Bristleworms killing my cuc!!!

[Herbie's Reef]

I have not seen either of my turbo snails roaming around in a while. Well today I found a dead turbo with some sort of bristleworm in the shell. The other turbo is now missing and so is one of my two trochus snails. Below is a photo of the worm which I beleive might be a fireworm? Is there any way I could get help on an id or suggestions on how to combat this such as adding some predators?

Also I did start my tank with live rock from KP so there is a large chance of unwanted hitchikers like this. Many of my hermits have also been showing up dead ripped out of their shell so these guys may be eating them too. TIA.

 

[Herbie's Reef]

Mine were in the display tank too. I didn’t qt or anything. If you are real concerned I would put a clam on the half shell on the sand bed at lights out (so fish don’t eat it) and check it in the middle of the night. I bet you can catch them that way.

Perfect. I work in a grocery store so I can just pick up some clams when I get off!

 

[Herbie's Reef]

Yep, I was going to suggest a trap. That way you can identify and know what kind of worms you got. I suggest putting the trap in 45 min before lights go out. Not sure where the tank is but try to have room lights out. I’ve noticed when I viewed my tank a hour or two after lights go out. I witness my common bristle worms swarming the sandbed and LR’s… Usually back in hiding 3 hours after lights out. They even climb up a corner of my aquarium in large numbers . It’s usually only one corner. North facing if that relatable… (Ladybugs have their favorite direction) None of these guys are large. They stay small. If I was to overfeed they would populate heavily but not get huge. Getting off track. If you put the trap in 45 min before lights out and check 1-2 hours after lights out., you might already have a good sample size and can pull the trap. That way the bait in the trap doesn’t soak long and pollute your water….


I got fireworms in my first tank from a coral or cycled rock I got from LFS. It wasn’t the bearded fireworm but they were really plump and long. They looked like spiky fat earthworms and they populated heavily…. I’ll try and find a picture. I say this because I’m cautious on any bristle worm that doesn’t look like the common bristle, that we know is safe on our tanks.

I know there are other non reef threatening bristle worms. I would get nervous if they are really red around the bristles or bristles look different than above…. Better be safe and deal with the situation now than wait and be overwhelmed…. You mentioned tearing down the tank. Don’t do that. You got this!
I think I had Hermodice carunculata
Which is a bearded fireworm I guess. I just looked it up. Definitely looks different from the bearded fireworm I usually see. Top picture is what I think I had and bottom pic is the typical type I bearded fireworm I see in pics and read about in articles.

Worm Hitch Hikers

The identification of Worms found within live rock and live sand

chucksaddiction.thefishestate.net

Thanks for the encouragement. Not sure what species mine is but it looks a lot like a bearded fire worm. Will try and set up a trap or two tonight so I can catch them and id for sure. Going to change my stocking list around too for some fish that will help take care of pests. Gonna start qt on one or two hawkfish, a radiant and earmuff wrasse, and possibly a leopard or another wrasse. Also gonna possibly pick up a Pom Pom crab, arrow crabs, and maybe a coral banded shrimp. Gonna fight this aggressively.

 

[DannoOMG]

This thread is giving me anxiety about my own tank. I have seen common bristleworms but God knows I could have one of these monsters lurking around. I hope not cause I don't want them eating my berghias.

These things are monsters. However I haven't noticed any snails or my cucumber go missing. Would that be an indication?

 

[Goaway]

This thread is giving me anxiety about my own tank. I have seen common bristleworms but God knows I could have one of these monsters lurking around. I hope not cause I don't want them eating my berghias.

These things are monsters. However I haven't noticed any snails or my cucumber go missing. Would that be an indication?

They come out of hiding for food. Very quickly. Fireworms are not shy.

 

[Sump Crab]

This thread is giving me anxiety about my own tank. I have seen common bristleworms but God knows I could have one of these monsters lurking around. I hope not cause I don't want them eating my berghias.

These things are monsters. However I haven't noticed any snails or my cucumber go missing. Would that be an indication?

I caught mine eating a mushroom coral. But don’t worry too much as they were super easy to catch.

 

[Herbie's Reef]

This thread is giving me anxiety about my own tank. I have seen common bristleworms but God knows I could have one of these monsters lurking around. I hope not cause I don't want them eating my berghias.

These things are monsters. However I haven't noticed any snails or my cucumber go missing. Would that be an indication?

I wouldn’t worry unless you actually saw one. It’s my understanding that they are very rare and you have a small chance at getting them.

 

[Herbie's Reef]

Has anyone tried prazi pro? I am reading that it can kill inverts including bristleworms. Don’t have any coral so I could possibly remove my snails and hermits and dose prazi until the bristleworms are dead?

 

[TnFishwater98]

Has anyone tried prazi pro? I am reading that it can kill inverts including bristleworms. Don’t have any coral so I could possibly remove my snails and hermits and dose prazi until the bristleworms are dead?

I say keep it natural. I’ve read about prazi pro but I’ve never used it or researched. I would suggest not putting any medication/drug in your tank at this point. Maybe go that route if you would notice them all over and see many throughout the day. A infestation pretty much. Some meaty raw seafood should be able to trap them or you will at least be able to see what you’re dealing with if they don’t go in the trap. If you can turn your red lights on they will not notice and it will help you inspect the entire tank. Looking forward to seeing your catch…!

 

[Tired]

Nuking the tank with something that will soak into the rocks and leach out later is massively overkill for this problem. If you do have fireworms, you don't have many- they arrive in small numbers.

 

[Herbie's Reef]

So I did set a trap and placed a clam on the half shell once the lights went out. All I found was 4 nassarius snails in the trap and a horde of hermits on the clam. No sign whatsoever of any kind of bristle worm. Also found a gorilla crab though… Should I continue setting traps until I find something?

 

[TnFishwater98]

So I did set a trap and placed a clam on the half shell once the lights went out. All I found was 4 nassarius snails in the trap and a horde of hermits on the clam. No sign whatsoever of any kind of bristle worm. Also found a gorilla crab though… Should I continue setting traps until I find something?

Yes, during the day would be an option also.

 

[Tired]

How sure are you that there's something to find? The dead snails are no guarantee of snail-eating pests.

(Aside from inevitable gorilla crabs.)

 

[Doctorgori]

I’m thinking the whodunit was one of these ….
very recently this guy was easily 6” long and came in on KP rock along with a sweet large mantis ….unfortunately neither survived overnight in my freezer …..
….now back to your regularly scheduled program

 

[Goaway]

Has anyone tried prazi pro? I am reading that it can kill inverts including bristleworms. Don’t have any coral so I could possibly remove my snails and hermits and dose prazi until the bristleworms are dead?

Prazi will not kill bristleworms. I've dosed it over 20 times with live rock. Sounds extensive doesn't it?
Never lost a feather duster, and bristleworms always stayed present.

Also, prazi will not last long. Bacteria seems to really enjoy that medication.
It's much more complicated than I can explain.

Keep the trap going. But.. Try to use raw shrimp and manuver it manually around your rock. You can use a wooden skewer and slowly move the shrimp around to see who comes out of hiding.

You might have only had 1 of those monsters.

 

[Herbie's Reef]

Prazi will not kill bristleworms. I've dosed it over 20 times with live rock. Sounds extensive doesn't it?
Never lost a feather duster, and bristleworms always stayed present.

Also, prazi will not last long. Bacteria seems to really enjoy that medication.
It's much more complicated than I can explain.

Keep the trap going. But.. Try to use raw shrimp and manuver it manually around your rock. You can use a wooden skewer and slowly move the shrimp around to see who comes out of hiding.

You might have only had 1 of those monsters.

Hoping there was only one. Will try two traps tonight in different areas and will try a skewer. Surprised that prazi didn’t even kill feather dusters. Feel like they would be the first to go.

 

[Herbie's Reef]

How sure are you that there's something to find? The dead snails are no guarantee of snail-eating pests.

(Aside from inevitable gorilla crabs.)

Only looking for fire worms as I did find one in the shell of a dead turbo. Need to make sure that there is not any more and if there are I want to id which one it is. Just acting fast before I get an infestation of anything.

 

[Goaway]

Hoping there was only one. Will try two traps tonight in different areas and will try a skewer. Surprised that prazi didn’t even kill feather dusters. Feel like they would be the first to go.

Would be nice. People who want to get rid of bristle worms would have a much easier means of erradication.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Hoping there was only one. Will try two traps tonight in different areas and will try a skewer. Surprised that prazi didn’t even kill feather dusters. Feel like they would be the first to go.

skewer?

 

[Herbie's Reef]

skewer?

Oh I meant putting a shrimp or something on a skewer to try and lure anything out

 

[Tired]

Fireworms don't tend to come in very large numbers. You may well have caught the only one as it went scavenging. The trap is still a good idea to check for gorilla crabs and whatnot, but no need to expect more fireworms.