reefsrule Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 I have been noticing that a bristle worm is living in my bubble coral and I was wondering if I could do a freshwater dip to get it out. If yes, then for how long? Link to comment
caja Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 why do you want to get the bristleworm out? they are great detritus eaters. as long as it's your average garden variety bristleworm, it'll be fine. Link to comment
jmt Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 BIG bristleworms + nano reef tanks = trouble. They're sand sifters and could easily #### off your corals. Some say good, and I trust caja's advice, but I say get that beeyatch outta there before it starts causing trouble. As for a freshwater dip, I don't reccomend it. It will kill off more than the bristleworm, and you'll have to mini-cycle when you put it back into the tank. -Justin PS - Not meant as a direct "flame", just a differing opinion. Link to comment
Dingo Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 It is virtually impossible to get rid of bristleworms even if you wanted to. For every one you see, there are 10 more hidden away under and in your rocks. You have never seen a tank that had live rock and did not have bristleworms. Don't sweat it, and stop worrying. Link to comment
jmt Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 My tank doesn;t have bristleworms. :-* -Justin Link to comment
Crakeur Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 JMT, odds are you do and you don't see them. they mostly show themselves after dark. they are the single best animal in my tank when it comes to cleaning up the unwanted debris. a fish died in the back of my tank a few months ago. impossible to reach. the thing was completely picked clean in a matter of hours. worms get all the credit. Link to comment
reefsrule Posted January 21, 2004 Author Share Posted January 21, 2004 my tank has a ton of bristle worms. They do eat detruis and or algae but I was worried about this one because it was Living IN my coral and I was thinking that this may be affecting it since it hasn't been fully blown. Link to comment
birdman204 Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 how long has it been "living" in there, a day or two. Don't worry, unless the thing is 6 inches long, you are ok... and even then , you are probably ok depending on species.... Bristleworms rock!!! I have little ones the size of a hair, all the way up to 2 inchers.... JMT , I assure you, unless you used aragacrete rocks, you most likely have bristleworms.... They are either hiding, or really small.. Link to comment
reefsrule Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 Ok then. It was really bugging me. I was sure it was living in there because the only time I see it is when its sticking out of the coral. Then when it gets scared it goes back in. It also its the food I give it. I was mostly worried because the bubble hasn't been fully inflated. Link to comment
jmt Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I will bet you $100 that I don't. I know my tank, and the substrate, and there are none. The only worms in there are featherdusters and what seems to be some sort of spaghetti worm that I swear is eating my corline right off the rocks. He's kind of a clear/white color and can stretch his body out. I have NO idea how long he is, b/c the times that I actually DO see him, he's hanging out of a hole in the LR no bigger than 3mm in diamter. Bass turd. ASLO - Do basslets eat pods? My clown would get after them from time to time, mainly when they were floating in the water, but since I put in the basslet, it seems like I hardly even see them anymore. -Justin Link to comment
kennerd Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Originally posted by jmt I will bet you $100 that I don't. I know my tank, and the substrate, and there are none. The only worms in there are featherdusters and what seems to be some sort of spaghetti worm that I swear is eating my corline right off the rocks. He's kind of a clear/white color and can stretch his body out. ASLO - Do basslets eat pods? My clown would get after them from time to time, mainly when they were floating in the water, but since I put in the basslet, it seems like I hardly even see them anymore. I'll take that bet. Unless you have completely dead rock, the chances of there being no bristle worms in there is slim to none. Pods are most likley hiding with the worms, playing cards. If you have worms that are eating coralline, that's a first for me, please link me to any research you find. Never say never with a reef tank.......there are things that will pop up in there months and months after you put your last rock/coral in there. More ID on the basslet would help. Link to comment
caja Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Originally posted by jmt I know my tank, and the substrate, and there are none. You have them, guaranteed. They are nocturnal detritus eaters. No way on earth you could have LR without some hitch hiker bristleworms. Same can be said with corals. btw, the worm you are describing sounds like a terebellid worm. Another harmless detritus eater. They don't eat coralline. Link to comment
jmt Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 It isn't a terebellid worm. I wish I could get a shot of it. As for bristleworms, when I moved my substrate to the new tank, I sifted through it to see what was hiding. Just a few pods and cerinth snail. So... unless those bastages are in the rock, which I haven't seen yet, then I don't think there are any. I mean, c'mon, I would've seen them sometime in the 8mos. my tanks have been setup. As for the basslet, it's a strawberry and loves the live rock. Oh yeah, I'm using Marshall Island live rock. -Justin Link to comment
jmt Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Welp, I think it's a "Sipunculan or Peanut Worm". Seems fitting enough and they look the same, except the one in my tank doesn't have striations down its body. The descriptions seem to match tho. I could've sworn that mofo was eating coraline. Oh well. -Justin These are small to moderately large worms that live in rocks or crevices. They are harmless sediment or detritus feeders. These odd worms are common on reefs and have shown up frequently in live rock imported over the last few years. The major distinguishing characteristics are the lack of segmentation, and the way in which the introvert extends or retracts by unrolling from within itself or pulling back within itself respectively. Link to comment
jmt Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Oh yeah, my girlfriend named the worm Luigi b/c it looks like a spaghetti noodle. What a stereotype. -Justin Link to comment
caja Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Originally posted by jmt So... unless those bastages are in the rock, That's where they are. They typically only sift through the sand looking for detritus at night and hide in the rocks during the day. Link to comment
reefsrule Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 Originally posted by jmt I will bet you $100 that I don't. I know my tank, and the substrate, and there are none. The only worms in there are featherdusters and what seems to be some sort of spaghetti worm that I swear is eating my corline right off the rocks. He's kind of a clear/white color and can stretch his body out. I have -Justin I have those too (I think they eat algae), and bristle stars and different assortments of pods and clear slugs and more. My sand and or rock must have been full of life. Link to comment
kennerd Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 clear slugs? better get a better description down, in case they end up being flatworms. Link to comment
reefsrule Posted January 23, 2004 Author Share Posted January 23, 2004 I think they are some sort of flat worm, but I identified them a long time ago with someone else's post. I forgot what they were called but they haven't given me any problems. Anyway, they just slither on the glass and they eat with a mouth that seems to scoop the glass. Link to comment
birdman204 Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Originally posted by reefsrule I think they are some sort of flat worm, but I identified them a long time ago with someone else's post. I forgot what they were called but they haven't given me any problems. Anyway, they just slither on the glass and they eat with a mouth that seems to scoop the glass. Flatworms sorry mate! suction, suction tube...... sipunculan worms,I believe the straiations on it's body will be inside the tube it is in so you may not see them. Your bristleworms, be they .5 mm or 5 inches long hide in your rocks. I found a new hole in my rrock i've had since the beginning I didn't even know was there, looked in, 2 ministars, 3 or 4 amphipods and various others, all chilling, for at least 7 mos now.. Heck, I had an embedded clam staring me in the face since day 1 and never noticed it until about 2 months ago. That's the best thing about this JMT! New chit always appears. I now have branching coralline that is almost an inch and a half long, and a new encrusting coral poppin out of a crevice! My brown digitata turned purple with faint green polyps.... Just goes to show , you never know....... Link to comment
drdrew Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 bird? BIRD???? where are you??? Link to comment
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