Goonter Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 alright i know most of you guys like them, but i dislike them very much, i am afraid to reach my hand into the tank, i want to move the LR, but with those in there i would rather not, they have been cutting lines in my LR as well, not sure what that is about, one snail looks like it's shell got chipped, assuming it's the starving bristleworms, may have been from falling and hitting rock, but unsure. Anyhow how do i get rid of these? they are multiplying sort of bunny speed, and i haven't even gotten fish yet so there isn't any fish food. Link to comment
jayxem Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 God I can't stand them either. Luckily mine all bunched up in the middle of my tank and pulled them out. Wish I had taken them out earlier. They started a war on a serpent star and killed it. Good luck with trying to get them. I got a clamp type of thing and removed them. Link to comment
circusordie16 Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 just leave them. trying to take them out will probably just drive you crazy and youll never get them all. they wont do anything harmful and wont attack living things. they wont multiply out of control either. their population is limited by food supply so no overfeeding=not too many bristleworms. if youre afraid of touching them get some gloves for when you reach in your tank. Link to comment
shiveley Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 umm, the bristle worms wouldn't have attacked and/or eaten a starfish if it was alive and/or healthy. it was either dying or dead...the bristles were just doing their job. as far as them "cutting lines in live rock", this is part of why live rock is porous, and is considered a good thing. without the holes created by animals such as bristle worms your live rock would be much more dense, and much less effective at providing bio-filtration. and, come one, chipping a snails shell? are you serious??? Link to comment
Goonter Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 umm, the bristle worms wouldn't have attacked and/or eaten a starfish if it was alive and/or healthy. it was either dying or dead...the bristles were just doing their job. as far as them "cutting lines in live rock", this is part of why live rock is porous, and is considered a good thing. without the holes created by animals such as bristle worms your live rock would be much more dense, and much less effective at providing bio-filtration. and, come one, chipping a snails shell? are you serious??? yup, i mean the snail didn't have that the day before, woke up and looked and a big hunk of shell was chipped or cracked off or whatever they call it, i can't say 100% that the worms did it, but if they are capable of cutting paths in live rock, they are obviously capable of doing this in a snail shell. Link to comment
BustytheSnowMaam Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 and, come one, chipping a snails shell? are you serious??? They have secret ninja powers don't ya know! Link to comment
Phixion Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Probably a mantis or pistol that did it that you don't know about... Bristles don't do that sort of thing. Link to comment
Goonter Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 i'm so confused, everyone here says keep the worms, everyone loves them. Yet my marine biology teacher says they are bad, and an aquarium worker says they pull them out of all their tanks if they see them because they are bad and will eat coral. I just do know what to do. I personally don't like them, they don't look cool, and they seem to be hiding everywhere. Link to comment
greeneyes Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I dislike them also, however I have never had a problem with them eating my corals or anything like that. I have learned to just get over the fact that they creep me out. I would leave them. Just get a pair of gloves(I did) and use them when you are in your tank. Link to comment
Pseudocheilinus hexataenia Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 i'm so confused, everyone here says keep the worms, everyone loves them. Yet my marine biology teacher says they are bad, and an aquarium worker says they pull them out of all their tanks if they see them because they are bad and will eat coral. I just do know what to do. I personally don't like them, they don't look cool, and they seem to be hiding everywhere. It all depends on the worm. Your Marine Biology professor may not understand that certain species of bristle worms are beneficial both to a marine ecosystem as well as aquariums for their detritus removal niche. There are some worms (notice I did not say they were bristle worms) that are active predators and clam-eaters, however, these are not your common, run-of-the-mill worms that you'll 95% of the time find in your tank. Also, in larger aquariums the type of worms they may be dealing with may in fact be much larger varieties of the common bristle worm which, once they grow to a certain size do become predatory. However, even in a 150 gal. or 300 gal. tank I wouldn't be entirely nervous of this being an issue. All in all, common bristle worms do more good than not. As for helping you identify those that are good and beneficial from those that arebad and detrimental, I say post a picture. A number of us are very familiar with bristle worms, I myself em not, and would be more than happy to help you further. Link to comment
BustytheSnowMaam Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 i'm so confused, everyone here says keep the worms, everyone loves them. Yet my marine biology teacher says they are bad, and an aquarium worker says they pull them out of all their tanks if they see them because they are bad and will eat coral. I just do know what to do. I personally don't like them, they don't look cool, and they seem to be hiding everywhere. I'm sorry for my sarcasm. The common bristle worm looks creepy but it won't hurt your tank- they are very efficient scavengers and a beneficial member of the clean-up crew. There are online sites that actually sell them. If something is dying, a bristleworm will sense it, move in, and start "cleaning up". They're part of the natural "balance" of your tank. There's a reason they're there. They will eat part of a coral that is dying. But they don't have claws, teeth, or eyes. They can't intentionally stalk and kill something. I have a 10 and I have hundreds of them in my tank (for every one you see, there's 10 you don't). I stick my hand in all the time and have never been stung. Just be careful and grab your rock/frags by the top or sides- don't reach underneath. And like someone else said, if you're squeamish, put a glove or plastic baggie on your hand. Link to comment
coolwaters Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 my bristle worms kept eating my pods...i had over 30 but after a month or so they died down to like 2.. Link to comment
Pseudocheilinus hexataenia Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I doubt it was your bristle worms eating all of your pods. You may have had a nutrient bloom and then when it waned you could've had them all starve off. Have any hair algae blooms and die-offs lately? Link to comment
Phixion Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Fish also eat pods. There's many species of bristle worms as said above. Fire worms (all red bristle worms) are the bad ones, but the mixed color red and gray bristle worms (the most common type we see in our tanks) are totall harmless. I've seen them all over my zoas before and never had any issues. Like said, if you see them EATING any of your livestock (the normal type) then it's because that piece of livestock is dead or damn near close to being dead. Link to comment
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