Such a thing as TOO many bristleworms?

[Devilishturtles]

I couldn't sleep last night so went to check out my tank by moonlight and iPod (it's a bright little light!). Anyways, it looks like mass awakenings of bristleworms, everywhere! Crawling all over my corals, over the liverock, crusing the sandbed....everything. It was....scary. Like some sort of invasion.

Anyways, 2 questions.
1. Can there be too many? I thought I heard it's a nutrient export issue if they produce too quickly?

2. Can corals eat them? My brain coral had one all wrapped up in it's mucus, it was pretty cool to watch. I just didn't want to find out if he actually ate it or not.

Thanks

 

[roka64]

1. I imagine they come and go if food is plentiful or not, but that is just my guess...
2. I have no clue.

 

[rubikcube]

Funny you mention this. When I woke up this morning, I saw one of my candy cane polyps had a bristleworm in its mouth. Not sure if it successfully ate it or not.

 

[melosu58]

I would imagine that too much of anything is not good. Might be time for a sixline wrasse.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Thanks guys. Sixlines are jumpers right? I saw one at the LFS yesterday and thought about gettting it. Decisions, decisions.

 

[mrcrazypants05]

I have had a sixline wrasse in my tank for about 6 months I believe. I have egg crate over my tank. Works great, and I don't think it blocks out a whole lot of light. He doesnt really go to the top much... He's usually hovering over the rocks trying to pick out his lunch. heh

 

[lando]

go for the sixline. They are great fish. While they can be jumpers, the risk is little. It should help control your bristlem population and be very happy in the meantime.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Thanks a lot guys. I think I might go out there tommorow and grab the sixline. I only saw one, so hopefully it'll still be there. The problem is really a serious one! They are everywhere! Then I'll swing over to Home Depot sometime this week and see if they carry eggcrate.

 

[boardsurfer]

I think that bristle worms get a bad rap. I think it's mainly because they look so nasty. They are excellent detritus removers (or process detritus), and they generally don't harm the tank in my experience. I've heard they do eat at some kinds of corals, though-hence the bad rap I guess...

I know I have a few in my 55gal. I get rid of them if they are in excess of 7 inches or so. It sounds like you have too many in your tank, though.

Can anyone else chime in on the cons of bristle worms?

 

[lando]

Can anyone else chime in on the cons of bristle worms?

I agree that bristles are a sign of a healthy tank. They do a great job at helping with the cleaning process. however, as mentioned, too much of a good thing can be...not so good.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I never worried about them until I saw as many as I did. There were LOTS everywhere, crawling out of the sand like I've never seen before. And the brain coral had two on it. I hope the sixline helps. I'm probably going to go pick one up tommorow.

Thanks again guys. I'll try and report on how the sixline does. I'm excited.

 

[roka64]

I consider them part of my clean up crew.

 

[MT79]

I consider them part of my clean up crew.

While they are beneficial scavengers, very high numbers means a high food demand. That pressure to find food can sometimes cause them to seek out a new food source-like coral tissue/polyps.
Good luck w/ the wrasse Dturtles!

 

[melosu58]

It looks like the 6 line would be good. Did you get one yet Lindsay?

 

[Devilishturtles]

The LFS didn't have one when I went. They get new shipments weekly they said, but I'm going out of town this weekend, so I don't want to get one this week. I'll look again next week. I'm hoping to upgrade to a 45 gallon that I have. I want to anyways. It will be my first addition in the new tank I think. I want to keep the sand I have, beacuse I have sooooo much microfauna in there. I'm going to rinse it first, but otherwise try and keep it all intact, bristleworms and all. I've been building that sandbed for almost 5 years now, I quite like it.

 

[pipermurphy]

There are probably ALOT more worms then you think there are in your tank. I came home from work one day to find my LTA had died and the whole bottom of my tank was covered in dead Bristles, I am unsure which was the cause and which was the effect. I was grossed out by the number of dead worms I vac'd out but have been watching closely for any.

 

[kimberly]

Bristle worm infestations are not fun purely from an aesthetic viewpoint. The question is how many and how large the worm constitutes an infestation. Obviously if the worms are more than several inches long and run around your tank most of the day - it could be considered unsightly - unless you dig that sort of thing.

I would also be concerned if you have clams. I could definitely see large bristleworms going after them. I lost two clams mysteriously over night and I have not been able to attribute it to anything else

In my 120 g refugium, I have some real monsters (~12 - 18" long and almost as thick as a #2 pencil). I also keep suncoral down there, and the bristleworms like to swarm around it when it is being fed. I have had a six line wrasse in another tank for a couple of years and thought about moving it to the refugium to have it take a crack at the bristle worms. In the process of trying to catch the six line out of my 90g, I moved live rock and guess what, bristleworms in the 90g too. Well, if the six line couldn't take out the bristleworms in the 90, then I guess it wasn't worth the bother to catch him and put him in the 120g refugium.

It sure would be nice to know what else might naturally remove them. I wonder if some of the small bottom feeding sharks are natural predators. There are numerous diy traps that people use; however, I am not big on that sort of thing - I like to try to use natural means. So far though, no luck.

Let me know if the wrasse works out for you. I will see about putting a picture or two of some nasty bristleworms in a subsequent post.

 

[Ziggy953]

12-18" That is amazing! I thought I had a couple of monsters in my fuge (4-6"). I hear everyone talk about the 6-line and I've never seen one at any LFS that I visit. This must be one popular fish that gets snatched up quick. I would be interested in know what else eats bristleworms too as I have a fair amount in my tanks, though they are rarely seen during the daytime.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Thanks for the info guys. No clams for me. My corals that aren't epoxied down to the rock end up all over the sandbed in the mornings and I have to put them back up daily. I just need more epoxy, but that constitiutes a trip to the good LFS in Baltimore, which is a longer drive than I've been caring to make.

I'm gonna shut the lights off here soon, wait an hour or so, and go hunting again with the light and see if I can see any larger ones. If so, I'll take pics. The brain coral seems unaffected by the bristleworm it had all tangled up in it's mouth, so I assume it ate it and enjoyed it.

I just got back from a small vacation, so I'll go poking around the LFS this week and see if they have a sixline.

I used to have 2 nasty looooong and thick bristleworms in my tank, but it's been literally almost 2 years since I've seeen it. And they were pinkish. These guys that I've seen now are the ones that are really small and are half orange, half black.

I thought I knew a few other things that ate bristleworms, but I can't recall them now. I'll have to dig around a little and see what I can find. I'll keep this updated too!

 

[roka64]

Do a search of bristleworms on LA, I tried to post the results here but it doesn't post the actual results, just the search page.....