Help red worm with legs

[greenikat]

This is creepy. What is it?

 

[Reeffanman]

Bristleworm...... Good. Part of a cuc They will eat anything left behind.

 

[Keithhjs]

It's a bristle worm. Good member of your clean up crew. Just don't touch it as they are sharp.

 

[greenikat]

Thanks everyone. I'm freaking out as now I have found 4 of them. Will they hurt my fish? Will my hermit crab help me keep them under control?

 

[Keithhjs]

You don't have to worry about them with your fish. Only if they get real big like 12" would I even consider them a possible threat to corals or such. They are great scavengers. Your hermit will not eat them they are well protected by their bristles. Some fish such as six line wrasses may eat small ones. Also arrow crabs are thought to eat them too. Honestly I would leave them and let them do their job. If you really want to you can trap them to remove them. Specific bristle worm traps are sold. Also, if you really want to see how many you have, shine a flashlight in the tank when it is darkest & I bet you will be surprised lol.

 

[greenikat]

Ok so how about my scooter Benny. Will he eat them?
Thanks for all the advice. I'm not keen on worms. Dislike.

 

[Keithhjs]

I've never heard of a scooter eating them. If you don't like worms then think of them as scuba caterpillars lol. Just kidding. Have a happy turkey day.

 

[greenikat]

Have a great Holliday and thank you.

 

[Ronin77]

Arrow crabs will go after them for you. Also Dragon wrasse, but they are not really reef safe. I had a dragon a long time ago and it tossed rocks like crazy looking for them to eat. Arrows IMO is your best bet.

 

[greenikat]

Thank you, I have a Benny, 2 clowns, damsel and clean crew. Will that be a prob for what you are suggesting?

 

[Ronin77]

You will be ok the arrow crab is not really aggressive, their pretty cool to watch. They will go looking for them in the rocks with there long arms. I've only had one that actually was not really interested in the bristle worms it sucked. Lol

 

[Beengirl]

If you don't like worms (or creepy crawly things in general), you probably will be creeped out by the arrow crab too. And arrow crabs get pretty big, and when they get big, then they can become more aggressive. Full size Arrow crabs look like big spiders. Eeeeeeek!!

 

[MacDracor]

Well, pretty or not, you should learn to love the worms. They are the most beneficial organisms you'll ever find in your tank. They are amazing scavengers, cleaning and eating what few other will. If your worm population drops, you'll see an increase in detritus, algae, cyano, nitrates, etc. Seriously, you want these worms. The only reliable way to keep them "under control" is to not overfeed. Introducing organisms specifically to eat them is a bad idea because it can seriously upset the natural balance in the tank. Learn to love the worms!

 

[mikestanked]

I was the same way, when I first spotted a bristle worm I wanted it out. But really they don't do any harm(unless their a foot long in a 30 gallon)
I also thought they were ugly and maybe they could hurt my fish, but so far so good, no problems to date.

 

[ktomminello]

Bristle worms are really cool to watch when they are about 3-4 inches long and they get those yellow and white tufts of hair and look like big fuzzy caterpillars. If you want to cut back your bristleworm population cut back on feeding and replace some of your dirtier substrate... You may not like seeing them, but you would hate what you would have to see/ clean up if they weren't around, lol