Some bristle worm related questions

[Sink_or_Swim]

Im in the same boat and do not welcome them in my tanks despite benefits they offer.
A simple solution is addition of arrow crab (pic below) which will find them and eat them like candy

Have you found the arrow crab to be aggressive towards smaller fish at all? And do they eat fireworms?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Have you found the arrow crab to be aggressive towards smaller fish at all? And do they eat fireworms?

No. i actually used to sell them at my LFS and they were good back then and 10 months ago i had another which was great until I added a flame hawk who ate him and 3 of my shrimp

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

No. i actually used to sell them at my LFS and they were good back then and 10 months ago i had another which was great until I added a flame hawk who ate him and 3 of my shrimp

Awe that's a bummer - expensive snacks! I had a gigantic fireworm (RIP "Wormy"), but have started noticing some smaller ones that are getting bigger and bigger. Before they get huge I was thinking of getting an arrow crab to keep them in check. I just evicted all crabs from my tank a while ago though so hesitant to try another... My LFS had gotten some "frilly" arrow crabs in before, not very big but I know they'll grow. I may see when they'll get them next. Though I don't want my wrasse to try eating them. So far he just murders turbo snails though, lol. I've read coral banded shrimp also will go after bristleworms and fireworms, though they may have a tendency to get more aggressive than an arrow crab?

Oh btw, I took your advice on making a worm trap a while back - the huge fireworm wouldn't go near it so I had to catch him with tongs. But I have caught 2 of the small fireworms in a trap.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Awe that's a bummer - expensive snacks! I had a gigantic fireworm (RIP "Wormy"), but have started noticing some smaller ones that are getting bigger and bigger. Before they get huge I was thinking of getting an arrow crab to keep them in check. I just evicted all crabs from my tank a while ago though so hesitant to try another... My LFS had gotten some "frilly" arrow crabs in before, not very big but I know they'll grow. I may see when they'll get them next. Though I don't want my wrasse to try eating them. So far he just murders turbo snails though, lol. I've read coral banded shrimp also will go after bristleworms and fireworms, though they may have a tendency to get more aggressive than an arrow crab?

Oh btw, I took your advice on making a worm trap a while back - the huge fireworm wouldn't go near it so I had to catch him with tongs. But I have caught 2 of the small fireworms in a trap.

Did you bait it with food ?

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Did you bait it with food ?

Yep, some Rod's and a few pellets. After seeing the huge worm out and about one night though, it was clear he wasn't going to fit through the straws to even enter that trap, lol.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

So you have a couple of options here. Eventually, somehow some way you will reintroduce bristleworms back into your DT. Either by a coral or rock, or nem. They attach eggs to everything and are nearly impossible to see. I have a bicolor hogfish that loves to eat them and has put a significant dent in the population in my tank. Another very good option is an arrow crab, these are worm destroyers. Once they are inside and they will quickly colonize your rock work, the only option is to submerge the rock in hypo, or hyper salinity water. This would obviously kill any coral or nem you have on the rock if it is not removed.

Removing an attached anemone is not an easy feat. I understand your fear and dislike of the worms, but you are highly likely to damage the foot of the nem which is almost always a death sentence for it.

What salinity level do you use to kill them and will it kill bacteria also? How long do you leave the rock in it?

 

[Jekyl]

What salinity level do you use to kill them and will it kill bacteria also? How long do you leave the rock in it?

Going to end up causing far more harm than good in this endeavor

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Going to end up causing far more harm than good in this endeavor

I will just continue to catch them when I see them at night.

 

[DHill6]

I’ve used 3% peroxide on rocks. I used a syringe, you can also get it inside the rock, they evacuate.

 

[Jekyl]

Best way to combat bristleworms is to keep a clean tank. Population and size reflect food available. Great free CuC imo.

 

[Bennett_Reefing]

I googled and wow... I started my nano and have 2 clowns in QT... I will need to do more research to prevent these things. Do coral dips and ~72 day QT not remove them?

I had a 15 gallon and long story short when I was slowly adding fish from my 15 gallon to my new 75 Gallon I never slowed down my feeding and the worms took over. I also transferred m peppermint and cleaner shrimp out of my 15 gallon first and those shrimp eat them a lot. Basically they took over. Also I was transferring toy 75 Gallon as I was upgrading and getting rid of the 15 so I never really treated!

 

[DarthChaos]

....the REAL best way to combat bristleworms - is with a hunter/killer.

Get a Mitra Snail. Not a single bristleworm....in my heavily fed seahorse tank.

Every nuisance in a reef tank - has a natural solution

 

[Seansea]

Lunar wrasses decimate them. Even huge ones. Mine would saw big ones in half and go back and get the other half. Im talkin like 5" suckers. Downside is they flip over everything in your tank will eliminate all the other clean up crew and probably wont be able to add any more fish. But bristleworms be gone.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Lunar wrasses decimate them. Even huge ones. Mine would saw big ones in half and go back and get the other half. Im talkin like 5" suckers. Downside is they flip over everything in your tank will eliminate all the other clean up crew and probably wont be able to add any more fish. But bristleworms be gone.

Best bet - Arrow crab - eats them like candy

 

[srobertb]

To eliminate bristle worms completely from a living system is quite difficult, but they can be controlled to the point of very rarely being visible.

IMO/IME, I've used various methods to effectively control their numbers:

1. Not overfeeding the aquarium (removal of any uneaten food after feeding)
2. Competitors (detritus eaters like 'spaghetti worms', for example)
3. Organisms that eat bristle worms. For example certain species of Dottybacks such as Springeri and crabs like Arrow Crabs, Galathea Crabs)

All this. The point is to keep their numbers down. Plus…under reasonable circumstances, they aren’t out during the day. If they’re bold to do so, get a wrasse.

Arrow crabs 100% will feed on them. That’s just another level of creepy seeing a giant spider crawl across your rock work at night as it hunts like something from war of the worlds.

Of all the inhabitants that I’ve had that were considered “problem children,” none more so than the arrow crab that would try and sleeping fish…and zoas. Love zoas.

 

[Nano sapiens]

Of all the inhabitants that I’ve had that were considered “problem children,” none more so than the arrow crab that would try and sleeping fish…and zoas. Love zoas.

Correct, certainly can depending on the system, but they are also great Bristle worm eaters.

As always, one should do their homework to verify that a particular animal is suitable for their own system.

 

[Seansea]

Ya i wouldnt really add a lunar wrasse truth be told unless your loathing for these creatures is off the charts. But not much eats the really big ones but lunars def will. I would watch him flip over a rock and was amazed at how much critters were underneath. Brittle stars, starfish, lots of bristleworms and he always went for the biggest snack that was under there.