Ridding Spirobis Worms ?

[Bonsai1963]

I read the posts in Read here 1st before you I.D. this or similar topic. I just haven't seen any discussions on how to rid your tank of these.

I see in the ocean they live about 18 months, and are both sexes. The larvea can float for 2 months before attaching to rock and seaweed.

Why I want to rid my tank of these, is, I have a new 100g acrylic tank I haven't set up yet. These nice filter feeders are on all surfaces, and when you scrape or clean glass with what ever means, well they do have a spiralled tube and a feather duster like head when magnified, and will scratch the acrylic silly.

So while they may not live more than 2 yrs, they do reproduce fervantly. Never move, and grow only slightly, from a sharpest pencil point size to keyboard comma size at largest. Well that's in the last 6 months I've had them. I suppose they hitchhike in on rock.

So far the only method I have is to sweep the glass daily, before they reach that stage where scratching will be a problem. Which alone increases scratches. Then there's the areas you cannot reach.

Which will win, the worms or the calcareous algea? No they're not snails or eggs. The tube does however look snail like, just has a teeny tiny feather duster head.

Any ideas? Does anything, like Mandarins or Scooters or snail types eat them?

[cheryl jordan]

The population will wax and wane over time, I never had a problem with scratching my acrylic with regard their presence.

 

IME they usually die back to virtually nothing if you are not feeding your system frequently.

 

I can think of no way to totally elimate them, unfortunately in this hobby sometimes we have to take the good with we as individuals consider bad.