bristle worms

[mslade1979]

hi guys im in need of some help, i seem to have a small outbreak of bristle worms, not to sure if they r a good thing or bad, any advice???? my tank is 180l and been set up for 3-4 mounths, im pretty sure they've seen my blood shrimps off could this be the case??? other tank mates are 3 blue green chromis, a dozen red and blue hermits, sand sifter!!!!!

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Without a pic its hard to tell as there are many types of worms. Most bristles are good though. They often get blamed for kills because they are seen eating something dead, but in reality they are detrivores, and the organism was dead already. They are just now cleanig up the mess.

 

[mslade1979]

havnt got any pics at the mo but working on it lol!!! the worms r of various lenghts from 1/2 inch to 3-4 inchs and a pinky grey colour if that helps!!

 

[dc]

Well people buy them, so I say they are a good thing. Generally if they are multiplying out of control you are overfeeding. They clean up the dead and dying, so possibly they were cleaning up after your dead shrimp, or just ate the molts. I had a blood shrimp I rarely ever saw.

I'd worry more about the hermits myself.

 

[mslade1979]

sounds to me like there a gd thing then!!! uve got me worried about the hermits now lol!! what problems can i look forward to from them????

 

[rustybucket145]

They are defiantely a sign of overfeeding and excess nutrients but they are good for the tank. If you remove them there will be nothing to clean up the overfeeding mess. It would be a good idea to get some pics of them for proper id b/c there are a couple of species which are not reef safe but there are thousands which are. So chances are that you have a safe species but it never hurts to know for sure.

 

[mslade1979]

makes sense, il try and get some pics up asap just so i can be sure!!

 

[dc]

Some bristleworms.

 

[DrBegalke]

they are good, but it definately means you are overfeeding. their population is expanding because there is a lot of left over food for them to eat.

 

[JeffersonReef]

yeah... you are over feeding. They are detrivores, which means that they eat all of the waste in your tank (uneaten food, fish waste (detritous) etc). I personally prefer NOT to have too many in my display as they can be problematic and can sting the crap out of you if your not paying attention... so if you can catch em and place em in ur fuge if you have one, that would be great. BTW... they can get pretty big....

-TJ

 

[Shagsbeard]

I've got some that are well over four inches long... they're starting to really creap me out. I've heard that there are wrasse that will prey on them, but don't know much about which type or if they can be kept.

 

[mslade1979]

lds of help from u guys once again!! thanks!! the bristle worms in the pic look very much like the ones i have!!! ive been told that a boxing shrimp would take care of them, is this right??? not to sure if i should get rid of them from what u guys r saying they r serving a purpose in the tank its purely just that they creep me out that i dnt really want them lol!! its the bigger of 2 evils so to say lol!!! keep???? or get rid?????

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Get a royal gramma. pretty fish, cheap, and small. And they eat bristles with a vengance!