Bristle worms

[kuruptko]

Is there any fish that eats bristle worms

 

[Jvesche20]

I don’t know of any fish but here’s a dyi trap https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/diy-bristle-worm-trap-how-to.68/

 

[minus9]

P. aldabraensis and others in the pseudochromis family are your best bet to actively hunt bristleworms. Bristleworms are a great addition to your CUC, do you have too many? Catch them and move them to your sump or refugium if you have one?

 

[kuruptko]

P. aldabraensis and others in the pseudochromis family are your best bet to actively hunt bristleworms. Bristleworms are a great addition to your CUC, do you have too many? Catch them and move them to your sump or refugium if you have one?

Yes I have a few in my refugium I also have some in my overflow area

 

[kuruptko]

The ones in my overflow are getting quite large

 

[kuruptko]

I've used the trap it works well

 

[HawaiianReef]

Bristle worms are great, despite their gruesome look, but they must be managed. They Will take out snails, crabs and even fish if there's an overwhelming amount of them.

 

[minus9]

Just move them to the fuge. They're getting lots to eat. They're probably catching a lot of uneaten food and waste, doing a great job I imagine.

 

[HawaiianReef]

They are the Best cuc I've experienced. I have a 75g that I feed heavily. I only run a skimmer, no mechanical filtration. I do a wc around every 4-6 months and the water is crystal clear and parameters are fine. No corals though. I just keep fish and bubble tips in there. But all my snails were killed by the worms.
Definitely a Great choice in a fuge IMO

 

[EMeyer]

I am so tired of getting stung by these little @#$%s. I do not consider an animal is hideous to look at and causes intense pain if you brush against it to be appropriate to keep in a home, let alone a desirable member of the cleanup crew.

Cone snails do a nice job. I have heard that arrow crabs and coral banded shrimp also do a good job. But they also eat fish. Cone snails don't but are hard to find.

I wonder if anyone has tried eradicating them by applying a de-worming medication to the entire tank?

 

[Jesterrace]

Is there any fish that eats bristle worms

Yup, Halichoeres Wrasses (ie Melanurus, Red Lined, Christmas)

 

[HawaiianReef]

I understand the cons of them. I personally dont want them in my display. I have that 75g as a pest tank in my basement.
I had a few arrow crabs, but none of them ate any worms. That might be from my feeding habits though. I have a melanurus wrasse that eats them. Problem is, these worms sustain themselves so well especially is sandbeds. Most people settle with just controlling them.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Arrow crabs will eat them

 

[vetteguy53081]

Melanuarus wrasse and definitely an Arrow Crab

 

[HawaiianReef]

Arrow crabs are cool even if they don't eat the worms. Just an interesting addition imo.
Be careful with a melanurus and the arrow crab together. The melanurus might snack on the crab. But not all will.

 

[Brett newell]

Arrow crabs work great. I had one for a while and he went mid evil on them. Hed catch one RIP it in half then put half under one leg and hold the other half and break off pieces then eat other half. He had one every time I looked at him.

If you dont have coral and are ok with a possible mini cycle you can dose the tank with chloroquine phosphate. Itll wipe out the worms. Some people on here have done this with soft coral and clean up crew in tank.

 

[theMeat]

Feed less and their numbers will naturally drop

Better that than catch them and let uneaten food linger

 

[The indian reefer]

some one please send the pictures of the fishes and inverts that eat those worm

 

[ca1ore]

Bristle worms will wax and wane based on available food. If their population is growing significantly, then you’re likely overfeeding .... so don’t. Otherwise, bristles are excellent scavengers. They will eat any dead animals, but WILL NOT kill anything live, certainly not fish (an absurd notion). If you must control populations with a predator, and your tank is large enough, a halichoeres wrasse will eat them, and a lot of other pests. My favored species is the dusky, but not that easy to find.

 

[Hypnotic]

I have been wondering about this. I have two tanks 38G and 180G. Both are overfed and both have bristle worms. However the 180G has far less and a very fat melanurus wrasse.