Bristle Worms!!!
- Thread starter ashley
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tautog83
Valuable Member
o theres more than 1 
they don't really hurt anything and are actually beneficial but sometimes they can get toooo big.. I started with dry rock and dip everything and there he is!!.. leave a big piece of food in middle of tank when the lights go out for 2 hrs and then cme back, you might be surprised...
they don't really hurt anything and are actually beneficial but sometimes they can get toooo big.. I started with dry rock and dip everything and there he is!!.. leave a big piece of food in middle of tank when the lights go out for 2 hrs and then cme back, you might be surprised...
Bristle worm populations are self regulated by available food source, aka left over fish and coral food. Feed less and you'll have fewer bristle worms. Typically newer tanks have larger populations, as the tank ages and you learn how much to feed the population dies off.
Personally I have never had an issue with them, I appreciate the part they play in cleaning up the stuff hermits and snails will not eat or go after.
Personally I have never had an issue with them, I appreciate the part they play in cleaning up the stuff hermits and snails will not eat or go after.
DaveMorris
MACNA2016 Co-Chair
Yes bristle worms are good scavengers. I would leave them alone.
Homer Allman
Active Member
What if you have 1000's of them. Most are small, with some big ones, but I have a lot in my tank. Currently i'm running a 125 and only have 7 fish. I do not feed but once a day. The tank and rock have been up for 1.5 years.
No, the worms will only eat the dead flesh from the clam, they won't kill it.
They are great scavengers in our systems, usually they will make a dead fish disappear, and have the owner thinking it was them that killed the fish, but in this case thats not true, these guys just don't jump living creatures.
There are different worms that will claim death to living critters, but not the bristleworm
They are great scavengers in our systems, usually they will make a dead fish disappear, and have the owner thinking it was them that killed the fish, but in this case thats not true, these guys just don't jump living creatures.
There are different worms that will claim death to living critters, but not the bristleworm
klp
Active Member
I had read where the bristle worms come up to the surface at night with the lights off on the full moon. I had a 90 years back that had more than I wanted and culled them way down netting them as they came to the surface. It got to the point where I did not see them anymore if I remember right. I did this a few months in a row. Hope this helps.
Eienna
5000 Club Member
I've had a massive number of them for a while now, and they haven't harmed anything (except my hand when I accidentally grabbed one, lol!)
The ones you want to watch out for are bright red and very fuzzy. They're called fireworms and are nasty predators (as are eunicid worms, but those don't resemble bristles.) The ordinary bristleworm is a helpful scavenger. Just don't touch one.
The ones you want to watch out for are bright red and very fuzzy. They're called fireworms and are nasty predators (as are eunicid worms, but those don't resemble bristles.) The ordinary bristleworm is a helpful scavenger. Just don't touch one.
sprinklerdudes
Valuable Member
a few years ago a tornado ripped off part of the roof of the house, we had no power for several weeks, after seeing the amount of critters that came out of the deep sand bed, and rock, my ole lady swore she would never go in the ocean again. I knew there were bristle worms in there and they never bothered anything, but when I checked on the tank a few days later with a flashlight, it looked like something out of a Indiana Jones movie.
Harold Green
Well-Known Member
There are traps on the market but I think you can wrap a piece of shrimp in some mesh, tie a string around it and drop it into the tank at lights out. Pull it up a few hours later and see if the worms are tangled in it.
WetWhistle
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It is the fire worms you have to worry about as most bristle worms are great scavengers. They typically don't harm anything except your hands. I have seen a large tang die when away for the weekend and the only thing that helped keep the water quality good was the good sized population of worms going to town on it. Most wrasses will help keep populations in check as well as cleaner shrimp. Arrow crabs do work but since it is a crab I don't trust it. Crabs tend to eat things you don't want them to when they are hungry so to me it is not worth it.
Eienna
5000 Club Member
helmerbang
Community Member
Arrow Crabs work over bristle worms like reef tanks work over wallets. I would rather have the worms personally, pretty sure this guy tried to harpoon my hand before I sent him on to a new home.
