb and so long in length that i sometimes see 10 inches out and there is no end in sight. Kinda scary but I have clean rock and sand and I bet its attributed to them.

Are they sharp or poisonous then? I haven't seen any in my tank yet however I do have a coral banded shrimp.

 

[carey]

The little "hairs" on the worm are nasty and can get stuck in your hand, from what I hear its kinda painful if you get a few in you. They are not poisonous though. So pretty much you just leave them alone. lol

 

[mr_X]

It's basically the equivalent of getting fiberglass in your skin.
Big worms= a lot of available food
To limit the worm population and size I suggest you cut back on feeding.
A coral banded shrimp may get a little one here and there, but it's not a solution to a large worm population.

To distinguish the difference, you could look here:
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html
you may want to save that to favorites for future reference.

 

[Mebbid]

The little "hairs" on the worm are nasty and can get stuck in your hand, from what I hear its kinda painful if you get a few in you. They are not poisonous though. So pretty much you just leave them alone. lol

I got stuck recently and it honestly didn't hurt at all. It was a little itchy though. I just used one of my tank towels to pull them out

 

[Sniperhank]

It's like a bee sting. I personally don't notice, but it'd kill my aunt and brother in law. Goal is not to get stung either way.

 

[Mebbid]

Happened my last aquascaping attempt