Have you made a Bristle Worm Trap?

[debbeach13]

I do like having them as part of the CUC. But I think I need to remove a couple from the EVO they are getting large since I started feeding more for the sexy shrimp. Please tell me if you have made any type of small trap that can catch them. I want to avoid pulling the rock out of the tank and possibly trick them out of the rock with some food if I can.

I did a search and It seems hard to make a small trap and success is varied. Guess I will have to be patient with tweezers.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Usually I'm not too worried about bristleworms since they are free/beneficial CUC members in all of my SW tanks. But I did notice a few large ones that slip out of the rocks during night time to scour the sandbed for leftover food. Their size does concern me a bit since I have many small gobies, especially in my large reeftank. 

 

I have looked up the trap before, and I agree it does appear a bit complicated. I'm not sure how effective tweezers will be though - these guys can move fast sometimes (but not ninja-fast like a eunicid, thankfully). 

[growsomething]

Maybe you could borrow an arrow crab from your lfs?  Would they eat sexy shrimp as well as bristleworms?

Ive been thinking about this as well, since I've got a monster bristleworm

[debbeach13]

I have previously grabbed a couple small ones with tweezers. No luck with the big ones because they do not fully come out of the rock. I am doing a WC today so maybe I will pull the rock out and see if any crawl out. I hate to do that Young William gets so upset!

[debbeach13]

Just now, growsomething said:

Maybe you could borrow an arrow crab from your lfs?  Would they eat sexy shrimp as well as bristleworms?

Ive been thinking about this as well, since I've got a monster bristleworm

Oh let me know if that works. I am not sure if it would eat the shrimp. I will have to look that up. I do not know if any thing will eat the large bristle worms. Probably some big fish that can't go in a 5 gallon tank. I do not see any in my 20L so some thing in there may be eating them. Do emerald crabs eat them? I have one in the 20L but it is small. I do also have several pretty good sized scarlet crabs. I could put the mushroom rock back in there for a few weeks but I still haven't been able to remove all the mushrooms in there and want to avoid bringing more in. 

[growsomething]

My bristleworm kind of scares my emerald crab, he takes a defensive posture whenever they are competing for the same algae wafer.

It looks like the arrow crab would eat the shrimp, and even small gobies!

[Wingy]

Deb get some long chop sticks or long reptile tongs/tweezers, a cup, a piece of shrimp or larger pellet food and a green light, (I have color changing led puck lights), turn off household lights, pull up a chair, have tweezers in the tank and put the food as far from the rocks as you can.  When you see them come out to get a meal grab em.  If you cannot  remove the worm completely pinch off the head.  The pinched apart pieces will become food for the others.  

[debbeach13]

Did a WC and caught 2. Not the big ones but domes better than none

[Matteo]

I have a mamba of a BW in my tank. I have tried three times with tweezers but always escape me. 

 

All my fish and inverts can handle a large bristleworm but he gives me the hibby jibbies 😱

[debbeach13]

Agreed the big ones freak me out!

[Porkchops reef]

I have been working on a 3d printed box with holes all around it for a trap just been busy on other projects, and haven't went back to that one just yet. 

[Tamberav]

Years ago I had very large ones in one of my tanks but they never harmed anything. Not even my small fish... I am not sure if regular bristle worms are really capable of such things. One huge one lived in the burrow a shrimp goby.

 

I did add a hasslets goby to my pico and he does an excellent job making sure pods and worms stay in check.

 

I am pretty sure they sell bristleworms traps.

[DSA65PRO]

I took an old glass heater tube, and hot glued a Barb Adapter fitting in it. Put a piece of Silversides in it. They also have a hard exiting an old spice bottle with a shaker top. Just put it in the tank at night And try and retrieve it in the early morning. They have the traps on Amazon.