What are these worms??

[KatyKat]

have a fairly new tank, just noticed these weird worm things, kind of freaking me out! are they bag or good?? all seem to be tiny, no huge ones lurking around.

 

[aquandrew]

bristle worms. they are a good part of the clean up crew, but can really hurt if you accidentally touch them

 

[dragonfisher33]

they're, arguably, good but i dont like them either because they just look nasty. if you have a decent clean up crew in the tank, you wouldn't need them at all. i always check my live rock to get rid of them first before putting the rocks in my tank. they are really hard to kill unless you have the natural predators such as cleaner shrimps and some wrasses. you can also make a trap for them if you wish to capture them all in your tank.

 

[KatyKat]

yea i pulled those bad boys out with a pair of tweezers. I looked online and there were so many different looking britle worms i was worried these were something else. they wont hurt my xenias right?

 

[KatyKat]

huizeng, how do i make a trap? i do have a good clean up crew, three hermits and a snail. i dont really care for the way they look either, but im mostly worried about one stabbing me when im trying to clean the tank or something.

 

[dragonfisher33]

yea i pulled those bad boys out with a pair of tweezers. I looked online and there were so many different looking britle worms i was worried these were something else. they wont hurt my xenias right?

they're usually harmless but will compete with other slower moving inverts for food.

 

[dragonfisher33]

huizeng, how do i make a trap? i do have a good clean up crew, three hermits and a snail. i dont really care for the way they look either, but im mostly worried about one stabbing me when im trying to clean the tank or something.

there's plenty youtube videos online. basically the trap involves fish food wrapped with some perforated cover in order to prevent the fish or other inverts getting trapped. since the worms are so slow moving, one typtically leaves the trap before they turn off the light for the night and pull the trap out of the water in the morning. trust me, if you have a lot of worms, it's not for the faint of heart

 

[Stlrockguy]

You can also buy a trap to catch them at you lfs

 

[Stlrockguy]

huizeng, how do i make a trap? i do have a good clean up crew, three hermits and a snail. i dont really care for the way they look either, but im mostly worried about one stabbing me when im trying to clean the tank or something.

How big is your tank. Your clean up crew seems a little on th small size IMO

 

[KatyKat]

its only five gallons

 

[Stlrockguy]

I'd put in a few more snail

 

[Crystal A]

There is nothing wrong with Bristol worms. Good part of your cuc. If you have to many you are over feeding. Control feeding and control the population.