Bristle worm trap

[paul b]

I kind of like bristleworms but now I just have too many of them. Whenever I move a rock I notice it is loaded with the little slimers. I recently had a small clam up on the rocks and it fell onto the gravel. The worms sucked it out in no time so now it is war. Over the years I have made dozens of bristleworm traps and just about any design works. You can even put a piece of clam or fish into a piece of stocking and they will be stuck all over it.

This design I made in about 5 minutes and put it in the tank last night with a piece of clam. It netted 5 worms over night. I will use it for a few weeks to reduce the population to manageable levels.

It is just an acrylic tube about 1 1/4" in diameter but any pill case will work. I stuck in a smaller tube about 3/8" in diameter. Any tube will work as long as it is small enough to keep out the crabs and snails. The tube needs to extend into the container a little so the worms can't figure how to get out. Lobster traps work on the same principal. And lobsters are smarter than worms.

The worms have a great sense of smell and will find the bait but the end of the tube should be at sand level. For this model I bent the tube down to hit the sand.

I also have a string on it so I don't have to stick my hands in the water.

Have fun

 

[Mando77]

I really hate bristle worms. Hate them

[paul b]

I never really had a conversation with any of them but I just have too many

[Fishie]

Get a melanarus wrasse...mine devours any he sees...only place I have some left is in the sump...in the dt they are all gone..

I got a frag the other day and dipped it in 2 FIshies ...and put it in my dt ...then my wrasse was inspecting it and within a min he pulled out a nice big worm and gobbled it...

 

I don't know how he saw the thing...I could even see it lol

[paul b]

These things would eat that wrasse for lunch. And besides, I got hundreds of them

[jamesbuf]

I've always had a Melanurus wrasse and I still have tons of them. I HATE bristle worms!!!!!! The ones that have survived getting eaten are smart enough to know to only come out when the lights are off. When I come out at night I still see dozens of the little buggers.

[newtoreef]

I also hate them. got a bunch when I can i try to pick them out with a long metal plier. is there any reef safe chemical we could use to get rid of them?

[paul b]

This morning I collected about 20 worms, No reEf safe chemicals that i KNOW OF.

[newtoreef]

I need to fabricate a similar device for me could you post some more close up pictures? thanks

[paul b]

Thats the only picture of it I have, but as long as you stick a tube in a container of some type, that is all it is. I have it closed with a rubber band but it can be screwed on if you have a container with a screw top. A plastic jar of some type is great, just drill a hole in it and insert a tube about 3/8". It does not have to protrude out of the container much but it should go into the container at least one and a half inches or the worms will just reach in, take the food and back out. You need to get their entire body in the thing, then they can't figure out how to get out.