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Cultivated Reef

When is a bristle worm too large?


castiel

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I just saw Mr Giant Worm again. Seems to come out for a nosey every time I feed, day or night, lights on full or not! So far still hasn't bothered anything so I am not too concerned, but at some point I'll work out a way to catch him.

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It isn't going to hurt anything. They come out when they smell decaying food, which all fish food smells like. Just like Nassarius snails that dune style burst out of sand when food gets put in.

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Maybe we have a different bottle because my bottle of prazipro says reef safe except in systems culturing flatworms/nudibranchs.

 

 

Key Benefits

 

Treats Flukes

 

Treats Tapeworm

 

Treats Flatworms

 

Treats Turbellarians

 

Highly Effective

 

Extremely Safe

 

Won't Negatively Impact Biological Filtration

 

Can Be Used As A Preventative

 

Excellent When Used With Ich-X™

 

Non-toxic To Commonly Kept Aquarium Animals Or Plants.

Aquarium Solution® Sizes:

1 Oz (73251 - treats 120 gallons)

4 Oz (73254 - treats 480 gallons)

16 Oz (73256 - treats 1,920 gallons)

Pond Solution™ Sizes:

16 Oz (73356 - treats 3,200 gallons)

32 Oz (73357 - treats 6,400 gallons)

Gallon (73358 - treats 25,600 gallons)

 

Directions For Use:

For treatment of praziquantel-susceptible disease conditions in pond, freshwater and marine aquariums.

As A Bath: Start treatment with as large a water change as practical or start with new water. Any water used should first be conditioned with ULTIMATE® or a combination of Liquid Buffered ClorAm-X® and Stress-X™ to remove ammonia, chlorine and chloramines. Do not stop filtration, but remove activated carbon and stop foam-fractionation (protein skimming) and UV sterilization. Shake vigorously before use. Measure Aquarium Solutions® Liquid PraziPro® at the rate of one (1) teaspoon per 20 gallons of water to be treated. (one (1) fl. oz. per 120 gallons) Measure Pond Solutions™ Liquid PraziPro® at the rate of one (1) teaspoon per 32 gallons of water to be treated. (one (1) fl. oz. per 200 gallons) This produces a concentration of 2.5 mg/L. Distribute the proper amount around the edge of the aquarium or pond or directly in to the filter box to achieve the best overall distribution. A single treatment lasting 5-7 days is normally sufficient. Repeat as necessary, but no more than once every 3 to 5 days. May be used as a preventative, at the standard dosage, when disease is likely. Do not use with other drugs or disease treatments. May cause temporary foaming.

 

Ingredients: oxybispropanol (as an inert solubilizing agent) and <5% praziquantel by weight.

Recommendations: Use Liquid PraziPro® any time unwanted parasites are noticed or introduction is probable.

 

Contraindications: There are no known contraindications to the use of Liquid PraziPro™ except for use in marine (saltwater) systems where flatworms of the Polycladida order are being cultured.

 

Caution: In case of contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. In case of skin contact, wash with soap and plenty of water. If swallowed, rinse mouth with water (if person is conscious). Obtain medical advice.

 

Because We Care: PraziPro™ has been developed to offer assistance to aquarium or pond keepers who are encountering problems with unwanted worms or parasites and for ease of use by the user.

 

FOR AQUARIUM OR POND USE ONLY. NOT FOR HUMAN MEDICAL, VETERINARY OR FOOD FISH USE

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Like others have mentioned, often the "small worms are good; big worms are bad" is very vaguely defined. Chances are a small, harmless worm is not going to turn into a bloodthirsty predator once it gets larger. Considering some bristle worms can get to multiple yards in length, 6 inches is nothing.

 

Your worm looks like a fire worm, which is a family (Amphinomidae) of bristle worms (class Polychaeta). There are thousands of bristle worm species, so any generalization based on bristles is nearly useless. But, people still try, especially when not realizing things like feather duster worms are also bristle worms. Fire worms have fairly large white bristles that sting if you touch them (hence their name). Also, it's ironic that while "bristle worms" are now though of finally as "good" scavengers and "fire worms" as the dangerous ones, fire worms are actually extremely common hitchhikers and often the "good" worms being discussed.

 

The reason fire worms are not a significant threat is that they have no jaws and can only rasp to feed. This is why the major fire worm "pest" is Hermodice carunculata, a threat to nonmoving animals like corals. A fire worm is highly unlikely to kill a healthy fish because it would have to literally lick the fish to death. IMO, there was probably another reason (starvation) for nasty canasta's scooter "blenny" (a dragonet) died. This highlights another problem of fire worms: being scavengers makes them always at the scene of a crime. Thus, they are quickly blamed.

 

If you would like to learn more, check out these very useful links.

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php

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