Fireworm situation killing my tank

[zoomonster]

Temp needs to go up.

Worms are not the issue.

Good catch didn't even notice that post. Temp is way too low. 78F is the happy number but mine varies from 77 to 82. Depending on what you have 1.024 salinity is a tad low except for fish only tanks. Years ago I ran 1.024 but now always 1.026 sg/ 35ppt.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

That is not a bristle worm, I was stung by one and it caused immediate fire going up my arm and made my blood pressure so high it landed me in the hospital. I now have to take BP meds because it damaged the part in your brain that controls blood pressure. This worm is neuro and cardio toxic. No joke, horrible experience and I can assure you this IS a fire worm.

An important thing to note is that different people react differently to stings of any kind. At my LFS there is an employee who's arms start burning just with a BTA sting, But I am not irritated at all even by my LTA. And I also have a pretty bad reaction to bristleworm stings. Not quite like yours, but still pretty painful!

 

[Mr_Knightley]

An important thing to note is that different people react differently to stings of any kind. At my LFS there is an employee who's arms start burning just with a BTA sting, But I am not irritated at all even by my LTA. And I also have a pretty bad reaction to bristleworm stings. Not quite like yours, but still pretty painful!

There are also many people who are just irritated a bit by bee stings, while many other people can be at risk of heart attack by them. Just goes to show, different people have COMPLETELY different reactions to stings. Have you had bad reactions to any other stings? if so, than this might be related to that.
Also, I'm so sorry that this is happening to you! I have never heard of fireworms eating anemones though.

My recommendation would be any type of Psuedocheilinus wrasse or pygmy basslet(like the chalk bass) they seem to enjoy eating them.
Good luck my friend!

 

[DMG Reef]

Arrow crabs eat worms for dessert, not the other way around. My bristleworms tend to hide under the corals and anemones. It's where they live, not an attack.

If you dislike your worms, definitely get them out. But you should find the real reason things are dying. Temp is definitely too low. Anemones also need a good quality light.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Oldsalt]

72° is too cold. Aim for 78°

 

[Admann]

Arrow crabs eat worms for dessert, not the other way around. My bristleworms tend to hide under the corals and anemones. It's where they live, not an attack.

If you dislike your worms, definitely get them out. But you should find the real reason things are dying. Temp is definitely too low. Anemones also need a good quality light.

I had so many bristleworms it was spooky looking in their at night. Bought a yellow banded coral shrimp, two months later, see a few worms. I think it left those for seed.

 

[Charlotte44]

I have the little red ones myself and yeah 2" is about the limit in size. I've only ever brushed against one and it hasn't been too bad. Never seen any of them harm anything though and generally can be found under rocks or overflow eating detritus. If my veggie clip is too low they will get in the nori, at night, and the tangs won't touch it. My preference would be in getting a coral banded shrimp who live for fire/bristle worms. Back in the early 90's I got a few boxes of Hawaiian rock (still have it and bristle worms. There were some that came out at night in excess of 12". On more than one occasion I got to watch clash of the titans with a CB shrimp battling a worm many times his size. The shrimp always won. Those worms actually blasted out something that looked like clouds of black dye while they were standing up vertical.

Whoa, thats wild! I will invest in the coral banded shrimp as well, its been a while since I've seen clash of the titans

I was changing the filter and didn't see that one of them was caught in it. The worm was on the edge of the cartridge and I literally stepped on it with my finger ;Wideyed

Many thanks for the advice.

 

[Charlotte44]

72° is too cold. Aim for 78°

My clowns never did like it that warm. I will need to gradually increase it. Thanks!

 

[Charlotte44]

There are also many people who are just irritated a bit by bee stings, while many other people can be at risk of heart attack by them. Just goes to show, different people have COMPLETELY different reactions to stings. Have you had bad reactions to any other stings? if so, than this might be related to that.
Also, I'm so sorry that this is happening to you! I have never heard of fireworms eating anemones though.

My recommendation would be any type of Psuedocheilinus wrasse or pygmy basslet(like the chalk bass) they seem to enjoy eating them.
Good luck my friend!

Thank you for the recommendation. I have not had any other stings that I reacted to except for a jellyfish sting. I was in the ocean at the shore and it had wrapped around my leg. Yeah, I'm lucky like that. But my reaction was normal for a jelly sting. Fireworms are predators and have been known to go after soft and hard corals and anemones.

 

[Charlotte44]

Can't they crawl back out?

 

[Dancingmad]

An important thing to note is that different people react differently to stings of any kind.

I claim relative immunity to bristle worms - I'm not going to go out of my way to pick them up but the way I mess with macro algaes they're unavoidable. They're like an itch to me - i just try not to touch any sensitive areas without washing my hands first.

For fun, meet gigantor from one of my old macro tanks (totally a repost, picture below). Est 8-12" long. Could compress quite a bit too. Polychaetes are awesome.

Can't they crawl back out?

Nah, they don't care about escaping as long as there's food. Some might be successful fleeing if the lights are on for a while before you pull/check the trap.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Can't they crawl back out?

To try to, they rarely go for the center. But rather they follow the outer wall. They’re just that dumb. Obviously, you want to keep an eye on the trap and discard them as they end up in it.

 

[EuphylliaAddict]

Temp needs to go up.

Worms are not the issue.

Yeah that's really cold, I'm surprised they're alive

 

[laverda]

I have to agree with the others here tha say the brissle worms are not the issue. They are just cleaning up your dying crabs, fish and anemones. There is an issue with your water I am betting. Check your water parameters, especially ALK, ammonia, nitrite and chloramine levels. 72 is too cold as well you want to be 75 minimum and steady.
The fact you are very sensitive to their bristles is just the fact that we are all different. Bristle worms do not hurt me when I touch them like most people, but my fingers get very swollen. Different people react differently to different things. I knew someone that could not but his hands in a tank with BTAs because his arms would swell and brake out in a rash. I have approximately 25 anemones and they do not bother me at all even when I handle them. I also react very different to medications than most people.
Good luck.

 

[Charlotte44]

Arrow crabs eat worms for dessert, not the other way around. My bristleworms tend to hide under the corals and anemones. It's where they live, not an attack.

If you dislike your worms, definitely get them out. But you should find the real reason things are dying. Temp is definitely too low. Anemones also need a good quality light.

For lighting I have a Fluval smart, I had to start it at 45% because the clown freaked out at the new bright light. The temp was where the clowns liked it, I have been slowly increasing it. I have seen these Fire worms attack, their behavior is very aggressive. It has nothing to do with disliking bristle worms, I realize every little guy has a part to play. I am just trying to protect my anemones and clown.

 

[Charlotte44]

I claim relative immunity to bristle worms - I'm not going to go out of my way to pick them up but the way I mess with macro algaes they're unavoidable. They're like an itch to me - i just try not to touch any sensitive areas without washing my hands first.

For fun, meet gigantor from one of my old macro tanks (totally a repost, picture below). Est 8-12" long. Could compress quite a bit too. Polychaetes are awesome.



Nah, they don't care about escaping as long as there's food. Some might be successful fleeing if the lights are on for a while before you pull/check the trap.

Wow, that is nuts! Gigantor earned his name, lol. Thanks for the share! You are lucky to be immune.

 

[Charlotte44]

I have to agree with the others here tha say the brissle worms are not the issue. They are just cleaning up your dying crabs, fish and anemones. There is an issue with your water I am betting. Check your water parameters, especially ALK, ammonia, nitrite and chloramine levels. 72 is too cold as well you want to be 75 minimum and steady.
The fact you are very sensitive to their bristles is just the fact that we are all different. Bristle worms do not hurt me when I touch them like most people, but my fingers get very swollen. Different people react differently to different things. I knew someone that could not but his hands in a tank with BTAs because his arms would swell and brake out in a rash. I have approximately 25 anemones and they do not bother me at all even when I handle them. I also react very different to medications than most people.
Good luck.

My fish are not dying, I have had my clown for over 10 years and she is doing great. The Anemones have grown a lot since I have had them. I take pictures once a week to keep track of how they are progressing. The water is checked every 2 weeks with my local Fish store since they have a better testing kit. I have had only some slight PH issues. I will post my water levels soon.

I understand the different reactions and thanks for sharing. I know a neuro toxic reaction when I see one, very different from a mere sensitivity. I have an extensive background in emergency medicine <recently retired> That is cool that you have so many anemones and that you can handle them. Thanks for sharing!

 

[minus9]

I apologize if I came across as dismissive, that wasn't my intent. As mentioned earlier, people react to stings and bites differently and sometimes, in your case, react in a severe way. I'm glad you're okay. I was merely pointing out that you have bristle worms and not fireworms. To add to the confusion, both are polychaete worms and are virtually the same, other than the fact that some fireworms (not all) have hollow bristles that contain toxins.
Temp and salinity can have a huge impact on the inhabitants of your tank. As mentioned above, 72 is too cold, unless you're keeping a specific species tank? Keeping inverts in salinity lower than 1.024 can be problematic long term. People have kept their tanks in lower salinity, but I'm not sure why anyone would do this? The point of a reef tank is to keep a part of the ocean in our homes, so why divert from the natural parameters of the ocean/reef? If you're keeping inverts (anemones, corals, shrimps, etc..) I wouldn't keep the salinity lower than 1.025 and temps lower than 77, other than short daily drops. I would also calibrate your refractometer to be sure.

 

[MY TOUCH OF THE OCEAN]

oh My temp is 72, the salinity is 1.024. Originally the salinity was 1.019 when just the clowns were in the tank. So that was another change.

Hold steady with 1.024. The temp should be no lower than 75 no higher than 82 i sugest picking a spot in the middle and staying consistant. If you raised the salinity from 1.019 -.024 rapidly that would cause another mess of issues.