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Bristle Worm Problem!


timmys reef

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Hey, ive already posted a couple things and gotten some great ideas, so hope this will answer any questions i have. So i just got a new piece of live rock from my pet store, but there are like ten little bristle worms living on it!! I just would like to know if there is a way that i can get rid of these pests without using tweezers on every individual one. Hope you can help, thanks

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Why do you think they are pests?

Haha, well theyre not pests until they get bigger, they look pretty cool too. I like em, I just wanted to take preventive measures against them gettin huge.

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Somtimes they get like a foot long, and i can see where that would be annoying, but i would think when they are that large removal would be much easier than trying to remove a buncha little ones... I like my bristle Worms... And as long as you dont over feed, the population and size should pretty much self-regulate

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of the ten thousand or so species of polychaete worms, maybe fifteen get larger than 6 inches, and the rarity of large worms in the hobby is high despite sensational stories. nothing to worry about, imo.

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of the ten thousand or so species of polychaete worms, maybe fifteen get larger than 6 inches, and the rarity of large worms in the hobby is high despite sensational stories. nothing to worry about, imo.

Thaks guys, I guess Ill just keep em, especially cuz they were free, but i do only have a 10 gallon, so anything longer than 3 inches would be kind of annoying. Thanks again!

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my 10g is loaded with bristles... it is kinda startling during feeding time... i suppose that is a sign that i have been over-feeding pretty regularly

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my 10g is loaded with bristles... it is kinda startling during feeding time... i suppose that is a sign that i have been over-feeding pretty regularly

My tank isnt fully established yet, so they might not even survive, im pretty sure theyll make it though.

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Same here CI....once month for two nights in a row I toss the bristle trap'em in to thin the population in the display....any of them that I catch that are bigger then 3 inches get tossed into one of the two refugiums...the little ones just get thrown out.

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+1 to jeremai. As long as you're careful while working in the tank, i.e. not quickly sticking your hands under rocks, you should avoid any stings.

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But how do you get rid of them if you don't want them?. I'm a newbie,and I've gotten conflicting reports on these interesting little creatures. Beneficial cuz they eat leftover food and waste, detrimental cuz they eat feather dusters and some corals. I have a tiny one living in a little hole in the stem of my candy cane. Will it hurt the candy cane? I have a trap set with silversides, but the worm doesn't seem interested. (my damsel however, is going crazy trying to get to the bait).

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we spend $$$$ on live rock because of all the pores that make a ton of surface area that equals better filtration of our tanks with out the worms the pores clog. spending all that $$ on rock seems kind of silly if it is full of crap that will foul your tanks water

the reason bristle worms are great!!

 

 

to get rid of them get something that eats them.. for a small tank this may be a problem

the question is why are there so many in such a small tank?... 99% of the time the population explodes because there is more than enough food for them to reproduce.

I would cut back on feedings maybe try feeding your fish small pellet food and only what they can eat. no leftover food means less worms. very simple

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I got some nice bristle worms in a ball of cheato that I got for an AC70 fuge mod. Including a couple over 2" long. I didn't want the astheticly in the tank, so I passed them off to a friend. Inspecting all that cheato for worms was a PITA, and i think I got them all, but we'll see. I'm sure I missed one in there somewhere. :(

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I have a 12g and I have TONS of bristle in there. I could probably count 15 which means they're probably at least twice that lurking beneath. They dont seem to harm anything and I just had a little feather duster baby appear. I can imagine like any opportunistic eater, if they are starving they'll start eating good stuff, but I dont know.. hasnt happen to me. I have tiny 1" ones and some in the 3-4" range (which to be honest I grab with tweezers when I can, but they're generally too fast for me.

 

Get the little tube trap to thin them out if you want.

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