Bristleworm infestation: cause for concern?

[dugthefish]

I've had noticable bristleworms living in my sump for some time now. I've never observed them in the DT, had them cause any problems, or seen any larger than a couple of inches. I am currently of the opinion that that are generally a good "pest" to have, so long as they don't cause damage or get out of hand. At any given time I can observe a few living in my marco algae mass in the fuge.

Today, during a long overdue return pump cleaning, I discovered a mass of them living in the nooks and crannies around and under the pump. I cleaned them off in the sink, there was 50 if not more, all in the 1-2" range.

Would this level of infestation be a cause of concern for you?

 

[CasaReefer]

Man Those Things Give Me The Heepy Jeeby's..

 

[Auquanut]

I've got hem in the fuge too. I just leave them alone. I've never seen any in the display, but I attribute that to my flame hawk and melanaurus wrasse. Do you have any naturaly bristle worm predators? Also, overfeeding can cause their numbers to increase.

 

[Mical]

That's not an infestation. Check your DT at lights out that's when you'll see if you have an infestation. I had so many that the sand looked like it was moving, bought a six-line wrasse and he decimated the population.

 

[Dsnakes]

I saw a video a while back of someone who took apart their return plumbing and it was literally clogged shut with them. Thousands ;Dead

 

[Ross B Reef'n]

I've had an infestation of bristle worms before, with some being very large. I couldn't ever pinpoint any exact blame on them for anything, other than grossing my family out. I tried traps, wrasses, etc, but the only way to truly dwindle the population is very controlled feeding (not broadcast).

Just don't touch thier bristles. They can get lodged in your skin and be quite annoying.

 

[CasaReefer]

If you QT everything... How do you get them.. They just don't appear out of thin air Right?

 

[Mical]

If you QT everything... How do you get them.. They just don't appear out of thin air Right?

They seem to come in on live rock, at least that's where I found them. You only need one or two, add some left over food and they multiply. Cutting one in half doesn't kill it.