GREAT, got some of these idiots

[cocoa_pleco]

I was looking at my LR, and of course i see something new, 4 stupid bristle worms. Immediately, i went and talked to someone about them. They said that bristle worms are a good indicator of water quality, and they eat scraps. You have to either buy a wrasse or move them yourself too. He also said that small theyre no threat, but large they are to corals. He also said that i should wait until they get big (theyre only 1.5" now) to remove them, as for the most part theyre good for the tank small. true? I tried Pwning some myself but theyre fast, and of COURSE theyre on the base of my LR, not the top piece

[Drumachine09]

The peice of LR that my first coral came on was half the size of a golf ball. I had not one....not two.... not even three bristle worms on it. I had 12, countem 12 bristle worms, on that small peice.

[cocoa_pleco]

12? wow, thats alot. you have good water quality if theyre still alive then.

i just noticed mine 10 minutes ago. Im sitting at the tank with a plastic stick poking them and stabbing them. Theyre REALLY pi$$ing me off.

did you get rid of yours at all?

[Drumachine09]

Nope. They clean up alot of detritus.

[jttt3]

lol so you can, in theory, get rid of them by decreasing your water quality?

I'm going to go the live rock route with a SW setup in the next couple of months, I'm sure I will have to deal with the buggers. If you find a really ingenius way to trap them please do share. =)

[2manyfish]

First that's a big fallacy. Bristleworms do not change their habits when they grow. Once a scavenger always a scavenger. It's the related worms (fireworm, euchnid (sp?)) that have the unfortunate habit of chowing down on corals. And they will do so whether they are large or small.
Bristleworms are good for your tank. They are also an indicator if your tank is being overfed or not. If you see tons of bristleworms in your tank it means you are overfeeding. Cut back on the amount fed and the bristleworm population will die back too. When they spawn, their eggs will become free food for your corals and small fish....

If you still feel you must remove them there is an easy way to do so. Simply take a nylon stocking, cut the foot off and wash this in plain water to remove any soap residue. Put a piece of shrimp or clam inside the nylon and tie it off. Place this in the tank after lights out. You may need to weigh this down with a small rock or something. The bristleworms will come out to feed and they will force their heads through the nylon but will become caught in there and in the morning you simply remove the nylon and toss. Or you can send them to me!!! :ezpi_wink1:

[cocoa_pleco]

i definitely dont overfeed. I give the condy his food, and right after i take the shell he spits out. I also feed the damsel special fancy saltwater pellets, and hes a pig and he never misses any.

I think for now i'll leave them. I i start seeing more than 4 or 5 bristle worms, i'll take action.

[jttt3]

Or you can send them to me!!! :ezpi_wink1:

Good Eat'n? hehe

[cocoa_pleco]

lol, fry em up in some butter!

[2manyfish]

:hmm3grin2orange: LOL!!
I don't have any bristleworms in my salt tank because my trigger hunts them down and eats them. :scry:

[kkyyllee]

bristle worms are good, dont get rid of them all they do is clean up the crap in ur tank

[Milnita]

Okay, I know this is an old post, but figured this was worth the mention....what we thought was a "harmless" bristleworm attacked one of our fish last week. Gizmo, the bangai cardinal (RIP). When we went to the LFS this weekend I asked the SW Mgr about bristle worms attacking and he said if it's just a bristleworm no, if it's the fireworm they're more agressive and dependant on size yes would attack a fish. We've had several fish die in the corner where this fireworm was located. He asked if it was pink and when I said yes, he said to get it out of there. We ran the rock it was hiding in under freshwater as recommended and found out we had 2 fireworms. One was about 2 inches long and not very large diameter, the other was 5-6 inches long and 3/4-1 inch in diameter - YUCKKKKKYYYYYY!!! We got him out and put him in an old soda bottle to take to the LFS so they could see what we were talking about. NASTY!

[unleashed]

worms don't really bother me. I know I have them because a couple of them were hanging out of the rock when it was taken out of the tank.

Also, just because a worm is red, doesn't mean that its a fireworm.

[zackish]

There are 2 different types I believe and one is good one is bad. I know I have seen 2 and everyone I have talked to just said to leave them in there. I pulled out one huge one a while back when I didn't know what it was because I was scared it was something harmful. I wouldn't worry about them unless you see them damaging something but I highly doubt you will.

[cocoa_pleco]

lol, i remember this thread.

as of now i have 0 bristleworms. there are the odd soft baby ones but my arrow crab eats them

[S13DWS]

im curious to know what a bristleworm looks like and if i should maybe get one for my tank:D
Any one got any pics?

[Milnita]

There are 2 different types I believe and one is good one is bad. I know I have seen 2 and everyone I have talked to just said to leave them in there. I pulled out one huge one a while back when I didn't know what it was because I was scared it was something harmful. I wouldn't worry about them unless you see them damaging something but I highly doubt you will.


This one looks like a "bearded fireworm", we watched it attack a fish and drag it under a rock.

[cocoa_pleco]

im curious to know what a bristleworm looks like and if i should maybe get one for my tank:D
Any one got any pics?

theyre saltwater though.

some get 6" long, and theyre long, narrow, and dark orange with these black tipped spines that sting humans (as ive felt many times) and predators.