Bristle worms from live rock...Good or Bad?

[Weehawken64]

Hi all. I'm a newb. I have had my live rock in for a few weeks. No fish yet so I Dnt feed. Every night when lights go off I grab my flashlight and see what I can find. Tonight I saw a bunch of tiny what I'm almost certain to be bristle worms. So are they good or bad? Leave um or try to take them out? Also found a peanut worm the other night. Just have a small cuc as of now. Thank you.


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[Reefing Madness]

They are good in small numbers, they will help clean up the tank and maintain it for you. Overfeed and they can get to vast numbers, and rather large in size. But done right they maintain and aren't a problem.

 

[Weehawken64]

Do they eat snails or hermit crabs. I'm thinking they are bw but what the heck do I know. I'm going by pictures I've seen on this forum. They are real tiny no more then an inch and they are darkish in color but front part is more pinking. I have a crap load of them coming in and out of the LR holes.


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[returnofsid]

Bristle Worms are among the most beneficial life forms we can have in our aquariums. Very good for our tanks... Very bad for our fingers!

 

[Reefing Madness]

They eat eat dead critters, and detrius for you. You tend to see them the most at night. They will congregate more where debre collects.

 

[Weehawken64]

I'm just hoping my id is correct and it's not some horrible thing.


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[Reefing Madness]

 

[Weehawken64]

Thanks reeding madness. Picture does look similar.


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[Weehawken64]

Just wonder why there so many little ones if I've never fed the tank n just added my cuc today. Why do you guys think?


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[that novice guy]

Well if their good then why does everyone say put them out with fire ?

 

[NanaReefer]

Every day at feeding time They give me the creeps but they sure help keep my tank clean!

 

[Weehawken64]

Those look big Nana. The ones I discovered tonight are tiny. Thin and no more the and inch n less.


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[VB68]

Watch out for these guys-euclid worm- Had one, moved frags around, got rid of it before something bad happened. when finally got it out, it was between 18"-20" long. when finally caught it..

 

[Salty-Noob]

I have little ones like you but I if they get as big as my pointing finger ill take em out...had two remove two already

 

[Reefing Madness]

LOl, everyone gets spooked by looking at em. They help honestly. But don't try to remove them with your fingers, you'll only get stuck.

 

[Weehawken64]

Well at least my daughter thinks they are "super cool".


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[returnofsid]

Well if their good then why does everyone say put them out with fire ?

Not "everyone" says that. In fact, most people do not say that. Those people who do say that do not understand how beneficial they are...

 

[Weehawken64]

What I want to know and haven't heard from anyone yet is how can there be so many tiny tiny ones coming out of live rock(new tank set up w new rock) if I have no fish and hvnt fed anything yet??


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[returnofsid]

What I want to know and haven't heard from anyone yet is how can there be so many tiny tiny ones coming out of live rock(new tank set up w new rock) if I have no fish and hvnt fed anything yet??


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The live rock is probably full of detritus that the worms are feeding on. The worms are cleaning up your rock.

If you feel that you have too many, you can create a simple trap to remove some. Use a piece of nylons, put a frozen shrimp in it, tie it closed and tie a string to it. Drop it in your tank in the evening. Worms will squirm into the nylon to feed on the food. In the morning, pull it out and throw it away. It'll be loaded with lots of tiny worms.

 

[Reefing Madness]

They will die out slowly with the advent of food being eaten up, population control is easy with these guys.