Bristle worms

[SteveCGY]

So about a month ago I noticed 1 bristle worm since then now I can see about ten and multiplying. Should I be concerned? Bad or good? Is there a fish or something that eats them? Any Information would be good. Wanna keep it under control before she goes south and in tearing everything apart.

[jason604]

Originally Posted by SteveCGY

So about a month ago I noticed 1 bristle worm since then now I can see about ten and multiplying. Should I be concerned? Bad or good? Is there a fish or something that eats them? Any Information would be good. Wanna keep it under control before she goes south and in tearing everything apart.

Free clean up crew. Keep em

[Dearth]

Generally they are harmless and make a good part of your CUC crew however there are a couple of caveats to this and are an extremely common hitch hiker on coral and rock

1) Bristle worms are loaded with tiny needle sharp quills that will cause anything from minor irritation to sever pain never ever handle these bare handed

2) They can fit into almost any hole, nook, cranny or hollow so be careful picking up rocks, cover and other things in the tank

3) Fire worms and Enucid worms are considered harmful to your tank however they are easily recognizable so if you do see them remove from your tank

I personally I have a hatred for bristle worms however I have learned to live with these guys in an uneasy truce

[Magickiwi]

I remove them when I see them. Lots of people keep them though. If you are looking for a predator to keep your population under control I think a six line wrasse will eat them.

[FishyFishy!]

The big thing is that they eat detritis. When I find that they are overpopulating my display, I pull them out and put them in my sump/fuge, or get a 6 line to eat them up. I find them harmless (until you get poked by one... then I hate them).

The only time that I worry about them is if they are massive (bigger than 4" long or 1/2 cm thick) or if they look like fire or enucid worms, then they get flushed.

[Karsten]

I had the same issue. it turnned out I was feeding too much which aided in their fast reproduction

[asylumdown]

not sure it would be possible to do anything about them, even if you wanted to. They're pretty prolific, so even if you are removing every one you see, you're likely not even making a dent in their overall population. If you've got one, you've got thousands.

[Dearth]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

not sure it would be possible to do anything about them, even if you wanted to. They're pretty prolific, so even if you are removing every one you see, you're likely not even making a dent in their overall population. If you've got one, you've got thousands.

I recently took a rock out of my tank and turned it from live rock to dead rock over a course of a few weeks it was very porous and once the worms came tumbling out looking for a new home I counted over 300 worms that I could see most were less than an inch in length with only 14 over 5 inches so yea once they are in your tank your stuck with them whether you want them or not

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

If you've got one, you've got thousands.

so true. i see the odd one during the day and a few more when the moonlights are on. but i have a rock wall on the back of my tank and i can look behind all that rockwork anytime i want. the back is loaded with these guys.

[spit.fire]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I would pay for a bag of bristle worms! Not one to be seen in my tank.

Me too, I might harvest some from my friends tank