Bristle worm mania

[Jarhead-CO]

So I have tons of bristle worms almost to the point where I think it's to much. I have been feeding only every other day so I dont think it's from over feeding. I moved the tank from one house to my new one a month ago and had a huge diatom outbreak that's just starting to subside but everything else is doing fine. The picture is taken with full lighting and the middle of the day. Is this to much and if so how should I go about combating it?

 

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[MyReefRobbedMe]

You can use a sort of diy bottle/ container with a string , put few holes in just enough for them to get , put pinch of food and pull them out daily until atleast you can’t see them during the day or lights on ..I can Imagine how many come out at night

 

[Jarhead-CO]

I'll have to give that a try and at night its absurd the rocks get covered with them. Alot of people were saying they are a good cuc so bbn I left them alone but it's just absurd now. Is there anything that's reef safe that eats them?

 

[count krunk]

the pop should stabilize depending on available food and competition. Maybe after you get rid of some, add other members of the CUC?

 

[Pntbll687]

They can be a good part of the clean up crew as long as the population is kept in check.

If they're or during the day and you can see a good amount of them, there's probably 10x as many in the rocks.

Slow down on the feeding!! They need food to survive, and it has to come from somewhere. Could moving the tank released some detritus from the sand and face them more to eat, yes. But it is probably over feeding.

You can use traps to get them. You can also take rocks out and let them sit in a bucket of water, they'll start coming out and you can get many more out of the rocks than with traps.

I would cut back to feeding every other day for the fish, and half the amount you usually do.

 

[ca1ore]

Bristle worms will only proliferate if there is enough food. My suggestion would be to feed every day, but in much smaller amounts. Vast majority of them are harmless scavengers, though they can be aesthetically unappealing.

 

[Jarhead-CO]

They can be a good part of the clean up crew as long as the population is kept in check.

If they're or during the day and you can see a good amount of them, there's probably 10x as many in the rocks.

Slow down on the feeding!! They need food to survive, and it has to come from somewhere. Could moving the tank released some detritus from the sand and face them more to eat, yes. But it is probably over feeding.

You can use traps to get them. You can also take rocks out and let them sit in a bucket of water, they'll start coming out and you can get many more out of the rocks than with traps.

I would cut back to feeding every other day for the fish, and half the amount you usually do.

I already feed every other day and most of it is eaten.

 

[Jarhead-CO]

Bristle worms will only proliferate if there is enough food. My suggestion would be to feed every day, but in much smaller amounts. Vast majority of them are harmless scavengers, though they can be aesthetically unappealing.

Almost all of the food that goes in my tank is eaten by my fish it's a very small amount that goes to the bottom.

 

[ScottandAlisa]

I saw an arrow crab eating a segment of bristle worm today at the LFS. The lady that works there said they’re known to find and eat them regularly... maybe look into that if you want a natural way to control the population? They look pretty crazy looking too.

 

[roberthu526]

Maybe get a Wrasse ?