bristleworms: hunters or scavengers

[Godzillarex]

Hi guys
I need some imput. I found a huge mass of bristleworms gorging themselves on one of my pregnant peppermint shrimps. Do they hunt? Could they have killed her or are they just scavengers going after the dead body? Any help would be greatly appreciated as the lives of many worms depends on the answers I get.
thanks
David

 

[flyyyguy]

they are scavengers and if I were to throw out a guess your shrimp is still in the tank alive and it was a molt they were eating.

if not, they still didnt kill it

 

[Godzillarex]

See that was my first guess too. But one of them was really bloated and has the tail sticking out of its mouth. I was quite impressed that it could swallow that without spilting itself.

 

[Muddy35]

they are opurtunistic feeders. They will kill something to eat it if given the chance but no way woud they kill a shrimp or anything mobile. That said I just hunted out a 15" carribean bristle worm out of my tank that took out one of my maximas. He is now forever banished to the pod tank.

 

[gothicgirl]

how did you figure out he took out your clam??

 

[Godzillarex]

Ok so if they can go after clams can they go after snails? saw one trying to get into a snail. second i found my coral banded shrimp today with all of his legs pulled off. Could they do that? what would do that?

 

[flyyyguy]

they are opurtunistic feeders. They will kill something to eat it if given the chance but no way woud they kill a shrimp or anything mobile. That said I just hunted out a 15" carribean bristle worm out of my tank that took out one of my maximas. He is now forever banished to the pod tank.

actually they ARENT opportunistic feeders

they are scavengers, and simply are not equipped to be killing anything

Your clam died and they were eating the remains

 

[AJSTITAN14]

Well, H. Carunculata is a dyed in the wool predator as well as Eunice Aphroditos.
So there are polychaetes that are clearly predators.

O the other hand the little orange/brown worms you see are simply detrivores.