Friend or Foe????

[Engloid]

It's a friend, to the extent that it is part of a cleanup crew...but if you get too many, some people don't like the sight of them. If you get too many and want them gone, I hear a six line wrasse will eat them. I believe my red coris wrasse must be eating mine, cause I have a 220g display with over 350lbs of rock and I have seen one in a few months.

As for stinging, it's a very minor sting. In fact, you probably won't even feel it. however, I recently cleaned out my refugium, and in the process, had so sift through it in areas I couldn't see....and must have gotten stung many times. For about 4 days, my hand was just barely swollen, and tingled. I'm thinking I got many stings and they all added up to do this to me. It went away, and wasn't ever painful...just annoying. :embarassed:

 

[WDLV]

They are detritovores but they can pack a very uncomfortable sting that (for me) falls somewhere between a cluster of mosquito bites and a sweat-bee sting. I have also had an instance where they were stinging my thiellei clowns. It took a while to determine that it was them and not aptasia or some funky fungal infection.

 

[dmatt88]

Yep. Beneficial bristleworm. Invaluable member of ur cuc. Fish never die where u see them n bristleworms keep u from tearing apart ur rock work. Their population is a direct correlation to ur feeding.

....... I'm Matt n i have a reef obsession.

 

[GR808]

Thanks all.
So far I've only seen them in my fuge all caught up in my cheato and I haven't seen them in my DT. hope it stays that way..

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

Thanks all.
So far I've only seen them in my fuge all caught up in my cheato and I haven't seen them in my DT. hope it stays that way..

Trust me they are there but most of the time you want see them unless you go looking after lights out.

 

[GR808]

gotcha.. cool

 

[secretreefer]

nice to see you posting again brutha!