Speechless

[Godzillarex]

Hi All

About 30 minutes ago I witness something that was both very gross and very cool!!! All the bristleworms in my 30gal came out. No big deal right!? I was trapping a few of them anyway as I felt their numbers were just way too much. That and they gross me out. So they all stuck what i can only guess is their rears up into the water column. Cool didnt think much of it. Then it happened!!! They all started to release what i can only describe as white milky substance that I assume was sperm. Or as we have decided to call it, "worm milk" The release lasted a good 15 minutes. So now the water in the tank is like diluted milk. this was yes very cool and gross too.

So my questions.
1. is this what i think it is a spawning event? If so will the females release the eggs soon?
2. Do i need to change the water in the tank asap?
3. Will i now be the not so proud guardian of a few million baby bristleworms?
4. If this isnt a spawning then what is it??
5. If it is a spawning then does this mean things are good in the tank? Is this a normal occurance in their life cycle? My specs are all excellent.

attached a few pics hope you enjoy
David

 

[Godzillarex]

OK PART 2

Lets hear for the ladies!!!! Now they have started to release the pink eggs into the water. Or least what i am assuming is eggs.
All i can think of is that this is how bad Scifi channel movies start!!!!

 

[vincent201089]

it's not cool
i can not believe that a 30g tank has that much of bristle worms
if i were u, i would get a coral banded shrimp or whatever could eat those things

 

[K-ROK]

I've never heard of such an event although I have seen threads elsewhere of people wondering why their water got all "cloudy" out of nowhere.

As for ridding your tank of some of those bristleworms I heard that Arrow crabs eat them. There are traps available as well that are tubes....the worms go in but can't get out.

 

[DgenR8]

it's not cool
i can not believe that a 30g tank has that much of bristle worms
if i were u, i would get a coral banded shrimp or whatever could eat those things

Unless you touch them, bristle worms are harmless. They are a positive addition to a system, they are excellent cleaners of uneaten food and detritus.
The only reason that their numbers are as high as they are, is because there's food for them to eat.
If the OP feels that their numbers are too high, the best advice is not adding another critter to eat them, it's to slow down on feeding. Their numbers will decrease slowly without enough food to sustain them.
Continuing to feed heavily, and removing bristle worms at the same time will cause problems with nutrients.

 

[826 moto]

ya cut back on feeding and they will dye off if you get something to eat them you will get a spike from decaying food

 

[mscarpena]

Also yes do a water change and make sure you keep emptying your skimmer.