Bristleworms?

[d_icemand]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but here I go. I noticed a while back that I have some bristle worms in the tank. Mostly they come out at dark. Some people say they are OK and others say they are dangerous. (local reefers and LFS give multiple opinions). So now Im asking for advice. Do I leave alone as they get bigger or somehow control the population and how to do that?

dave

 

[RumLad]

Leave them alone. If they are true bristleworms (and that in itself is a very genaral characterization) they do nothing but good to your tank. They are harmless detrivors that clean up other critters messes.
You can somewhat control the population by keeping the amount of detrius to a minimum (by not overfeeding, for example)

here is a picture of a common bristleworm, is this what you have?
(The ones on the sand, not the rock)

 

[d_icemand]

yeah, that looks like the ones i got. just curious what they will do to the tank as they get older/bigger.

 

[young_Skywalker]

if I remember correctly there is only 1 species of "bristleworm" in the trade that is actually dangerous, but it is rarely seen in the aquarium

 

[mastou]

Reading stuff

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php

 

[d_icemand]

thanks