Bristle worms for my tank?

[SlasherZ]

Hi everyone! I was talking to another customer at my LFS and he mentioned that he added Bristle worms to his tank a few months ago and is loving the work that they do for him. It was a pretty short conversation, and I'm on the fence after doing my own research at home. From what I've found, they won't really bother any other inhabitants and just work on whatever detritus they dig up. They even look neat! Sounds like a win win to me... So.. What's the catch?

Figured I'd open a thread and see if anyone else has had positive experiences with them?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Reef By Steele Verified Sponsor]

They can be a major player in you CUC. When I got back into feeding in 2021 I got rock that had tons in it that we found when we reset from a 110 to a 210. I was thinking they were bad (I had been out of the hobby for 10 years) mistaking them for fire worms. Had my wife @Ocean_Queenie trying to collect as many as we could in the translation with tweezers, then searched on here and left them. To my knowledge they are not a problem unless you really overfeeding and their population explodes, but then there are just too many, not a real threat to anything that I know of.

 

[ncfalco]

Typically bristle worms are considered a pest that end up in most tanks as hitchhikers. If they run out of food they have been know to eat inverts like clams. I wouldn’t add them intentionally if I were you. You may want to look into getting some micro brittle starfish instead.

 

[littlefoxx]

Hi everyone! I was talking to another customer at my LFS and he mentioned that he added Bristle worms to his tank a few months ago and is loving the work that they do for him. It was a pretty short conversation, and I'm on the fence after doing my own research at home. From what I've found, they won't really bother any other inhabitants and just work on whatever detritus they dig up. They even look neat! Sounds like a win win to me... So.. What's the catch?

Figured I'd open a thread and see if anyone else has had positive experiences with them?

Thanks in advance!

I HATE them!!! Creepy MFs. And I wouldnt worry about buying them honestly, the longer your reef is up they just appear and then the issue will controlling their population lol. You will find people who love and hate them, but they are considered good CUC! I would say the catch is controlling their population… this is why I have arrow crabs in one tank and a wrasse in the other

 

[Debramb]

Hi everyone! I was talking to another customer at my LFS and he mentioned that he added Bristle worms to his tank a few months ago and is loving the work that they do for him. It was a pretty short conversation, and I'm on the fence after doing my own research at home. From what I've found, they won't really bother any other inhabitants and just work on whatever detritus they dig up. They even look neat! Sounds like a win win to me... So.. What's the catch?

Figured I'd open a thread and see if anyone else has had positive experiences with them?

Thanks in advance!

Yes, wish you were in Fort Worth, Texas, I’d be glad to share!!! I’m always on the Keep them. I feed several times s day and it shows in the Bristleworm

Hi everyone! I was talking to another customer at my LFS and he mentioned that he added Bristle worms to his tank a few months ago and is loving the work that they do for him. It was a pretty short conversation, and I'm on the fence after doing my own research at home. From what I've found, they won't really bother any other inhabitants and just work on whatever detritus they dig up. They even look neat! Sounds like a win win to me... So.. What's the catch?

Figured I'd open a thread and see if anyone else has had positive experiences with them?

Thanks in advance!

They can be a major player in you CUC. When I got back into feeding in 2021 I got rock that had tons in it that we found when we reset from a 110 to a 210. I was thinking they were bad (I had been out of the hobby for 10 years) mistaking them for fire worms. Had my wife @Ocean_Queenie trying to collect as many as we could in the translation with tweezers, then searched on here and left them. To my knowledge they are not a problem unless you really overfeeding and their population explodes, but then there are just too many, not a real threat to anything that I know of.

Have to add, easy peasy to cull, lift a rock with one hand, net in other and gentle wave the net. You’ll capture many that way
Debra

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone! I was talking to another customer at my LFS and he mentioned that he added Bristle worms to his tank a few months ago and is loving the work that they do for him. It was a pretty short conversation, and I'm on the fence after doing my own research at home. From what I've found, they won't really bother any other inhabitants and just work on whatever detritus they dig up. They even look neat! Sounds like a win win to me... So.. What's the catch?

Figured I'd open a thread and see if anyone else has had positive experiences with them?

Thanks in advance!

While many desire them as CUC, I find them as a nuisance. I used to allow them in my tank until I found a couple at 12-14" in length and since then allow none although I get an occasional stray which my Harlequin tusk eats
They are however beneficial in eating uneaten food that gets into crevices and detritus

 

[SlasherZ]

Awesome, Thanks for the info everyone!

Looks like I'll probably just wait until they show up on their own and then decide how I like them and how the tank reacts.

Thanks a bunch!

While many desire them as CUC, I find them as a nuisance. I used to allow them in my tank until I found a couple at 12-14" in length and since then allow none although I get an occasional stray which my Harlequin tusk eats
They are however beneficial in eating uneaten food that gets into crevices and detritus

12-14"!?! That's crazy, I had no idea they got so big! At that point do they become more predatory?

 

[EricR]

Some people hate them,,, some people don't.
I consider them beneficial.
Used to have quite a few that came in on live rock -- my population exploded then dwindled over time. (I assume food availability dictated this but I'm not really doing anything differently).

Indo-Pacific Sea Farms (ipsf DOT com) sells "Reef Worms" packs that include bristleworms,,, but they're easy enough to get unintentionally so doubt you'd need to go so far as to spend money on them to introduce some.

 

[littlefoxx]

While many desire them as CUC, I find them as a nuisance. I used to allow them in my tank until I found a couple at 12-14" in length and since then allow none although I get an occasional stray which my Harlequin tusk eats
They are however beneficial in eating uneaten food that gets into crevices and detritus

Thats literally the size of Squirt my engineer goby!!! Gross! Exactly why I hate them lol