newbie bristle worm questions

[falonchristie]

Hello,
I recently purchased about 20lbs of live rock to add some more live rock to my tank. I stacked it on top of about 40lbs of live rock that has been in the tank for awhile. I bought the rock from an individual. When i'm watching the tank for awhile I see tons of little and big pinkish/grey color bristle worms crawling in and out of all these holes on the rock. It grosses me out and I dont want them in there. I herd they were good then I herd they were bad. What should I do about them? If i take the rock out and dip it in something will it kill all the good things growning on the rock along with feather dusters? I tried picking them out with tweezers and only got one out last night. Please give advise b/c im worried i'll do something wrong and harm the livestock in my tank

 

[mtiknoles]

I'm sure others will chime in, but in my opinion bristle worms are a good thing. They eat all the leftover food and debris you might miss during normal tank maintenance. They can get quite large and be overly abundant, so don't over feed.

 

[SushiGirl]

i'm sure others will chime in, but in my opinion bristle worms are a good thing. They eat all the leftover food and debris you might miss during normal tank maintenance. They can get quite large and be overly abundant, so don't over feed.

+1

 

[Lytehouse]

Yep, they are good at eating junk you don't want in your tank.

If you had dipped the rock when you got it, you would have taken out most of them-- rarely all, but would have taken out the things you like such as feather dusters as well.

However, by now they have worked their way down into your original rock as well as your sand bed. You would have to strip your tank, wash it in vinegar, throw out the sand and buy new, dip all the rock or cook it, set it all back up and go through a new cycle.

1) they just aren't worth it;
2) they are beneficial to your system;
3) they should settle into the sand bed and not be seen much.

The only caveat would be if you just have many, many bristles or if you have very, very big bristles.

To be honest, you are going to get them in on corals you buy. They are in every tank.

 

[lauremf2002]

I know they are gross but you get used to it. They are very beneficial and almost never become a problem. As long as you dont over feed. They will not become overpopulated. So learn to love them!

 

[zxanth]

Be careful though you handle your rocks to rearrange, those worms have a nasty sting to their bristles. I have touched one by accident

 

[falonchristie]

Yep, they are good at eating junk you don't want in your tank.

If you had dipped the rock when you got it, you would have taken out most of them-- rarely all, but would have taken out the things you like such as feather dusters as well.

However, by now they have worked their way down into your original rock as well as your sand bed. You would have to strip your tank, wash it in vinegar, throw out the sand and buy new, dip all the rock or cook it, set it all back up and go through a new cycle.

1) they just aren't worth it;
2) they are beneficial to your system;
3) they should settle into the sand bed and not be seen much.

The only caveat would be if you just have many, many bristles or if you have very, very big bristles.

To be honest, you are going to get them in on corals you buy. They are in every tank.

That is what I thought. They are not very big its just I sit and watch my tank so much and I hate to see worms crawing in the holes of the rock. I found an article online that uses a tea ball and some yarn inside of it with a piece of shrimp. The worms are supposed to crawl through it and get stuck were they cannot get out. I tried this last night and only caught one. But im going to keep trying so at least theyre wont be as many in the tank. Will the worms hurt the frags or fish? My starfish and goby died the day after We put the rock in the tank.

 

[luvabunny]

Bristleworms absolutely will not harm your corals or fish. You may have seen them on the starfish or goby, but that is because they are doing what they are supposed to do, cleaning up.

I told you on your previous post that the starfish and horseshoe were probably doomed. Gobies are a little difficult in an unestablished tank, which yours is. Adding 20 lbs of rock to the tank could have caused another mini cycle - it definitely would if you didn't keep it in SW during transport and let anything dry out.

Honestly, bristleworms are ugly, but they are very necessary tank inhabitants. The holes you see them crawling thru are being kept clean of detritus, which will cause nitrates, nitrites and ammonia in your tank. They are the best for cleaning up fallen fish, foods, etc from your sand bed. Your tank will be better off for allowing them to remain. Once your tank is a little more mature, you will likely only see them when you feed. I assume you may see them more often now, as they are hungry and looking for food.

Unfortunately, some of the best things we can keep in our tanks is a clean up crew. These usually consist of some very disgusting looking creatures. Bristleworms happen to be one of those. They will not overrun your tank, only as many will survive as you have food for. The large ones are very rare, and pretty easy to catch, much easier than the smaller ones.

They do have a sting, but then again, most of the things that are in our tank do have some sort of defense. I never put my hand in the tank without a plastic glove. I showed you those when you were here, I think. I already know I can't touch anything without swelling my fingers up. Just make it a habit to wear gloves, don't pick up things with stingers or quills, and you will be fine.

Leave your bristleworms alone. You will never catch them all, and pretty much anything live that you add to your tank will have them. Lots of people actually pay for them. Really, they are a very necessary part of a living saltwater tank.

 

[Lytehouse]

That is what I thought. They are not very big its just I sit and watch my tank so much and I hate to see worms crawing in the holes of the rock. I found an article online that uses a tea ball and some yarn inside of it with a piece of shrimp. The worms are supposed to crawl through it and get stuck were they cannot get out. I tried this last night and only caught one. But im going to keep trying so at least theyre wont be as many in the tank. Will the worms hurt the frags or fish? My starfish and goby died the day after We put the rock in the tank.

____________________________________________

What April said is the most likely scenario. If the live rock dried out at all in transport, adding that much would have caused another cycle which stressed the critters you lost.

I'm not particularly fond of bristle worms. Bigger ones go to the sump. I know we have all told you to let them go, but you need to do what you gotta do. It's your tank, enjoy it. I don't care for certain coral, fish and colors in my tank--- their not there. I've just gotten used to bristle worms because they are beneficial and they even survive dipping frags to get into the tank.

Best of luck

 

[falonchristie]

Bristleworms absolutely will not harm your corals or fish. You may have seen them on the starfish or goby, but that is because they are doing what they are supposed to do, cleaning up.

I told you on your previous post that the starfish and horseshoe were probably doomed. Gobies are a little difficult in an unestablished tank, which yours is. Adding 20 lbs of rock to the tank could have caused another mini cycle - it definitely would if you didn't keep it in SW during transport and let anything dry out.

Honestly, bristleworms are ugly, but they are very necessary tank inhabitants. The holes you see them crawling thru are being kept clean of detritus, which will cause nitrates, nitrites and ammonia in your tank. They are the best for cleaning up fallen fish, foods, etc from your sand bed. Your tank will be better off for allowing them to remain. Once your tank is a little more mature, you will likely only see them when you feed. I assume you may see them more often now, as they are hungry and looking for food.

Unfortunately, some of the best things we can keep in our tanks is a clean up crew. These usually consist of some very disgusting looking creatures. Bristleworms happen to be one of those. They will not overrun your tank, only as many will survive as you have food for. The large ones are very rare, and pretty easy to catch, much easier than the smaller ones.

They do have a sting, but then again, most of the things that are in our tank do have some sort of defense. I never put my hand in the tank without a plastic glove. I showed you those when you were here, I think. I already know I can't touch anything without swelling my fingers up. Just make it a habit to wear gloves, don't pick up things with stingers or quills, and you will be fine.

Leave your bristleworms alone. You will never catch them all, and pretty much anything live that you add to your tank will have them. Lots of people actually pay for them. Really, they are a very necessary part of a living saltwater tank.

okay i guess i will just have to get used to them. I never have liked worms hehe The rock that I added is so much more nicer than other live rock I had purchased in the past from petco. It has tons of feather dusters and all kinds of things on it I dont even know what they are. There is this one creature that looks like a piece of white rock with prickly things all over it that moves around a little bit but I have no clue what it could be. and also it looks like there is a starfish but it is so tiny. smaller than a dime and blueish color shaped just like a starfish but it hasnt moved.

 

[cody6766]

I can't seem to find any in my tank after a few moves and rock swaps and I've noticed more detritus buildup in this tank. I'm probably going to go to a LFS and see if they'll swap some rock with me so I can get some new critters and bacterial cultures in the tank. I think my biodiversity is limited across the board and the tank isn't as healthy as it once was.

bristle worms and other critters = good for the tank, but hard on the fingers

 

[luvabunny]

If you can post pictures of any of the critters you don't know what they are, someone here can probably identify them.
The little blue starfish is probably OK. Micro brittle stars are also part of the clean up crew. I wish I had more of them. The thick little stars with odd numbers of legs are controversial. They are called asterinas and some leave them, some don't. I make it a practice to remove those when I see them.
I have no idea about the white rock with prickly things on it. Would love to see a pic. Sounds sort of like a tunicate (good) but those don't usually move around.
That is one of the things I like best about SW tanks. There is always something showing up that you didn't put there on purpose. Some of them are good, some of them not so good.
Don't think of the bristleworms as worms, just think of them as janitors. Worms in SW come in a lot worse uniforms. Most of them are good for your tank, some are really bad, and some are a whole lot uglier. As your tank matures, I promise you won't see them nearly as much.

 

[Lytehouse]

I don't know why I didn't think of this before......

I was just moving some things around in the tank for pics. When I do that the yellow coris wrass hovers like a hawk----- because anything that comes out of the sandbed, like a pod or a bristle worm is his next snack.

When your tank is settled, and if you still feel you just have too many bristle worms--- especially if you are going to be keeping zoanthids/palys, a wrasse like a yellow coris is a great addition to the tank and they constantly hunt for food.

 

[pwhitby]

For anyone that has ever tried the aptasia eating file fish (Acreichthys tomentosus), you may have noticed your bristle worm population disappear. Not only will these fish eat aptasia but they will also devour all manner of small worms in a tank.

Paul.