Bristle Worms

[tsunami]

Hi Everyone,

I am starting to get lots of bristle worms in my refugium. Should I worry? I relize that this is a refuge from the rest of the tank, but should I add something that eats the bristle worms and if so what? I want to keep my copepods in there because I have a mandarin goby. Thanks.

 

[tonester_man]

Arrow crabs eat bristle worms, you might want to get one for it.

 

[family reefer]

Dotty backs eat them and I have seen my six line wrasse nibble a taste every now and again. Arrow crabs will eat them with both claws.

 

[cgill311]

The tricky thing is you need something to eat the bristleworms and leave the copepods alone. Maybe the crab is your best bet versus six lines or dotty backs.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Most bristle worms are good... They just get a bad wrap because of the few bad apples of the species. I would try to figure out what you got in there before you go killing it off.

 

[george]

Xyzpdq0121 wrote: Most bristle worms are good... They just get a bad wrap because of the few bad apples of the species. I would try to figure out what you got in there before you go killing it off.

Seconded. The small ones are entirely beneficial to your sand bed and refugium.

Plus, virtually everything that will eat your bristle worms will also eat the pods.

 

[tsunami]

Why do bristle worms get a bad wrap? I did see a tank with them coming out of the seem though. Also, what is their benifit?

 

[johnqx4]

Tsunami wrote: Why do bristle worms get a bad wrap? I did see a tank with them coming out of the seem though. Also, what is their benifit?

95% of bristle worms are good. they are good for the sand bed, detritus, and the tank in general. They get a bad rap for two reasons...

1) when they get big, most people just don't like the looks of them. They just get haunted as squat :lol2:

2) some species have been known to sting (you, corals and everything else). I'm careful about the ones that I have brought in and actually ordered them.

In the good sense... think of them as SW earthworms

my $.02 worth

johnny

 

[tsunami]

Thanks Johnny, so most bristle worms aren't bad.

 

[johnqx4]

Tsunami wrote: Thanks Johnny, so most bristle worms aren't bad.

True, but... as with all things, depends on what you have. I added mine. They're small and they do a great job on the tank, Like snails, clams, etc... They propogate, but they have never exploded.

I'm not big on buying live rock so I have never had the pleasure of bringing one in by mistake and getting stuck with a demon:bash2:

Even if yours came in courtesy of the "live rock express" they are still probably an asset (if you can stand the looks).

If you see them crawling around and not bothering anything, leave'em be...

johnny

 

[flyingarmy]

When they get this big you can name them (Grendel) and have a Tank/Sump just for them!

 

[tsunami]

I think I have Beowulf in mine. We should put them together and play out the epic battle! LOL!

 

[glxtrix]

they tend to get bad wrap because they are usually the last in sight if something dies, they clean up the mess, usually with dead clams or fish.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

That is a biggin' flyingarmy. Rumor has it they can get about 10 feet long in the wild.

Fireworms are really the ones to worry about because they hurt, you, your fish, your corals. If any of them get too long, they can become a problem but if your tank is not overrun by them I would leave them. Heck all a feather duster really is is a bristle worm with a flashy head and a tube. I encourage you to read up on worms here:

 

[kevin]

Thanks for the awesome information on bristleworms. I have some really big ones in my 15 gallon (I have taken one out that was 12" long). But, I love to watch them at night when I feed the tank