Bristle Worms, cause for concern or not?

[CHUBAKAH]

An Introduction

 

Bristle worms can be, and usually, are a real problem for reef hobbyists. Indeed, they create havoc in the aquarium, especially when they grow to larger sizes. Bristle worms grow quickly! Real quickly! They feed on anything they can find in the tank and grow to sizes that amaze most hobbyists. This process does not take long either.

 

Whereas small bristle worms may look really harmless, larger specimens that have grown to sizes of 24 inches or more in length are quite impressive and can cause serious damage. Remember too that the size you see is not necessarily the size of the worm. It may be retracted and look short and thick, but it can stretch itself to a real long size and be very thin. In either case it is a voracious eater.

 

In addition to feeding on left over food small crustaceans, and detritus from which they extract uneaten parts, bristle worms attack corals and sometimes other animals too (anemones are a good example of the latter). Because of the damage they do, they absolutely need to be physically removed from the aquarium. This can be quite a task and is not as simple at it seems at first as many of you may have found out over time.

 

Most hobbyists are well aware of this, but just do not know how to go about removing them, or if they do, they are not too sure about all the details of the various methods described in magazines, some as the cure-all for bristle worms (which they often are not). Before being successful many attempts may be necessary (again, as many of you may have found out).

Click for the whole story.

 

That's their opinion, so what's the real scoop?

[gmubeach]

They sting bad:) I got fibers from one of them in my skin with some glue anyway it hurt ... really bad and I'm sure if you have two you have alot more!

[Highland Reefer]

This an article from Reefs.org:

This is probably your average, run of the mill "bristleworm". That's right a "bristleworm". All "bristleworms" are members of the Phylum Annelida, Class Polychaeta. Should you take it out? No way, most errant polychaetes (errant meaning that they move about freely searching for food) are beneficial scavengers and crucial members of the live sand community. Probably ninety-nine percent of the "bristleworms" are harmless and are reef-safe. These animals are active scavengers and predators, but most are strictly opportunistic. The predatory ones usually only consume other worms, detritus, bacteria, algae, micro-crustaceans and other things. This is a very positive and desirable activity. There are only a few notable exceptions to this rule that aquarists should be aware of, and even these exceptions are somewhat rare in aquaria. The primary exceptions are a few species of the Family Amphinomidae. One species in particular has become the stereotypical bad "bristleworm", the Caribbean Hermodice carunculata, but is rare in aquaria (probably due to the small amount of Caribbean rock used

[reefmontalvo]

So the burning question is........do I leave them alone or should I start setting up traps to catch the little son of a guns?

[Almon]

Some people purchase Bristle Worms. I feel they are very beneficial scavangers.

[CHUBAKAH]

So the burning question is........do I leave them alone or should I start setting up traps to catch the little son of a guns?

The article goes on to say that these guys will attack corals. I have two unexplained corals that have been hit recently, and I have no explanation.

 

The only fish I have read in my tank that even remotely attacks corals is my bi color blenny, however I hear that they can't really do any major damage.

 

I think I may try the red light, and see what else lingers in the tank at night.

[Highland Reefer]

I think ya ought to catch one and take a picture of it. Then we can tell if he is good or bad. Did you get your rock from Florida? That's where some of the bad guys are from.

[CHUBAKAH]

I think ya ought to catch one and take a picture of it. Then we can tell if he is good or bad. Did you get your rock from Florida? That's where some of the bad guys are from.

I got all of my rock from Dr. Mac, and as far as I know it is all Tonga Fusion.

 

TBH I was going to try and get a pic of him, or her, but the son of a guns are pretty quick, and hide from me.

[Highland Reefer]

Take a picture of the coral that is damaged so we can see that.

[reefmontalvo]

I once made a red light out of a flashlight, and it was scary . Lets say I fell back and was like what the "bleep", when I saw this two foot worm in the tank . LOL Lets say it was cool the second look. I had to walk slow and softly, since the worm can feel ground vibrations thru the tank.

 

Also my red light was made from a Solo red cup and a stinger flashlight. But this time I will use a maglite, since it is not as bright.

[treesprite]

unless really big or a bad kind, there's nothing wrong with them unless there are so many as to be an infestation. You wouldn't get an infestation unless you're over feeding

 

almost forgot to note: crushed coral makes a really nice home for bristleworms - lots of food gets trapped in it for them, and it's "spacious" in bristleworm terms. Just one more reason for not using crushed coral.

Edited June 4, 2008 by treesprite

[reefmontalvo]

But are there natural means to keeping there numbers low?

[treesprite]

Dont overfeed, don't use large, loose substrate.

When I had an infestation I had a pretty decent trap that let me catch large numbers at a time just overnight, but of course with an infestation the number is relative.

[Highland Reefer]

I had them in my tank until it over heated. That's a sure way of getting rid of them. They were interesting to watch. The kids got a bigger kick out of the bristleworms than anything else. Go figure. They never hurt anything in my tank, but they were just the run of the mill bristle worms. The odds are in your favor that they are actually beneficial. I got stung a few times. No a big deal unless you are alergic, but I do kill hornets & wasps for a living.

Edited June 4, 2008 by Highland Reefer

[CHUBAKAH]

I used fine sand in my setup, so no concern there.

 

I also feel as though I am a lite feeder. Tonight was anemone, and elegance feeding night, so I found if I put a few fish on the sand, it gives time for them to consume the fish before the crabs take over. Well normally I see the sand dwelling creatures come up and get one or two, but tonight a couple of extra critters popped up.

 

Dont overfeed, don't use large, loose substrate.

When I had an infestation I had a pretty decent trap that let me catch large numbers at a time just overnight, but of course with an infestation the number is relative.

Where did you find, and what kind of trap did you have, or have?

[Highland Reefer]

Sounds to me that your little ecosystem is coming along fine.

[CHUBAKAH]

Sounds to me that your little ecosystem is coming along fine.

It is Cliff. You still need to make a trip out one weekend!

[Highland Reefer]

I will take ya up on that. Just a little hectic in the spring for me.

 

[dzekunoi]

I just resently caught a HUGE - probably footlong (stretched) bristle worm in my tank and it was eating my red-footed snail

 

It's not clear if snail was dead before the worm got to it or it was a murder . It's a very neat looking worm though so it moved to my refuge. I tried to track it down and take a picture but could not see it lately.

Edited June 4, 2008 by dzekunoi

[L8 2 RISE]

Is this what they looked like? If so, they are fine, and if you look in the tank with a red light at night, I'm sure you'll see tonnes .

Edited June 4, 2008 by L8 2 RISE

[lanman]

I had them in my tank until it over heated. That's a sure way of getting rid of them. They were interesting to watch. The kids got a bigger kick out of the bristleworms than anything else. Go figure. They never hurt anything in my tank, but they were just the run of the mill bristle worms. The odds are in your favor that they are actually beneficial. I got stung a few times. No a big deal unless you are alergic, but I do kill hornets & wasps for a living.

 

And what do you do with honeybees??

 

bob

[Rascal]

The article is rubbish, IMO.

 

I think you should get a trap though. The next time someone posts asking about "sand sifters" "sand stirrers" or "detrivores", you should start a for sale post offering 10 for $10.

 

Some people purchase Bristle Worms. I feel they are very beneficial scavangers.

 

Absolutely. I was one of those foolish people who purchased them, soon after starting my tank. I should have been more patient and just let the existing population (from the LR and sand) multiply to meet the food demand.

 

But are there natural means to keeping there numbers low?

 

Don't worry about it. Like other detrivores which readily reproduce in our tanks, the population will stabilize depending on food supply and other competition for said supply. Diversity is always best IMO.

 

Take a picture of the coral that is damaged so we can see that.

 

Agree again. It is remotely possible that you have a couple of coralivore type bristle worms, but far more likely that there is another cause.

[Highland Reefer]

 

And what do you do with honeybees??

 

bob

 

Leave it to Bob to pick-up on our beloved honey bees. I do not like killing honey bees especially now with their Delcine in populations. I refer my clients out to a local bee keeper friend of mine over here in Maryland. Don't know any in Virginia, but calling the local extension service will produce several numbers for you. Sometimes we have to go back after the bees are removed and open up walls to clean-up the honey, which will become rancid once the bees are gone. The best time of year to have them removed is in the early spring, when the honey is at the lowest amount. If you kill honey bees with chemicals, you may end up killing neighboring hives when they come in & take the honey away from a hive that is killed (hence the name Robber Bees). The chemicals kill those Robber Bees. The best thing a home owner can do is to prevent bees & hornets from nesting inside their home, by sealing any openings on the exterior which bees can use to get into the house and start building their nests. It's surprising how few home owners know how to properly maintain the outside of the their home, which incidently ends up costing them several times the cost to maintain it. A little caulk, paint, wood filler, cleaning gutters, maintaining shrubs & trees, filling around pipes and wires, maintaing dryer/fan vents, filling holes with cement, replacing rotting wood & maintaining flashings is all it takes.

Edited June 4, 2008 by Highland Reefer

[civitan.erichanson]

I am not sure if what I have is a bristle worm I do not think so, but I am curious:

 

When I leave for work at 0515 I check my tank. I almost always see a couple of straight, thin line, brown somethings going from one of my LR to the sand bed. This morning I only saw one and instead of going all the way to the sand bed its "end" was wiggling, which made me think of this thread.

 

Any thoughts on it? I know pics are good but I need better image editing software.

 

Thanks,

 

Eric.

[jnguyen4007]

I don't like worms of any kind. Never have, never will. Caught three a few months back when I had to drain out the tank to relocate it. I used a net to catch them and dropped them onto the street and let cars went over them. A few weeks later, I nearly jumped out of pants when I had my face up close to the tank to look at my firefish when this long azz thing came behind the rock and stretch part way up my tank. Let just say that I avoided that side of my tank for a few weeks. I saw it again for the next few weeks when I feed the tank. I have not seen it in the past couple of months and I be perfectly happy if it died.