Randy's 180G Reef-Photo Journal
- Thread starter rdmpe
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my friend i think you might be a little confused about the bristle worms because they are notorious coral predators so i think you should change that happy face to a horror face if you have "plenty " of them.Ive seen those animals in the wild swallow a whole gorg. and strip it to the bone so i think you two should rethink your position on those little critters.
rdmpe
New member
I've also heard mixed reports of these elsewhere... In general though people seem to think bristle worms should be removed from what I've read.
Cprowler didn't you put that big one of yours into your fuge? I wouldn't mind doing that, but have to figure out how to catch it! Is it worth buying one of those traps made for mantis shrimp? Is there a special trap that works well for these?
The pictures are from a few days ago. Last night it did not seem to be in the same spot, and I couldn't find it when looking around with the flashlight. It eiter stayed down in the hole or it moved...
Cprowler didn't you put that big one of yours into your fuge? I wouldn't mind doing that, but have to figure out how to catch it! Is it worth buying one of those traps made for mantis shrimp? Is there a special trap that works well for these?
The pictures are from a few days ago. Last night it did not seem to be in the same spot, and I couldn't find it when looking around with the flashlight. It eiter stayed down in the hole or it moved...
tgunn
Active member
Interesting; I'll have to read up on them a bit more then. I know I've seen some instances of HUGE ones in people's tanks causing problems (ie the 6 footer in Steve Weasts's tank comes to mind).. But it was my understanding the small 1-2" ones were okay.
I should've been more quantitative; by "plenty" I meant I've seen probably 5. :lol: My tank is pretty new and 5 is doing pretty good at this stage.
Thanks for the input!
Tyler
conda
New member
That is definetally a bristle worm. I started seeing one in my 55 about a year back and eventually it bred and I had lots of them all over my tank. Once I added my "Boxing Shrimp", I rarely see them anymore. I think that shrimp eats the babies.
I have heard mixed messages as to them being good or bad. I've never had any problems with them myself though.
I have heard mixed messages as to them being good or bad. I've never had any problems with them myself though.
rdmpe
New member
I've been reading a little bit about them. It seems that there are thousands of different species of them and many different behavior patterns. So I think at this point I'll just try to get a better look at it and keep an eye on it, and maybe get some better pictures of it. I've read that a flashlight with red cellophane over it is a great way to get a good look at them without scaring them off. It also seems that with patience they can be caught, so I don't think it's something that I have to address immediately.
conda
New member
Check out Melev's site. He has some videos of some big bristle worms
http://www.melevsreef.com/links.html
Scroll down to videos, they are linked there.
http://www.melevsreef.com/links.html
Scroll down to videos, they are linked there.
fittdog8848
New member
The bristle worm that is hown in the photo posses no threat to corals. They are detritus eaters and cleaners. They can get out of hand in smaller tanks. I would know this because they were all over in my 30 gallon system. Over feeding is the biggest reason that they flourish in tanks. It is good to have some in your tank for sandsifting and detritus consumption. Now with that said, there are some specieis that will eat corals but usully not the orangeish-pinkish blueish ones that were shown in the pic. Once I stopped over feeding my 30 gallon tank most of the worms died off. I still have a few but have NEVER had problems with them on my corals.
Also remember if you see it crawling on something does not mean it is eating it.
Also remember if you see it crawling on something does not mean it is eating it.
fittdog8848
New member
LOL.......
conda
New member
I used to feed my 55 twice a day, then I cut back to just the mornings (and half of what I usually did)--due to a HA problem.
Do you know what happened?
After a week I lost one cleaner shrimp and my wife's Coral Beauty! Both were eaten to nothing. The only thing I ever found was a piece if the shrimp shell. I still never found any traces of the CB, and that thing was not small.
:eek1:
tgunn
Active member
Yup, a red light works great; I've got a series of red LEDs over my tank for night viewing.
The tank critters don't even notice the light even though it's quite bright. They act as if it's not even on..
Give a red flashlight a try, it's quite fun to watch all the night life..
Tyler
rdmpe
New member
Can't find anything red at my house to shine a light through :lol:
I spent the day peeling xenia off my LR :mixed:
I got some really nice colonies off the rock in good shape. Most of it is the anthelia type that sort of encrusts so it is easy to rubberband onto rubble pieces. Some of it is the pulsing red sea type. I used superglue gel on that type since it has a stalk. Then I sat the rubble w/xenia frags at the base of my overflow where I want the xenia to eventually move to... I hope it works. The pulsing kind really slimes like crazy. What a nasty mess it makes.
I basically took a small knife and worked it along the base slowly peeling it up. Got the idea from another person here on RC that said he does it that way with a toothpick. I was expecting it to be a lot more firmly attached to the LR I guess. It came off fairly easily. But there are some spots where I couldn't get it completely off. I suppose those will grow new xenia eventually...
I spent the day peeling xenia off my LR :mixed:
I got some really nice colonies off the rock in good shape. Most of it is the anthelia type that sort of encrusts so it is easy to rubberband onto rubble pieces. Some of it is the pulsing red sea type. I used superglue gel on that type since it has a stalk. Then I sat the rubble w/xenia frags at the base of my overflow where I want the xenia to eventually move to... I hope it works. The pulsing kind really slimes like crazy. What a nasty mess it makes.
I basically took a small knife and worked it along the base slowly peeling it up. Got the idea from another person here on RC that said he does it that way with a toothpick. I was expecting it to be a lot more firmly attached to the LR I guess. It came off fairly easily. But there are some spots where I couldn't get it completely off. I suppose those will grow new xenia eventually...
rdmpe
New member
I still have not done the rockscaping. I still only have one island done, and the rest of my rock is just sitting in the tank. I may get to work on it tomorrow. I figured out how to set the white balance on my digicam by showing it the white in the tank. However, these full tank pictures came out too yellow/red so I had to tweak them a little toward the blue. I think they could use a little more blue but this will have to do for now... So here are some shots of the still unfinished tank (not that it will ever be finished...)
I took those before moving the xenia, so you can see a big colony of anthelia on a rock in the middle of the tank.
I took those before moving the xenia, so you can see a big colony of anthelia on a rock in the middle of the tank.
tgunn
Active member
Looking good! I usually have to tweak my pics regardless if I use the custom white balance; it just helps out a bit...
I can't wait to see how the islands look completed; I think it'll look really awesome with the open space in between. I definitely have to keep this style layout in mind for any future tanks.
Wow, a pet that actually takes interest in the tank! My Shih-Tzu is jealous of the tank and refuses to look at it. If I hold him up to see the tank he just looks away. :lol:
Tyler
I can't wait to see how the islands look completed; I think it'll look really awesome with the open space in between. I definitely have to keep this style layout in mind for any future tanks.
Wow, a pet that actually takes interest in the tank! My Shih-Tzu is jealous of the tank and refuses to look at it. If I hold him up to see the tank he just looks away. :lol:
Tyler
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