Opinion on this Bristle Worm should he stay?

[WVH]

Been seeing this guy for a month or two and also a smaller one ocasinaly. The larger about 6 of 7 inches had a definite green coloration on back segments in this flash shot.

Can't seem to find any info pro of con on him nor find reference to one with a green back. Whats you alls opinion? He seems for the time to be a good tank neighbor for now .

 

[101010]

I see them as a part of my cleaning crew, the green thing that you see can be due to the food. I would have let it stay.

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[lolgranny]

+1 no issue, scavenger. If you take him out another will arrive in his place anyways


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[alton]

If you do not like having them add micro brittle stars, they will clean up the waste and control the worm population.

 

[hkgar]

I have both micro brittle stars and some bristle worms. If you see two you may likely have dozens. They will multiply in balance to to waste there is for them.

They are a benefit and of no harm.

 

[lolgranny]

If you do not like having them add micro brittle stars, they will clean up the waste and control the worm population.

This is not true. Both will love together in a healthy system. If he has worms that size there is a very good chance he has a lot of brittle stars as well.


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[Bpb]

This is not true. Both will love together in a healthy system. If he has worms that size there is a very good chance he has a lot of brittle stars as well.


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Yeah I pretty much have thousands of both


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[scattered]

Yeah I pretty much have thousands of both


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Yeah, they are like cockroaches, if you see one you have an infestation. Only in this case, the roaches clean the house.

 

[Tulsa]

I've been catching them eating my snails this week. Three escargot dinners to go, please.

 

[WVfishguy]

I've been catching them eating my snails this week. Three escargot dinners to go, please.

I'll bet those snail were already dead.

 

[jtdesotel]

I'll bet those snail were already dead.

Agreed, had these guys in my tanks for many years, never once seen them bother anything.

 

[devimik]

Yeah, the snails were already dead. Bristleworms don't have teeth to "œbite" anything or kill them, but they'll be first on the scene, along with Nassarius snails when anything dies.


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[no1bubba]

I would like to buy some for my tank.

 

[hkgar]

I would like to buy some for my tank.

LOts of good reef cleaners stuff here

 

[WVfishguy]

Yeah, the snails were already dead. Bristleworms don't have teeth to "œbite" anything or kill them.....

I've seen bristle worms come up from the substrate, tear out a chunk of mussel or shrimp with their strong little jaws, and take it back under the sand. Reminded me of the movie "Tremors."

Many saltwater fisherman will tell you of being bitten by marine annelids with strong jaws.

 

[EMeyer]

I've seen bristle worms come up from the substrate, tear out a chunk of mussel or shrimp with their strong little jaws, and take it back under the sand. Reminded me of the movie "Tremors."

Many saltwater fisherman will tell you of being bitten by marine annelids with strong jaws.

Let me get this straight: you believe what you've seen with your own eyes even though anonymous posters on an internet forum tell you that what you saw cant happen?

What is the world coming to

I enjoy this debate not because I care very much what other people think about bristleworms but because I have also seen bristleworms eat living healthy things, and always enjoy the circular reasoning of the opposition on this one.
"I saw a bristleworm eat a snail"
"The snail was therefore dying anyway since bristleworms only eat dying things"
"How do you know it was dying?"
"a bristleworm ate it"

(All somewhat moot since as far as I can tell there is no way to eradicate them, only control the population growth. but its always a funny debate)

 

[Sethdarkus]

My Falco Hawkfish ate all my bristle worms I haven’t seen one since adding him

 

[devimik]

My Dottyback ate almost all of mine - don't really see them much anymore.

 

[devimik]

I've seen bristle worms come up from the substrate, tear out a chunk of mussel or shrimp with their strong little jaws, and take it back under the sand. Reminded me of the movie "Tremors."

Many saltwater fisherman will tell you of being bitten by marine annelids with strong jaws.

Are you referring to a common bristle worm doing that to a live shrimp? I've seen them swarm over pieces of mussels or shrimp that was thawed frozen food, but haven't ever seen one attack anything living.

I know there are many marine annelids that will bite and attack live organisms. Like the Eunicid Worm aka Bobbit Worm - you don't want to mess with these guys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KufQDlAO764

 

[WVfishguy]

Are you referring to a common bristle worm doing that to a live shrimp? I've seen them swarm over pieces of mussels or shrimp that was thawed frozen food, but haven't ever seen one attack anything living.

I know there are many marine annelids that will bite and attack live organisms. Like the Eunicid Worm aka Bobbit Worm - you don't want to mess with these guys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KufQDlAO764

I was referring to pieces of shrimp or mussel meat, and common bristle worms. Lots of them have tiny, but strong, jaws. I doubt they could or would eat a living critter, outside of the occasional small 'pods, snails or other relatively defenseless animals.

The wife and I were a bit amazed when bristle worms tore out chunks of meat. Pretty impressive for an annelid!

I have hundreds of bristle worms in my quarantine tank. Actually, the QT has several soft corals (xenia, palys, gorgonians, dwarf carpet anemones, etc.) Why not have an interesting QT? It is also where I grow out Banggaii cardinal fry, which I net out of the 90 gal. display tank, so it gets lots of newly hatched brine shrimp and other small foods.

The baby brine is apparently the perfect food for bristle worms, because there are hundreds in the QT. I've had this happen before. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, assured me vast numbers of bristle worms are COMPLETELY HARMLESS, and nothing will EVER go wrong.

What really happened was that the bristle worms began dying suddenly, polluting the tank, and I had the only tank crash I've had in 45 years of keeping aquariums. This time, I'm thinning them down. I'll try dottybacks, hawkfish - whatever it takes. Arrow crabs did nothing.