Hi guys so I’m trying to start my tank to cycle but I came across what looks like a bristle worm or Bobbit..took one out and a piece of another the day after ..but I also seemed to spot another tiny one in the sand..what advice do you guys recommend to get these things out..will it interfere with cycling my tank??
Tank issues
- Thread starter Obeyaj
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It means you are already cycled
(Worms can’t hitchhike on dry rocks, and caribsea sand doesn’t import them-wet rocks that bring in animals are cycled)
post a pic of the rock you used to start with
you wouldn’t dose ammonia here like a common cycle, it burns animals you paid for by using live rock
(Worms can’t hitchhike on dry rocks, and caribsea sand doesn’t import them-wet rocks that bring in animals are cycled)
post a pic of the rock you used to start with
you wouldn’t dose ammonia here like a common cycle, it burns animals you paid for by using live rock
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WELCOME TO R2R!!!
A couple of questions:
1. How old is the system?
2. What are your test parameters?
Bristle worms are good CUC, look and behave differently than Bobbits. It is possible that your tank is already cycled, but I would not add anything until you can check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. It is also possible that you just added a new rock and the worms came out of it. Without additional information it is hard to answer your question and easy to speculate.
A couple of questions:
1. How old is the system?
2. What are your test parameters?
Bristle worms are good CUC, look and behave differently than Bobbits. It is possible that your tank is already cycled, but I would not add anything until you can check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. It is also possible that you just added a new rock and the worms came out of it. Without additional information it is hard to answer your question and easy to speculate.
see the problem is that I already had fish before in Tank which I was informed by the person who set up my tank that it was fine to add..after 2-3 weeks they all of a sudden died ..I did a big 25gal water change , mine being a 55gal...so after that is when I started to notice all the worms ..I assume it’s because the lights been off since I don’t have fish in there ..I started off with a big one which was hiding in rock..I then was able to yank a piece off of it ..it hid in rock after so I left tank alone till the morning where I found the other large remaining body on the sand (not rock) took it out ..n the following days kept finding pieces of what looked to b the worm...nitrate and nitrate levels as of now are all very low almost 0..ammonia level is at its highest 8.0...so I really don’t know what’s going on???
see the problem is that I already had fish before in Tank which I was informed by the person who set up my tank that it was fine to add..after 2-3 weeks they all of a sudden died ..I did a big 25gal water change , mine being a 55gal...so after that is when I started to notice all the worms ..I assume it’s because the lights been off since I don’t have fish in there ..I started off with a big one which was hiding in rock..I then was able to yank a piece off of it ..it hid in rock after so I left tank alone till the morning where I found the other large remaining body on the sand (not rock) took it out ..n the following days kept finding pieces of what looked to b the worm...nitrate and nitrate levels as of now are all very low almost 0..ammonia level is at its highest 8.0...so I really don’t know what’s going on???
The system was cycled or no fish will live overnite, worms were left behind proof with no speculation above. The reason they died after a couple weeks was due to common fish diseases that wipe out tanks which skipped fallow/ quarantine science. Read the first few pages here
www.reef2reef.com
Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis
A forum for discussing treatment and diagnosing saltwater reef fish.
www.reef2reef.com
Most important thing to do is get the ammonia down from 8.0ppm as that will kill the fish as it's still far to high. Best thing to do is another 25g water change and check it again. Dont really want ammonia above 0.5ppm.
There are several possibilities for what happened. As @brandon429 suggested, disease a likely option. On the other hand, it is hard to tell if the amount of bacteria and substrate were adequate for your fish load. So, although you might have had a completed cycle, ammonia may have crept up over time. We all are trying to give the best answers with limited information.
At this time, the most important thing to do is to reduce your ammonia levels with water changes. As the bacteria uses the remaining ammonia in your system, you are going to see an increase in both nitrite and nitrate. A picture of your system (as it was suggested before in this thread) can help to obtain advice regarding substrate needs.
Finally, if you have not done it already, I recommend watching BRS videos. In particular the 52 weeks of reefing series (). Keep learning and come back to ask questions. Everyone is here to help.
after 2-3 weeks they all of a sudden died
Fish will not live past 48 hours in an uncycled tank. Bacteria don’t factor here regarding lack of cycle, but a dead fish sure can cause a spike / killing others. Lack of surface area or active bacteria cannot have delayed consequence, and ammonia will never creep up. When a dry system becomes cycled, it transitions fully, very quickly, and can’t be partially cycled during that interval...meaning there is no time that .5 or .25 ammonia/creeping ever sticks in place. ammonia moves to the thousandths ppm and stays there per seneye.
We couldn’t be further opposite on etiology here lol but without fallow, next round of fish will last about that long/ a pattern will occur
Fish will not live past 48 hours in an uncycled tank. Bacteria don’t factor here regarding lack of cycle, but a dead fish sure can cause a spike / killing others. Lack of surface area or active bacteria cannot have delayed consequence, and ammonia will never creep up. When a dry system becomes cycled, it transitions fully, very quickly, and can’t be partially cycled during that interval...meaning there is no time that .5 or .25 ammonia/creeping ever sticks in place. ammonia moves to the thousandths ppm and stays there per seneye.
We couldn’t be further opposite on etiology here lol but without fallow, next round of fish will last about that long/ a pattern will occur
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Post pics of the pigmented / with benthic growths live rock=worm vector...Obeyaj’s tank lets see pics. it will help to eliminate causes leaving you with most likely candidates
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yes I understand that ..I thought I was doing everything right..someone also told me it could have been the Nutri Sea water I added as a partial 5 gal water change that day ..I had it delivered thru amazon so I’m not sure if there was special instructions to handle water etc..I poured it in n the fish seemed fine till later that night 1am...I just don’t understand I’m getting all this stuff from left field smh..here are some photos of the rock where I found the first worm and after I killed ..Also some photos of tank as well
nice mix of rocks there
you know what I think would be a commonly accepted action for you here
change about half the water, to export any wastes irritants or additives. Add a measured dose of cycling bac since you are getting crazy readings, could be more dead items wedged in there
Wait a few days, retest for ammonia. It’s a way to start fresh regarding the system, it verifies you are ok to restart, and the link shown prior above you can read shows how the fish will die without disease prep. Most would agree your tank needs a refreshing water change and begin again using the fallow quarantine method.
you know what I think would be a commonly accepted action for you here
change about half the water, to export any wastes irritants or additives. Add a measured dose of cycling bac since you are getting crazy readings, could be more dead items wedged in there
Wait a few days, retest for ammonia. It’s a way to start fresh regarding the system, it verifies you are ok to restart, and the link shown prior above you can read shows how the fish will die without disease prep. Most would agree your tank needs a refreshing water change and begin again using the fallow quarantine method.
Sump Crab
Valuable Member
I am sorry but I just have to point out that just cause someone has a bristle worm in their tank doesnt mean the tank has cycled yet. That worm could have come in off a piece of rock they bought when setting it up that day. Furthermore to claim that a fish wont live in a tank over night that has not cycled is just wrong.
OP I would be careful following advice from someone who makes such blatantly incorrect claims. Get your ammonia down and SLOWLY add fish and test water before any new purchase.
OP I would be careful following advice from someone who makes such blatantly incorrect claims. Get your ammonia down and SLOWLY add fish and test water before any new purchase.
we run massive cycling threads using visual benthic ID. proof is there.
He has live rock I can see it, and it brought the worms. It’s mixed with live and nonlive, weeks now, which transfers all bacteria just fine, the bottle bac is redundant
show me an api test not reading 8 / fish don’t live in uncycled tanks, and worms don’t show up in them. Dosers like prime cause false readings, water is clear, not cloudy like an ammonia wreck.
the water change recommend is to handle irritants if more worms have been lost. not the first testless cycle on file...# weeks with fish is the proof. The live portion above has the predicted pigments indicating regular live rock, hitchhikers too, the calls made seem fair.
He has live rock I can see it, and it brought the worms. It’s mixed with live and nonlive, weeks now, which transfers all bacteria just fine, the bottle bac is redundant
show me an api test not reading 8 / fish don’t live in uncycled tanks, and worms don’t show up in them. Dosers like prime cause false readings, water is clear, not cloudy like an ammonia wreck.
the water change recommend is to handle irritants if more worms have been lost. not the first testless cycle on file...# weeks with fish is the proof. The live portion above has the predicted pigments indicating regular live rock, hitchhikers too, the calls made seem fair.
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so do you think the Nutri seawater had anything to do with all the fish dying?? I was told it can’t get cold and that’s obviously what happen when they delivered..me not being informed about the temp keep on water poured it in and got devastating result (fish died).
I truly didn’t know it said not to get the water cold, it would seem overheating it would be worse, gets cold in the ocean. Not sure on that but the above steps start you over in a balanced way/ try again
Sump Crab
Valuable Member
Honestly I am having trouble following your statements. A little scattered and tough to comprehend. Again, though, worms do appear in tanks that are uncycled. They come in on the rocks (do not magically appear once a tank has cycled). I do not know how long you have been in the hobby but back in the day we used to use live damselfish to cycle our tanks, they lived.
I dont know what a benthic ID is but I guess it works for you. I am just cautioning the OP that not everyone on here knows what they are talking about. Good evidence that someone is full of it is when they make blatant, erroneous statements such as ones I have seen in this thread.
Again OP add fish SLOWLY, test before and after new introductions and do not overload the tank with fish based upon its size. Feed lightly and enjoy your tank. There is no big secret to keeping ammonia levels at 0. Simply follow sound husbandry guidelines and you will be fine. Good luck.
PS I wouldnt buy water online. Just mix salt with water (RODI) at home or buy SW from the LFS.
