bristle worm in tank, will this trap work? see bottom coment

[napydred]

can someone tell me what this red, centipede looking tentacle thing is coming out of my new piece of LR, it is pretty cool

 

[ntswift]

Looks like a common bristleworm to me.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I agree. A Bristleworm.

Looks like you have a nice looking spaghetti worm next to it too.

 

[melosu58]

These guys and gals are on the money. Bristleworm here too.

 

[napydred]

i think I am going to order an arrow crab to get rid of the bristle worm.

 

[Hara]

arrow crab will get rid of small fish as well...

 

[napydred]

i think i will try to build a trap for it. Take an empty film canister, the little black plastic ones with the grey lids, cut a slit big enough for the worm on the top, inside put some brine shrimp, wrapped in some panty hose so it can't escape out into the tank. just put it in the tank near the spot where i see him. Only thing is I cant figure out how to secure the canister to the rock near his hole, any suggestions there? any flaws you see in this plan?

btw, are spagetti worms bad?

 

[roka64]

It is a beneficial, sand stirrer and eats left overs. I have quite a few in my tank and leave them in their to carry out their jobs.

 

[austinsdad]

Spaghetti worms are fine. No problems. Bristle worms either. If you see a couple to a handful, I wouldn't worry about it at all.

What sized tank and what else is in there?

 

[napydred]

it seems there are some conflicting opinions on the bristle worm, some say they are bad, some say good, I am considering trapping it because I don't want it to harm any of my corals once I start putting them in, I have read they will munch on coral....

 

[Guest]

I also have a few bristle's and they do not hurt any of my corals, fish, or inverts. They are beneficial as stated.

Are you thinking of a fireworm which is in the bristle family? Unless they get out of control which they shouldn't if the tank is not overfed, I would leave it.

 

[austinsdad]

One other thing. Don't touch either with your bare hands. I thought only fireworms can give you some pain, but I saw something recently about bristles also.

 

[ntswift]

I have had bad experiences with bristleworms. I'm not a big fan of them at all. As soon as I see one I kill it. I dont even want to take the chance anymore. Thats not to say that there isnt a fireworm or something else that I haven't seen in my tank killing things but that is the only thing that I can think of. I just think its better to be safe then sorry.

 

[napydred]

i got the bristle worm this morning with some tweezers. i tried last night with a turkey baster, let me just say, this method doesn't work very well because the suckers can hang on to the rock, i felt bad killing a life form but i did it for the health of the tank, viva la revolucion

 

[melosu58]

Sometimes for the best of your tank you have to make some unpopular decisions. Good Luck.

 

[beachbumin]

You can always get a six line wrasse. They are little machines with bristles.