bristleworm

[talloulou]

I recently discovered I have bristleworms, or at least one big bristleworm. It was coming out of a hole in the live rock, looked like a centipede, and apx 4 inches of it was out of the hole and the rest still in so who knows how big it is. I can't believe I am still discovering new stuff in this tank. Pretty cool. I looked it up on the internet and it doesn't seem to be a fireworm so it's cool to just leave him alone right?

 

[Fluff]

Yep. Bristleworms are beneficial. He'll help keep your rocks clean of excess food.

 

[saltynewb]

Incorrect, i have seen mine eating coral!

 

[Fluff]

Incorrect, i have seen mine eating coral!

I have hundreds of them in my reef as well as my seahorse tank. It is very rare that a bristleworm will bother corals. It will clean up around them and be judged falsely due to being even in close proximity of a coral but 99% of the time, they are perfectly safe. Not saying you can't get a rouge worm from time to time but the majority are harmless cleaners and beneficial.

 

[saltynewb]

Ok, sorry to jump on you, i must just have had some bad luck.

 

[Fluff]

Ok, sorry to jump on you, i must just have had some bad luck.

No offense taken. There is alot more gray area than black and white in this hobby so it's not always who's right or wrong. 8)

 

[zenn]

i have a jumbo bristlework crawling around my tank as well. it came on my LR too. It's actually kind of creepy. When other people see it, it really freaks them out. I get a kick out of it

 

[fishrfreinds]

I would say take care of it now before it comes a problem. My first tank had a couple and before i knew it the where all over the place buy a trap now and dont take the risk.

 

[AMANIQU77]

How come my live rock is just it: Rock. They're really nice looking. But I don't see any critters. Does that mean it's dead?

 

[Fluff]

The word live in live rock really just refers to the bacteria that is living on it. Some rock is more diverse than others though and may depend on where you get it. I've gotten live rock from three different places and some was swarming with critters and some not. If you want to add diversity, try getting some better quality rock to help seed the rock you have. Have you ever been to Randallstown Aquarium Center? (Montgomery Co, is that around DC?) I got my first pieces of live rock from them and it was really nice rock. Full of crabs, worms, stars, etc. Not sure how it is now but it may be worth a look if your ever out that way. (near Baltimore) HTH

 

[AMANIQU77]

Randallstown Aquarium? Wow, I will look that up. I know Randallstown isn't that far away from me. Cool. I will definitely check it out. Thanks!

 

[Fluff]

Awesome. Randallstown did have some nice liverock, I hope they still do. They have a nice selection and prices for dry goods as well but their livestock usually leaves much to be desired. I go to Exotic Aquatics for that. If you've never been to Exotics, I would urge you to pay them a visit. They are incredible for livestock but thier liverock sucks. lol They are just a little piece up the beltway from Randallstown. Good luck.