Bristleworms irritating zoa's?

[Paliya]

Hey all,

I just got my first zoa rocks (3 in total). One of them that's a really cool green color has 3 big pink bristleworms that live on the rock. About half of the colony is closed, and I think I saw one bristle worm sticking its head in one of the polyps!

I thought bristle worms were harmless, whats the deal?

Thanks
-P

 

[Peter Eichler]

They are harmless. They can however cause things to close up much like a hermit crab would by crawling on the polyps. If it was in fact eating one of the polyps it's most likely because it is dead or nearly dead. There are some types that may eat zoanthids, but the common pink/orange ones we normally see are just scavengers.

 

[Reef Junkie]

I second that.
Bristle worms are very beneficial for your reef tank and should not be treated as pests. Like Peter said, if it's eating your zoas, then it's most likely dead already.

 

[n2prelude03]

i saw some on my zoas too , but it doesnt seem to do anything bad.

 

[essexboy73]

I always find my hermets sleeping in my zoos or on the branches of my tourch coral...

 

[Reef Junkie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8041315#post8041315 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by essexboy73
I always find my hermets sleeping in my zoos or on the branches of my tourch coral...

LOL! It's like they're vagrants!:bum:
I wonder if they're from Seattle.:lol:

 

[Creetin]

I would have to dissagree with them being all that good. Sure when they are small they can eat stuff you dont want and will eat dieing matter, But what happens when they get huge?
I'll tell ya they start eating healthy animals like this guy.
Caught him eating huge snails i had. Yes live healthy snails.
My acans wernt looking so good where his nest was.
Now that he is out everything is happy again. No more snail dissapearances. Hes easy 12 inches long and 3/4+ inch thick.
I tried to get a bristol worm lover to release it in their tanks, and i had no offers.

 

[Reef Junkie]

Eating live snails?
I would've gotten rid of it too.
Yet, I had worms that were clear over 2 ft long and never bothered anything, go figure.