Squishie89 April 20, 2014 Share April 20, 2014 Last night I caught one of my fireworms (he was out and about so I grabbed him with some tongs) and put him in the sump. He was out and about again in the sump so I decided to grab him and take some photos.This hefty fellow measures in at 1/4" wide and about 3"+ long (a little bit of his tail came off otherwise he would be a bit longer)To give some scale, I also grabbed a typical, normal bristlewormYes, that is both of them. That is just how HUGE the fireworm isBristleworms also make good hats FYIThe belly of the beastBristles for daysAnd their weirdly cute mouth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef April 20, 2014 Share April 20, 2014 All of my bristleworms seem to be the size of your fireworm,lol....ugh.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 April 20, 2014 Share April 20, 2014 beautiful creature. But Glad I don't have any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy April 20, 2014 Share April 20, 2014 I got bristleworms that could swallow him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k April 20, 2014 Share April 20, 2014 beautiful creature. But Glad I don't have any must be what's wrong with your tank.... these worms are part of a healthy reeftank and should be encouraged to grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x-ray April 20, 2014 Share April 20, 2014 these worms are part of a healthy reeftank and should be encouraged to grow. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan175 April 20, 2014 Share April 20, 2014 I'm confused sorry to steal thread. Are fire worms good. I have always been told no. Bristle worms are fine as long as the number doesn't get out of control. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 April 20, 2014 Share April 20, 2014 I'm confused sorry to steal thread. Are fire worms good. I have always been told no. Bristle worms are fine as long as the number doesn't get out of control. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk There's one species of fireworm that's predatory and a problem. The rest of the fireworms that have been reported in our tanks are useful. There are reports of a species of fireworm that eats corals and smaller fish and grows large Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b April 21, 2014 Share April 21, 2014 I've watched Mandarins eat bristleworms although they have never been a problem in my tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime April 21, 2014 Share April 21, 2014 Yeah, bristle worms are not terrible. <------- All those live in this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy April 22, 2014 Share April 22, 2014 How do you keep the numbers in check? I got a bunch ane they seem to be gaining in numbers. I even have young ones. I don't see any ill effects though. Mine sat and wait when I feed the fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime April 22, 2014 Share April 22, 2014 How do you keep the numbers in check? I got a bunch ane they seem to be gaining in numbers. I even have young ones. I don't see any ill effects though. Mine sat and wait when I feed the fish If you saw what was happening underneath my tank floor in that thread I linked above, would you believe that I hardly see em'? I have a Hoevens Wrasse (aka melanurus) that dive bombs at them all the time. I also hear that if you feed less, their population dwindles. They are part of your CUC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishie89 April 22, 2014 Author Share April 22, 2014 Weirdly enough I have episodes of baby bristlewowms - http://squishie90gfowlr.tumblr.com/post/83359651815/bristleworm-party-last-night That actually happens multiple times a month. In my display, other than the couple of fireworms, I have no bristleworms that are seen. My sump has bristleworms though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 April 22, 2014 Share April 22, 2014 How do you keep the numbers in check? I got a bunch ane they seem to be gaining in numbers. I even have young ones. I don't see any ill effects though. Mine sat and wait when I feed the fish Natural selection kicks in with cleanup crews. Bristle worms are pretty much limited to eat what your fish don't eat. So people that tend to over feed tend to end up indirectly feeding the bristle worms, boosting their size, population and health. You won't see ill effects until you remove all of the worms. The food that they would have ate and cleaned up will lay then decay. Causing problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 April 22, 2014 Share April 22, 2014 They also eat fish poop. Not just leftovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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