Displacing bristleworms with more acceptable CUC?

[malfist]

Hey ya'll

I've got a bristleworm problem. They give me the creepy crawlies and make my skin crawl. I've got hundreds and hundreds of them in my tank. Take a flashlight to my aquarium after lights out and you'll see them everywhere. Pickup a rock and you'll find them. Mess around in the fuge and one will wind up on your hand. Disgusting things.

I've not bothered them because I know they serve an important part of the clean up crew and are filling a gap that I've not filled. The thing is, I can't figure out what that gap is or why I have such an excess population.

Tank stats:
65 gallon with a 22 gallon sump
Well established, 3+ years
Shallow sandbed ~1.5 inches

I have a fuge that grows chaeto, a skimmer that's sized correctly, two wav4 powerheads, vectra M1 return pump, 46 watt UV and two radeon lights, one is a g2 xr30 and the other a g4 xr30 pro.

Current cleanup crew is:
Handfull of astraea snails
Lots of florida cerith and dwarf cerith snails
2 turbo snails
Handful of nassarius vibex snails (sandsifters)
2 rock boring urchins
hundreds and hundreds of bristleworms

Tank parameters:
pH ranges between 7.95 and 8.15 depending on time of day
Temp 77-79 (fan kicks on at 79)
Alk 10.5 dkh (dosed)
Ca 398ppm (dosed)
mg 1386ppm (dosed)
Nitrates: 3ppm (dosed)
Phosphates: 0.12 (dosed)

Parameters checked via trident or hanna checkers. I've been fighting a reoccurring dino problem and have been dosing nitrates and phosphates to keep them above 0, otherwise I'd have 0 for both. Following the triton method, although I do do the occasional water change, usually monthly. ICP tests come back find with exception of low iodine.

Tank is fed 1 cube of mysis shrimp daily, plus a small amount of flake from an ehiem automatic feeder
Tank is stocked with 2 clownfish, royal gramma, 2 pajama cardinals, pygmy angelfish, multicolor angelfish, bubble tip anenome, blue maxima clam

I don't want to trap them, or kill them off, or get a fish to eat them. I want to reduce their population by either removing whatever is feeding them, or out competing them with a snail or something. Any suggestions?

 

[TriggerFinger]

They eat leftovers, as I’m sure you know. Nassarius and marginella snails are scavengers. I feel like my hermits eat more leftover food than anyone though. Are you opposed to hermit crabs? Blue leg, red leg and scarlet reef hermits have been model citizens for me.
Also, I think you may need to get rid of some of the worms. I feel like dying out worms will be eaten by other worms and it will be a continuing cycle…panty hose traps work. Remove worms and add some hermits and scavenger snails and try to find a balance that way

 

[malfist]

I've avoided hermits in the past because my partner had them and they tended to kill off his more valuable snail population, even with extra shells in the aquarium. I'd be worried the same would happen here. Also worried that they might see the mantle of the clam as a tasty snack.

Maybe I need more nassarius?

I can't figure out what leftovers I have in my tank though. I have such low nitrate and phosphate levels. Unless all the "leftovers" are getting bound up in the tissue of new bristleworms I'm not sure I could safely feed less.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Leftovers include the uneaten food along with fish and other critters waste..they are the lowest on the food chain & and finding food regardless of how much you feed. Algae, pods, detritus…they will continue to populate even if you quit feeding every day; that’s just nature. They don’t need much to survive.

 

[mdb_talon]

If you dont want to remove them or add a predator to eat them I think you are stuck with them unless you starve your tank. They are extremely efficient as cuc members and I dont think you are going to find someone to outcompete them.