Bristleworm Predators

[chauwall]

Oooo. So I looked at my tank with a flashlight for the first time tonight. Eeek! Bristleworms! :wow2: I know that some are beneficial for the tank, but I'd like to get a predator for those creepy, nasty things. Now, I'm scared to stick my arm in there!

I read up that a 6line wrasse or neon psedochromis may do the trick? I have a yellow wrasse and he is fat as a pig. What do you think about adding either of the above and how the yellow will react. Also, I know that pseudos can be nasty buggers. I had a purple once and bullied everyone. So I don't know if the neon is any nicer? Thanks.

 

[FutureInterest]

The sixline will be fine with the yellow canary wrasse. The pseudochromis though is another story. Those things can be very aggressive.

The thing is that neither of them are really that good at hunting bristleworms. Worms are nocturnal primarily, which is when the fishies are sleeping... They'll tear up any that venture around during the day but most of the worms are smart enough to hide and wait for night.

 

[jetchris]

i heard that bristle worms are benefisial. I have had some but now that you mention it my purple nseodochromis might have eaten them. I havent seen any worms for awhile. But if you have them i wouldnt worry about it.

 

[jetchris]

yeah what Jin said!

 

[ericmcj31]

yeah-I wouldn't worry with them-

 

[ericmcj31]

oh-and they won't bite! (too badly)

 

[ralph atl]

If you have a fish or animal that depends upon pods for feeding, since bristleworms might also eat pods, then that's the only time you'd want them reduced.

 

[chauwall]

One thing I noticed- my green star polyps which usually are pretty full look barely lately. Everything else in the tank is fine. I saw a bunch of bristles on top of them last night. Could it be the bristleworms? Do they eat coral? What else could I do?

 

[jmaneyapanda]

chauwall;162042 wrote: One thing I noticed- my green star polyps which usually are pretty full look barely lately. Everything else in the tank is fine. I saw a bunch of bristles on top of them last night. Could it be the bristleworms? Do they eat coral? What else could I do?

The bristles probably arent harmiong anything at all. Typically, they are detritus eaters. If you must rrid some of them, try an arrow crab, or coral banded shrimp.

 

[george]

If you want to cull the herd a bit, get a coral banded shrimp, if your fish aren't too big. The ones I've had over the years have pounced on the worms I dropped in from my refugium as treats.

 

[stroid]

yup CBS is a good option for reducing bristleworms they definitly eat them. But do consider what else is in the tank if take this route.

 

[reefage518]

i had that problem too. i had just set my tank up, and i took a look at night the next day, what do you know? a Lot of bristleworms!!! i just figuered they were a good thing. so after the longest 1 &1/2 weeks of my life i started stocking with inverts. among a few snails and hermits, i got a large peppermint shrimp. i didnt want a cbs because i hear that they also prey on snails. but after a few days the shrimp went nuts. every night he would scurry around and reach as far as he could into every hole. then i caught him in the act... he pulled out a small bristle worm and shred it to pieces before vigorously scarfing it down. he couldnt take the slightly bigger ones that i enjoyed watching at night, but did keep the population in check. but then my snowflake ate him. but bristle worms are a good part of your clean up crew. you should enjoy them. if you ever have a fish die but cant find it, they will most likely eat it in under 24 hours.

 

[tnyga]

chrisjet;161948 wrote: yeah what Jin said!

Day late and a dollar short again huh? lol

 

[schwaggs]

Arrow crabs will eat even the bigger ones...

A 6-line is great for keeping the herd down...

 

[chauwall]

reefage518;162981 wrote: i had that problem too. i had just set my tank up, and i took a look at night the next day, what do you know? a Lot of bristleworms!!! i just figuered they were a good thing. so after the longest 1 &1/2 weeks of my life i started stocking with inverts. among a few snails and hermits, i got a large peppermint shrimp. i didnt want a cbs because i hear that they also prey on snails. but after a few days the shrimp went nuts. every night he would scurry around and reach as far as he could into every hole. then i caught him in the act... he pulled out a small bristle worm and shred it to pieces before vigorously scarfing it down. he couldnt take the slightly bigger ones that i enjoyed watching at night, but did keep the population in check. but then my snowflake ate him. but bristle worms are a good part of your clean up crew. you should enjoy them. if you ever have a fish die but cant find it, they will most likely eat it in under 24 hours.

Cool. I've never heard of Peppermint shrimp eating bristles. I thought a coral banded shrimp can kill small fish? I've got a little Pygmy Angel who is my angel ..... I'm so funny.

 

[soarin']

chauwall;163521 wrote: Cool. I've never heard of Peppermint shrimp eating bristles.

Well, a bristle worm ate my Peppermint shrimp. The pepp had just molted and the bristle worm lived in a hole at the top of the pepp's cave. The bristle was getting fairly large, and would take food away from the pepp, which I thought was funny at the time.

The bristle worm was getting hungry because the peppermint wasn't eating the clam I put in the tank but would go find his own food. So it had been a few days since the worm was fed and I could see him poking around looking for food, but I didn't think anything of it.

So like I said the pepp molted, and was having a great time playing in the tank. The next morning I saw the pepp jammed in the top hole the bristle lived in -- he was fully eaten by 12 hours later. His new soft skin made him a nice target for the bristle worm.

The reason I know the pepp didn't die first is because the body never hit the ground. When the bristle worms get big enough, they can make their own food.

So if any bristle worms get big, I would trap 'em out.

Anybody want a free bristle worm, by the way?