Bristle worm?

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Is this a bristle worm? I just added live rock to my tank, and I have already removed 3 bristle worms.  I hate them and would like to get rid of all of them. 

I was wondering if this is a bristle worm because it's more pink and the bristles look different.

It just came out, because it is nighttime, so whatever it is, it is nocturnal.

 

[Cthulukelele]

You will never remove all the bristleworms from your tank. They are the cockroaches of the ocean. That is indeed a bristleworm

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

You will never remove all the bristleworms from your tank. They are the cockroaches of the ocean. That is indeed a bristleworm

Ugh, okay. Thanks for your help.

 

[Cthulukelele]

For what it's worth, it's a very good thing to have in your tank for cleanup. They're like more efficient nassarius snails

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

For what it's worth, it's a very good thing to have in your tank for cleanup. They're like more efficient Nassarius snails

Maybe I am fine with leaving that one in, but I don't want an infestation. Is that a possibility, because I did see a really small one in the tank, but I left it in.

 

[Cthulukelele]

A lot of people will use a bottle trap to catch them where they place a bottle with a little bristleworm bottle trap with a bit of food in it made out of a bottle with some straws. I dont advocate this, but people do it, and like I said youll never get all of them.

 

[LiquidSpace]

Ugh, okay. Thanks for your help.

I feel ya’. My most recent tank was all dry rock because of these creepy dudes.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I feel ya’. My most recent tank was all dry rock because of these creepy dudes.

I hate them so much, but I needed to get live rock so the cycle can finish faster, I am very impatient, lol.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is this a bristle worm? I just added live rock to my tank, and I have already removed 3 bristle worms.  I hate them and would like to get rid of all of them. 

I was wondering if this is a bristle worm because it's more pink and the bristles look different.

It just came out, because it is nighttime, so whatever it is, it is nocturnal.

Bristleworm it is and while some desire them as cleanup crew, I do not welcome them. They eat uneaten food and detritus .

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Bristleworm it is and while some desire them as cleanup crew, I do not welcome them. They eat uneaten food and detritus .

Do you know the best way to get rid of it? I hate sticking my whole are down to the bottom of the tank to take them out with tweezers that they always get out of.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do you know the best way to get rid of it? I hate sticking my whole are down to the bottom of the tank to take them out with tweezers that they always get out of.

There are bristleworm traps and fish traps. I caught a long one with fish trap baited with shrimp. They are active at night. You can often grab them with aquarium tongs - not your hands

 

[LiquidSpace]

Do you know the best way to get rid of it? I hate sticking my whole are down to the bottom of the tank to take them out with tweezers that they always get out of.

Supposedly Coral Banded Shrimp and Arrow Crabs eat them, but I have no experience with either.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I hate them so much, but I needed to get live rock so the cycle can finish faster, I am very impatient, lol.

Nothing good happens fast in this hobby... patience is your best friend right now

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Nothing good happens fast in this hobby... patience is your best friend right now

Yup, I have recently figured that out.

It was my birthday recently, so I thought that maybe I could go get fish the day after my birthday.

I brought a bag of water for them to test, and they said I should wait for the nitrites to come down because it meant my tank was still unstable. I was pretty disappointed at first, but I believe everything happens for a reason.

I got home and did research, and it said that live rock from an established tank would be my best friend. I found a coral research place, near where I live, drove there, and talked to the guy. He is a really nice, and intelligent guy. He is working to save coral reefs in the ocean, so honestly any way I can support him and the work he does, I will.

For around 10 minutes, he walked around, finding pieces of rock that he thought would work best in my tank. He gave me around a pound of his sand from his established, and thriving tanks with god knows how much coral in there. For only 20 bucks, he gave me roughly 3 pounds of live rock, and around a pound of  liquid gold , AKA, his sand.

Before I added the rock and sand, my nitrites were higher than 5 ppm. Just a little over 24 hours later, they are down to 1ppm.

He explained to me that the "bacteria" that I used to start the tank was a scam. Any bacteria that you can buy in a bottle, only works in the beginning, and then is useless down the road, so you will most likely have an ammonia spike that could easily wipe out your tank. The bottles say you can put fish in right away, and I am so glad that I didn't listen to that.

If my LFS had been like any other fish store, focusing on sales, I would have never found this guy, and my tank may have crashed. I am so lucky that everything went the way it did.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Yup, I have recently figured that out.

It was my birthday recently, so I thought that maybe I could go get fish the day after my birthday.

I brought a bag of water for them to test, and they said I should wait for the nitrites to come down because it meant my tank was still unstable. I was pretty disappointed at first, but I believe everything happens for a reason.

I got home and did research, and it said that live rock from an established tank would be my best friend. I found a coral research place, near where I live, drove there, and talked to the guy. He is a really nice, and intelligent guy. He is working to save coral reefs in the ocean, so honestly any way I can support him and the work he does, I will.

For around 10 minutes, he walked around, finding pieces of rock that he thought would work best in my tank. He gave me around a pound of his sand from his established, and thriving tanks with god knows how much coral in there. For only 20 bucks, he gave me roughly 3 pounds of live rock, and around a pound of  liquid gold , AKA, his sand.

Before I added the rock and sand, my nitrites were higher than 5 ppm. Just a little over 24 hours later, they are down to 1ppm.

He explained to me that the "bacteria" that I used to start the tank was a scam. Any bacteria that you can buy in a bottle, only works in the beginning, and then is useless down the road, so you will most likely have an ammonia spike that could easily wipe out your tank. The bottles say you can put fish in right away, and I am so glad that I didn't listen to that.

If my LFS had been like any other fish store, focusing on sales, I would have never found this guy, and my tank may have crashed. I am so lucky that everything went the way it did.

Glad you found the researcher! Sounds like a good guy to know

He is incorrect about the bottled bacteria though. Assuming you use a product that's viable (meaning the nitrifying bacteria in the bottle isn't already dead), it will help convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate. The bacteria colonies will continue to grow as long as they have a food source. They don't just magically die one day and leave you with ammonia, lol. As a tank becomes more mature, other consumers of nitrogen (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) will likely start to out compete the bacteria you started with, but the nitrogen cycle will still continue.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Glad you found the researcher! Sounds like a good guy to know

He is incorrect about the bottled bacteria though. Assuming you use a product that's viable (meaning the nitrifying bacteria in the bottle isn't already dead), it will help convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate. The bacteria colonies will continue to grow as long as they have a food source. They don't just magically die one day and leave you with ammonia, lol. As a tank becomes more mature, other consumers of nitrogen (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) will likely start to out compete the bacteria you started with, but the nitrogen cycle will still continue.

Oh ok, I didn't know that.

My bacteria were shipped to me in below freezing temps, which may have killed them, and is probably why I didn't see as much results as I am now.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Oh ok, I didn't know that.

My bacteria were shipped to me in below freezing temps, which may have killed them, and is probably why I didn't see as much results as I am now.

Another thing... Nitrite is not a problem in saltwater tanks like it is in freshwater. In a new tank, if you measure 1-2 ppm of ammonia and then later (days or weeks, it depends) test and ammonia is 0 and there are nitATES over 10, your tank has the bacteria to support a small bioload and a fish or 2 can be added. Using the bottled stuff just boosts the population of the types of bacteria that convert ammo to trites and trites to trates. These will appear in the tank without you adding anything, it will simply take longer for them to grow to sufficient numbers to break down fish waste, extra food, etc.

 

[BOYERZ]

Could be fire worm.

Looks like a bristle worm.

It is old school methods to remove them.

They are good, leave them.

Long ago I removed every single one with needle nose plyers. It can be done.

My current tank has hundreds, I consider them valuable.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

In my 30L I have ... lets say a lot. More than my other 3 tanks. One thing I can say for sure is my sand in that tank is clean... They do such a good job that when i feed they all come out. If I wanted to get rid of them I would just have to throw in a bit of food.
They are a part of a balanced tank, they have a job to do and they do it well.

 

[Seansea]

Just out of curiosity why do you hate them? Because they look creepy? They are great scavengers. Even so once you add a wrasse or 2 they will go to town on them. I hardly see any anymore