Baby bristle worm - soon to be a bigger problem?

[Christian Dickey]

I was watching some copepods on the front glass of my 80 gallon when I noticed a tiny worm, little over half a centimeter, making it's way to the sand off the glass. I had no idea what it was but doing some digging I found this picture of a baby bristle worm that looks very similar to what I saw.

Should I begin to worry about bristle worms? Or just see how things pan out?

 

[EmdeReef]

Doesn’t look like a bristle worm. Can you take a pic without the blues on? If it is a bristle I wouldn’t worry, they’re great cuc.

 

[Christian Dickey]

Doesn’t look like a bristle worm. Can you take a pic without the blues on? If it is a bristle I wouldn’t worry, they’re great cuc.

That's not my photo. Unfortunately they're fogged glass color and so tiny my camera can't focus on them. The picture matches almost exactly what I'm seeing and I've seen about three so far.

 

[User1]

Several threads today with regards to the poor bristle worm I agree with @EmdeReef with both image and not to worry. They are, believe it or not, very good scavengers and make great assets to reducing nutrients. Their population is a bit of a self governance based on how much nutrients are in the tank. I mean - they more or less can warn you that you are over feeding I use my spaghetti population as mine. Feed too much I see the population blow up to plague proportions. Reduce feeding and better tank husbandry, well, the population comes down. Mother Nature is amazing.

Bristle worms are similar. Use them as a guide and let them be. They do not really bother much and as you read about them you will, hopefully, come to a similar conclusion. Some like them, some do not. Others let them do what they will on their own. I fall into that camp. I let them be and since 2000 I've not run into a problem with them ever. In fact, they are pretty cool to watch.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

dorvilleidae Worm. Good guys.
Oddly , this is about the 5th or sixth thread about them today.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

http://chucksaddiction.thefishestate.net/hitchworms.html

 

[Christian Dickey]

Several threads today with regards to the poor bristle worm I agree with @EmdeReef with both image and not to worry. They are, believe it or not, very good scavengers and make great assets to reducing nutrients. Their population is a bit of a self governance based on how much nutrients are in the tank. I mean - they more or less can warn you that you are over feeding I use my spaghetti population as mine. Feed too much I see the population blow up to plague proportions. Reduce feeding and better tank husbandry, well, the population comes down. Mother Nature is amazing.

Bristle worms are similar. Use them as a guide and let them be. They do not really bother much and as you read about them you will, hopefully, come to a similar conclusion. Some like them, some do not. Others let them do what they will on their own. I fall into that camp. I let them be and since 2000 I've not run into a problem with them ever. In fact, they are pretty cool to watch.

I'll let them be then and see if the count increases. Tank has been up for about 8 months and recently had an increase in copepods all the sudden. All I have in it right now is two clowns and a cleaner shrimp so I don't feed too much.