bristle worms

[littlehermit0]

I've seen these long creepy guys crawling in my tank, but they never harmed my fish, while I never thought if they are good or bad... I love these guys, I don't care if they're poisonous or sting humans, they clean the food hyper fast, better than any clean up crew animal, some of them are red, maybe fireworms and I once tried to get one out with tongs but they're so strong that the worm cut himself in half

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Welcome to reef2reef!

Normal bristleworms, are harmless, and like you have already seen, they eat leftover food, so they make a great part of your CUC.

If they break in half, it will become 2 worms.

I can't tell if they are fireworms, but if you see some, take them out as those are a different story...

Careful when handling them, the bristles can stick into your hand, and get stuck causing pain.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I can't tell if they are fireworms, but if you see some, take them out as those are a different story

Actually, most fireworms are just as reef safe as regular bristleworms. The predatory bearded fireworm, very infrequently seen in our tanks, is quite distinctive.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Actually, most fireworms are just as reef safe as regular bristleworms. The predatory bearded fireworm, very infrequently seen in our tanks, is quite distinctive.

Oh ok, I didn't know that! I thought that all of them were predatory. Thanks for correcting me!

 

[littlehermit0]

Actually, most fireworms are just as reef safe as regular bristleworms. The predatory bearded fireworm, very infrequently seen in our tanks, is quite distinctive.

That's the same one I saw yesterday I think, he was red and hairy, spiky too

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

That's the same one I saw yesterday I think, he was red and hairy, spiky too

Do you have ocean live rock in your tank? From the Gulf of Mexico or the north Caribbean/south Atlantic?

If not, it's unlikely to be a bearded fireworm. But if it IS, it is more likely to be out in the open during the day than most bw's and won't just come out during the day when you feed. If you're concerned, you should try setting a bristleworm trap - there are several threads on R2R that show how to make one.

What type of coral do you have?

Edit: attaching a good description

 

[littlehermit0]

Do you have ocean live rock in your tank? From the Gulf of Mexico or the north Caribbean/south Atlantic?

If not, it's unlikely to be a bearded fireworm. But if it IS, it is more likely to be out in the open during the day than most bw's and won't just come out during the day when you feed. If you're concerned, you should try setting a bristleworm trap - there are several threads on R2R that show how to make one.

What type of coral do you have?

Edit: attaching a good description

I don't have corals, just live rock from the Caribbean, from the ocean and I'm not concerned about that I like them if they're still cleaning but I was wrong they're bristle worms luckily, they're only very red but not that thick

 

[vetteguy53081]

Both are safe but can multiply. While not welcomed in my tanks. many regard them as cleaner crew as they consume both uneaten food and detritus