Bristle worm....

[christopherjay]

well..while i was moving some rock work around tonight..POP!!! got hit by a handful of these little s.o.b.s...People tell me they are great for your tank..But now im hearing that they will sting fish,eat small corals,and destroy your tank..should i get an arrow crab?..One more question..I have about a million small little snails..should i kill it with fire?

 

[cr500_af]

The worms are no problem for your tank... as for the snails, it depends on what kind they are. I'd bet that they're fine too, just because the majority of snails are good. If you have TOO many snails as a CUC, though, some of them could starve. If you truly have too many, once you identify what kind they are I'd just give some to other members until you have a good number.

 

[christopherjay]

the snails are tiny with a little shell that has a little black..mostly golden tho..Free to any members..as for the bristle worm that stung me..BAM BABY BURNED IN THE SINK!!!.MWAHAHAHAH

 

[smoothie]

Found any pics that look like the snails? As far as bristle worms go I would get a trap to catch some if you think you have too many. An arrow crab or coral banded shrimp would cause too much damage to your cleanup crew because they are easier meals

 

[jennm]

Look at what it says to the left, under my name.

"Love thy worms".

They are beneficial and they will not harm healthy, living tissue. The only exception I've seen is with H. zostrae - dwarf seahorses.

If an organism is dead or dying, or there is extra/uneaten food, they will be all over it like stink.

You want them to do that - you don't want waste rotting away in the bottom of the tank - you want something to eat it.

If you got "bristled" - soak your hand in vinegar - that will melt the spicules away. You can also remove them by sticking duct tape on them and ripping it off but I've found that causes more pain than it cures - vinegar works fine and less traumatic.

If you have "too many" bristleworms, it's quite likely that you are feeding too much - they respond to the food supply. Cut back on the food, the worm population will decrease.

Some wrasses and orchid dottybacks will eat them too.

Love thy worms.

Jenn

 

[dannybradley]

JennM;394888 wrote:
They are beneficial and they will not harm healthy, living tissue. The only exception I've seen is with H. zostrae - dwarf seahorses.

If an organism is dead or dying, or there is extra/uneaten food, they will be all over it like stink.

You want them to do that - you don't want waste rotting away in the bottom of the tank - you want something to eat it.

If you got "bristled" - soak your hand in vinegar - that will melt the spicules away. You can also remove them by sticking duct tape on them and ripping it off but I've found that causes more pain than it cures - vinegar works fine and less traumatic.

If you have "too many" bristleworms, it's quite likely that you are feeding too much - they respond to the food supply. Cut back on the food, the worm population will decrease.

Some wrasses and orchid dottybacks will eat them too.

Jenn

I agree with all of that, and would like to add that I've seen a picture of them eating a Catalina Goby, which you shouldn't have in your reef tank anyway.

 

[jennm]

Agreed that a Catalina shouldn't be in a tropical reef (temperate fish, likes cooler water).

Chances are the Catalina was on its way out anyway. The worms seem to be able to sense distress and capitalize on it.

I'd much rather have some worms take care of a problem before it becomes a bigger problem... ie, have the worms take down a dead or dying creature and eat it all up before it can sit around dead and foul the water.

When I kept H. zostrae years ago I literally watched a worm climb up a runner of caulerpa and pluck one of the horses off its holdfast. That was an eye opener.

With larger species of seahorse, they don't seem to be a problem.

Older literature suggests getting rid of any/all bristleworms. I contend that at the time they were misunderstood. If they are found consuming a dead or dying creature it's easy to jump to the conclusion that the worms were the cause.

I'm more of the notion that they come along to clean up the aftermath, not create it.

Jenn