Bristle worms

fishynewby · Feb 4, 2018

i recently spotted what i believe to be a very small bristle worm lurking on my green star polyp frag. This is my first salt water tank so I have been doing a lot of research on them before acting. My problem is I keep finding different statements from legitement sources. What is your opinion on them? Good or bad?

KJ · Feb 4, 2018

fishynewby said:
Good or bad

Good CUC IMO

fishynewby · Feb 4, 2018

KJ said:
Good CUC IMO

Just watched one of my clowns go ham on 2 of them

User1 · Feb 4, 2018

If you are looking for a 100% answer on good or bad you won't find what you are looking for. To some they are considered a essential part of the tanks diverse ecosystem. Others you will find do whatever they can to remove them. I tend to fall into the camp that they are essential to the ecosystem we manage. Great scavengers, part of clean up crew, live in various nooks, crannies, and shells which helps, and their population is a good indication of the tank health.

Alejandro Montealegre · Feb 17, 2018

Hi, I am living in an apt that has a tank maintained by the owner. I am not an expert on tanks and would greatly appreciate help with what may be a naïve question...

I have noticed some bristleworms in the tank at night. They are repulsive. My question is, is there any possibility of them escaping the tank and crawling outside?

nickenayat · Feb 17, 2018

There fine but do become unsightly when there’s a lot. Once you see the first it’s the start of an outburst. Just get ready to have a lot. To keep it in check you can make a trap or get a fish or crab that eats them. Good luck

nickenayat · Feb 17, 2018

Alejandro Montealegre said:
Hi, I am living in an apt that has a tank maintained by the owner. I am not an expert on tanks and would greatly appreciate help with what may be a naïve question...

I have noticed some bristleworms in the tank at night. They are repulsive. My question is, is there any possibility of them escaping the tank and crawling outside?

They won’t crawl out, they need to live in water and aren’t very resilient.

ReefQueen · Feb 17, 2018

I never had an issue with them as long as I didn't accidently touch one lol. I enjoyed having them around to take care of extra food, but my wrasse wiped mine all out except the few left in my fuge. I am going to put my vote down for good guys. Ugly yes, painful to touch yes, but beneficial in their own way.

Alejandro Montealegre · Feb 17, 2018

nickenayat said:
They won’t crawl out, they need to live in water and aren’t very resilient.

Thanks

ectoaesthetics · Feb 18, 2018

So the debate over bristle worms issue mostly comes down to the name. The problem is that the name includes and excludes another animal, depending on how the name gets used. On one hand the term bristle worms encompasses all polychaetes and on the other hand some reef keepers use it to distinguish between most polychaetes and a specific genera of polychaetes known as fireworms.

While I will defend the merits of "most" polychaetes -and will always make sure I introduce them to my aquaria... I will not defend a fireworm. They are nothing but a pain. If you ever Google the word they will be very easy to differentiate from the other polychaetes -even when they are small. There is no real drawback to having the vast majority of polychaetes in your tank -in fact they are MANY benefits- some people will argue that they are ugly and the just don't want them. I personally feel like that is as valid as saying that I don't want bacteria in my tank, because it produces surfer byproducts and smells terrible. They serve a pretty essential function around and on the reef . If you ever have a "population explosion" that some people seem to fear, the problem isn't the number of worms in the tank. The problem, more often than not, is the amount of excess food those worms are working really hard to rid your tank of.

Their spines do sting a big if you grab them and are a pain to remove, but really not the end of the world. I'm right now sporting a black fingernail from dropping a weight on my finger in the gym -it was 1,000x worse than the calcium spines of a bristleworm. Palytoxin or vibrio from our tanks are much more serious. And you definitely will not find that they escape the aquarium, as they are not tide pool hoppers and desperately try to stay below waterline. They are great for the tank and actual reefs; they just look sorta creepy.

Fudsey · Feb 18, 2018

I had a major outbreak of them in my rescue tank. So much so that they would come out when I fed the tank. I thought about making a trap for them but just decided to pull out what I could get. Never really got enough to make a difference but made me feel better. Before I moved my fish to my new tank I even threw one in while cycling. I have seen a couple but even at night with a red flashlight I don't see them. I found a small one on a frag plug when I was super gluing a small aiptaisia.

There are videos on youtube about making a trap out of a small water bottle and straws. If you feel like you want to get rid of some, you could try that.

CindyKz · Feb 18, 2018

Part of the system, just like everything else in our tanks, and no big deal. Yes they are ugly but have you watched Blue Planet? Not everything in the ocean is beautiful, why do people insist that everything in our tanks should be? If you want to keep them in balance feed less, or get something that eats them.