bristle worm abundence

[johndeerejosh]

i just got a tank for christmas and its set up and going and it has 100's of bristle worms.. how do i get rid of some of them there is way to many. i tried to cutting the top of the soda bottle of and putting it inside out. no luck just caught a snail. any ideas???

 

[theyammieguy]

Why do you think its way to many? I have 100's in a 12g mixed reef and they don't harm anything.

Arrow crabs will eat them.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I wouldn't worry about them,they make a good clean up crew.

 

[keegoaz]

best thing i ever had was a coral banded shrimp it would eat them like candy

 

[coralreef321]

i have never had a problem with them. i have heard of them eating coral and being bad for tanks but i havent seen anything like that first hand.

 

[keegoaz]

only reason i ever wanted to get rid of em was because the clogged my overflow at night haha. the things would get lose from the rock and get sucked into the current. after having the banded coral shrimp for a week or two the problem was fixed.

 

[johndeerejosh]

first of all i didnt ask if i should keep them i asked if anyone knew how to get rid of them. someone told me to cuta soda bottle and stuff the top in side the bottle didnt work only caught a snail. i dont want them all i want to get rid of some... my father has a 200 gallon and has no where near as many as i do.

 

[theyammieguy]

No reason to be a pr*ck.

 

[esshoes]

^^ what yammie said. Someone's trying to help and you say that? Great attitude? I'm sure the guy who took time to bother to try and help apologizes for wasting you're time. I don't though.

 

[theyammieguy]

It's funny cause three of the replies, including my first one recommend a way to get rid of them.

 

[earthboy17]

They're right dude, no need to be snarky. RC is a great place for information, and you got a bunch of it pretty quickly. Be thankful, be polite, or don't say anything at all.

But in his defense, guys, I'm pretty sure Josh (johndeerejosh) is a kid. Let's teach him how to be part of a community, rather than kick the proverbial crud out of him.


Josh, I don't like bristleworms, mostly because they look like soemthing from a nightmare. To get rid of them I got an arrow crab. It was the coolest thing ever. He'd grab them in his claws and just start munching away. Most nights I'd come out with a flashlight and see him with one worm in each claw.
So there are traps, which you made, or ones you can buy, but my vote is for an arrow crab. Good luck.

 

[Majority_Rules]

Use a small container, like a prescription pill bottle, drill/poke a hole in one end of it (1/4" or so) and put a frozen Formula One pellet inside it. Leave it in the tank for a few hours at night, put it in the sand-bed away from the rock. You may have to put something else in the bottle to weight it, I used a socket. The longer and more narrow the container, the better. Put the food at the opposite end of the hole.

 

[kyrin01]

also a childs pantyhose works well. put your "bait" in the toe and put it in the tank. the bristles will get stuck in the fibers and you just pull it and all the worms out. toss em in the trash.

 

[smogl00]

I'm pretty sure Josh (johndeerejosh) is a kid.

Says in his profile he's 23. Old enough to not act like an a$$ in my opinion. There's alot of very helpful people and information on this site. Your attitude will only make it so people don't want to help you in the future. Keep that in mind.....

As far as the original question goes.... both arrow crab, and coral banded shrimp worked well for me.

 

[johndeerejosh]

ok. iwasnt intending for any one to cry about giving an attitude i appreciate the info. i wasnt trying to come off like you took my post. all i was saying was i want to get rid of some of them. i shouldnt have to explain my self as to why i want to get rid of them. thanks for the ideas.

 

[theyammieguy]

Majority of the time people come here with the assumption that bristle worms are bad. That is the reason we asked why you wanted to get rid of them.

 

[armani4o3]

they will eat zoas if they are almost dead other than that no harm with them in the tank

 

[johndeerejosh]

i no they arent bad they are disgusting looking and dont want them.. plan on keeping some.

 

[skeeter_ca]

I would love to take some off yours hands. I would be glad to pay for shipping if you could catch say 50-100. No reason to just throw them in the trash. PM me.

skeeter

 

[D3monic_Urges]

I friend of mine told me he uses one of those large flat sponges. Places a piece of shirmp in the middle and rolls the sponge up around it and uses a zip tie to hold it together. Leaves it in the tank until the morning and pull it out with 100's of bristleworms.