Bristleworm in petco bag. Add or not?

[Stoichiometry]

I never get livestock from petco but I became desperate to beef up my CUC after a hair algea outbreak and the cost for 1-2 snails for shipping let alone that a lot of suppliers only have packages of 5 or more. Anyway, got a couple snails floating and acclimating and of course there's a bristleworm in there because petco is loaded with them. I've read they can be somewhat beneficial for a tank. I have a 20g cube. Should I add or not? If it's a single worm can it reproduce? Pros, cons?

 

[KrisReef]

IF it wasn't from Petco, the answer would be do what you want. I would not add a bristleworm from Petco. Too risky.

Lets see what other folks have to say.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I say no!!

 

[damsels are not mean]

You will end up with bristleworms eventually and they are generally beneficial but it's probably not a bad idea to avoid intentionally adding anything you are not confident on the consequences of. I would definitely pitch if it's a fireworm.

 

[PeterC99]

Do you put your bare hands in the aquarium or sump frequently?

 

[DannoOMG]

All I know is the red ones are bad. Orange ones seem to be okay as long as they don't explode population in your tank. Pics would help the experts.

 

[Stoichiometry]

They are orange ones.

PeterC99: I've been getting my hands wet a lot lately due to fighting GHA. Leaning toward not adding it at this point.​

 

[Stoichiometry]

Thanks everyone for input. I appreciate it

 

[GatorGreg]

You need to check out reef cleaners. The shipping was free I’m almost positive. I’m getting like a 60 critter crew for like 50 something bucks. It’ll be here Thursday. 2 snails in a 20 ain’t much