bristle worms good or bad??

[salt newbie01]

Just last night I noticed 2 bristle worms in my tank - one is under a bulls eye mushroom and the other is close to one of my candy cane corals. Are they bad? And if so how do I remove them?
I looked around in diff forums because I thought I had seen a topic similar to this but I couldn't find it. those guys are natsy looking lillte things!!:eek1:

 

[thor32766]

I know they can eat corals. If you can get them out. i know they are good at eating out of the substrate, but i have a few friends they have been told they will eat corals.

 

[Chad-Man]

The common bristleworms are harmless to corals and fish, I have had bristleworms in my tank for years with no problems, in fact they have been shown to be some of the most efficient cleaners. Only Hermodice carunculata has been shown to eat corals and these are big worms, foot long and the width of a finger.

 

[Javeo]

They are cool, I have a 5-6 inch one living in my sun coral tank, great scavanger and doesnt touch the corals.

 

[sompa]

they are good not bad

 

[boomsticks]

Yeah I would definatly agree with them being good. I have about six the largest being about 5 inches I actually bought them for their scavaging ability and they haven't bothered to touch my corals although I do belive they are responsible for a couple of my snails demise....oh well....

 

[salt newbie01]

Thanks for the info everyone. I'll let them be, anything to help consume waste detritus must not be too bad!!

 

[Mighty Quinn]

Re: bristle worms good or bad??

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6754367#post6754367 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by salt newbie01
Just last night I noticed 2 bristle worms in my tank - one is under a bulls eye mushroom and the other is close to one of my candy cane corals. Are they bad? And if so how do I remove them?
I looked around in diff forums because I thought I had seen a topic similar to this but I couldn't find it. those guys are natsy looking lillte things!!:eek1:

They tend to get a bad reputation because people find them eating on dead things in their tanks: corals, snails, fish, etc... Often times people jump to the conclusion that the bristleworms killed the creature they are feasting on, when in reality the animal died of other causes and the worm is just cleaning up.

Q

 

[DJ88©]

[moved]

 

[XeniaMania]

I try to toss whatever ones I can get into the refugium. Worms in the refugium, crabs in the sump..

 

[rustybucket145]

They have attained their nasty reputation by being caught at the scene of a crime long after it has been commited. Often people find them muching on a dead fish at the bottom of the tank. So they blame the worm. When in fact the worm had nothing to do with the fishes demise but were just taking advantage of a free meal and cleaning your tank. IMO they are GREAT sand sifters and will happily eat anything that falls to the bottom of the tank or gets lodged under a rock. They can go places that almost no other detrivore can fit. However; I have seen tanks where they were very overpopulated, often due to years of overfeeding and lack of tank maintenace. But in the same aspect they were probably the only thing keeping the tank from crashing. So keep 'em but keep an eye on 'em.