This thing got HUGE

[Saltfishonly]

Glanced at my tank and saw this huge bristle worm how can I remove it now?? Or kill it


Also I have a Aiptasia I’ve been googling ways to get rid of it and nothing is helps
1.tank not big enough for butterfly fish (If it will even eat it

2.not giving $100 on a sea slug I’m sorry I can’t lol

3.cant have a peppermint shrimp cause I doubt my cleaner shrimp will even give it a chance

4.im not using any chemicals that will harm or get my water off balance

Please share a effective way to get this out of not I’m just gonna throw 2 live rocks out

 

[Ben549]

Based on its size, i question whether that's a bristle worm.....but i'm no expert.

 

[Greenreef75]

My wife pulled this out with the grabbers. She thought it was a snake

 

[Saltfishonly]

My wife pulled this out with the grabbers. She thought it was a snake

OMG...and they grow fast! I gotta get it out

 

[Willu]

you could try a DIY trap with something like a water bottle, there are a lot of different tutorials on how to make one on youtube.

 

[jsvand5]

Glanced at my tank and saw this huge bristle worm how can I remove it now?? Or kill it


Also I have a Aiptasia I’ve been googling ways to get rid of it and nothing is helps
1.tank not big enough for butterfly fish (If it will even eat it

2.not giving $100 on a sea slug I’m sorry I can’t lol

3.cant have a peppermint shrimp cause I doubt my cleaner shrimp will even give it a chance

4.im not using any chemicals that will harm or get my water off balance

Please share a effective way to get this out of not I’m just gonna throw 2 live rocks out

It’s totally fine. No reason to worry about it. I’d go with peppermints for your aiptasia. I have them in my tank with a cleaner wrasse and they ignore each other. The peppermints usually come out at night.

 

[jurgenph]

i sometimes grab the "big" ones with a set of long tweezers or tongs... whatever they are called.

i throw them in my qt tank
it's a self sustaining biotope of algae, pods and bristle worms lol.

J.

 

[burningbaal]

I think I heard Melev say that a longnose hawkfish sometimes eats bristleworms and keeps the population under control. But they're good detritus eaters, I wouldn't worry about them. sure, pull the giant ones, but there's a ton more that probably are helping your situation.
I've had a cleaner shrimp and peppermints before (I think in my original 55g) and they were fine, so that's probably fine for the aiptasia, but they seem to leave the giant ones alone. I've had good luck with Stop-Aiptasia from chem-marine, in fact I just blasted an aiptasia I found on a frag plug I brought home today. There's gobs of reefers who've used things from superglue to aiptasia-X (Red Sea) to kill them while in the reef and not had even a slight issue.
You could also try a superpowered laser for the aiptasia

 

[Saltfishonly]

I think I heard Melev say that a longnose hawkfish sometimes eats bristleworms and keeps the population under control. But they're good detritus eaters, I wouldn't worry about them. sure, pull the giant ones, but there's a ton more that probably are helping your situation.
I've had a cleaner shrimp and peppermints before (I think in my original 55g) and they were fine, so that's probably fine for the aiptasia, but they seem to leave the giant ones alone. I've had good luck with Stop-Aiptasia from chem-marine, in fact I just blasted an aiptasia I found on a frag plug I brought home today. There's gobs of reefers who've used things from superglue to aiptasia-X (Red Sea) to kill them while in the reef and not had even a slight issue.
You could also try a superpowered laser for the aiptasia

I don’t really mind them..I knew I had them but did not realize how large they can get,I know it may sound stupid my fear is to see one slide out my tank..I’ll look into it to see how I can just get the big ones out


Also Yes! i saw the stop-Aiptasia wasn’t sure if it was gimmick or not lol maybe I’ll try it thanks for the info

 

[blasterman]

I've seen large bristles like this eat anemones, so they are not harmless.

The smaller brown variety, yes. Those stay small and dont eat $75 livestock.

 

[burningbaal]

I've seen large bristles like this eat anemones, so they are not harmless.

The smaller brown variety, yes. Those stay small and dont eat $75 livestock.

I want to see a video...that sounds amazing (though also sad) to watch!

 

[Cassian]

Not too sure if that is a bristle worm from the pic. I had a weird worm like this a while back that looked like a brisle, but wasn’t. It was hosting in my coral, which freaked me out and I got rid of it

 

[erk]

My wife pulled this out with the grabbers. She thought it was a snake

That isn't what the average reefer considers a bristle worm. That is a bearded fireworm and I've heard that they have a really bad sting. Good thing you removed it.

Hermodice carunculata - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Glanced at my tank and saw this huge bristle worm how can I remove it now?? Or kill it


Also I have a Aiptasia I’ve been googling ways to get rid of it and nothing is helps
1.tank not big enough for butterfly fish (If it will even eat it

2.not giving $100 on a sea slug I’m sorry I can’t lol

3.cant have a peppermint shrimp cause I doubt my cleaner shrimp will even give it a chance

4.im not using any chemicals that will harm or get my water off balance

Please share a effective way to get this out of not I’m just gonna throw 2 live rocks out

OP, you do not have a bearded fireworm. I have bristle worms in my tank that are just as big as what you have, but they typically stay hidden due to predators. I've never seen a typical bristle worm longer than about 6 inches in my tank. Not that they can't get longer, but they won't be very large in diameter either. They are typically pretty fragile and break, but can regrow from the broken sections. Considering you saw the specimen in day light would indicate there are no predators in your tank to keep their numbers regulated. A wrasses do a good job of controlling bristleworms. My H. melanurus keeps the bristleworms in check.

 

[Saltfishonly]

Not too sure if that is a bristle worm from the pic. I had a weird worm like this a while back that looked like a brisle, but wasn’t. It was hosting in my coral, which freaked me out and I got rid of it

How did you get it out !? They are fast

 

[Lasse]

In order to control the population of bristle worms I normally use a banded coral shrimp - Stenopus hispidus. I have never seen them eating bristle worms but most of the bristle worms disappear a couple of weeks after introduction of a Stenopus hispidus. I have also have had peppermints with other shrimps with no problems

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Cassian]

How did you get it out !? They are fast

With much difficulty. If it is super fast, it is not a bristle worm. I had to jam the siphon hose into my coral really quick and I finally caught it after two or three tries

 

[Jay Z]

I caught all mine at night. Usually with grabbers. I use the flash light to drive them to the corner/open then grab them. Then they go in the garbage disposal. I only remove the big ones. Think I did 3 in 4 months. Haven't seen any 2-3 months? Think the live stock took care of the rest.

 

[Mical]

For bristle worms I've used 6 line wrasse they will decimate a bristle worm population. For aiptasia an ORA raised filefish

 

[BabyBoyGreene]

My Randall's gobi eats the bristle worms.

 

[Saltfishonly]

In order to control the population of bristle worms I normally use a banded coral shrimp - Stenopus hispidus. I have never seen them eating bristle worms but most of the bristle worms disappear a couple of weeks after introduction of a Stenopus hispidus. I have also have had peppermints with other shrimps with no problems

Sincerely Lasse

Thanks, yes I did a little more research on the peppermint shrimp I’m going to get one today