Idk what this is

[Reef man 89]

so I just got a bag of cheato from live Aquria and before I put it in the tank I saw this idk what it is and I don't want to add it to my tank if it going to be a problem. Please help

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

bristleworm most likely

 

[andys]

Yep Bristle worm

 

[Mele__Reef]

I second that

 

[Reef man 89]

So what should I do go threw the bag and pull them out? It was just delivered about 45 mins ago

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

that's really a preference, 50% of this forum will scream bloody murder and tell you that the worms will burn your house down and punch your best friend in the face. the other 50% will tell you that they are harmless creatures that live in the rocks and consume detritus. they can be an eye sore, but personally I've never bothered removing them from the tank. You're lucky you've caught it before it goes in so you can make a decision

 

[ahiggins]

that's really a preference, 50% of this forum will scream bloody murder and tell you that the worms will burn your house down and punch your best friend in the face. the other 50% will tell you that they are harmless creatures that live in the rocks and consume detritus. they can be an eye sore, but personally I've never bothered removing them from the tank. You're lucky you've caught it before it goes in so you can make a decision

hahahahahaha Im in the "it will punch your best friend in the face" group. Theyre a really great part of the CUC but I stick my hands in the tank wayyy to often to mess around with being stung.

 

[Reef man 89]

Man this sucks, The bag also has bunch of pods as well. Are these one of the pests that take over you tank and overrun it? This is my very first reef tank started with dry rock and arga live reef sand. I didn't want to go with live rock because of pest problems. Now I am torn on what to do. My plan was to make a HOB reactor into a refugium as seen in the MD video.so let's say I put a 2in sponge on top of the reator to try and keep the worms controled to only stay in the reactor. Would that be possible? Or would they find away threw the sponge and make it in to the display. sorry for all the questions I am a noob in this hobby. Thank you all for all the help

 

[millertyler22]

Eventually they will get into the tank, I don't have a issue with them in my tank

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I've only gotten bristles a couple of times and not from this variety. They don't really hurt as they pretty much dig in the very surface. Scraping yourself on vermetids or feather dusters hurt more. Think of all the times your hands have been super saturated with water and you scraped a chunk out of them on the side of a container.... yeow!

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

so let's say I put a 2in sponge on top of the reator to try and keep the worms controled to only stay in the reactor

dont put it in a reactor. If it was me I would fill a small container with your tank water, put the cheato in it and shake the living crap out of it. pods will fall out as will the worm. from there you can either

A) take out the worm and replace tank water with pods in it

B) put worm in DT and place water back into tank with pods (or refugium if you have one)

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

but you also said your tank is new? how new is new? water could still be detrimental to cheato if it has not cycled yet

 

[Reef man 89]

I started it 4 months ago

 

[Reef man 89]

I did the whole cycling process I have had 2 clowns in there for 2 months now and a CUC my big problem is PO4 I have my NO3 under control never seen it over 5ppm

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

I started it 4 months ago

Should be fine then, if you already invested in a reactor that's fine but if Phos is your problem you are better off running GFO in your reactor rather than Cheato, the cheato will soak up the nitrates a little better than the Phos. you could also try cutting back on your feeding to see if that helps level it out too.

just my two cents on the matter

 

[Roboson]

If you can avoid it (which it seems like you can) you should try and keep bristles out.

A lot of people argue that their beneficial, because they eat detritus. But at that point they're just a nutrient sink. They absorb nutrients, die, and release them back into your tank. They don't really stir the sand or eat any pests. Plus they're an eyesore. So I don't see any point to them (unless you're going to try and remove them later as a form of nutrient export, but that is incredibly hard with these guys).

So my two cents is: keep them out if you can, because you can't get rid of them later. And they don't really contribute much to your tank.