growsomething Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 I have a 12" bristleworm that ate my Pederson's shrimp after he molted. I decided he had to go and tried trapping him with a plastic coke bottle and a straw, but he is too big to fit in the straw Tonight while feeding my starfish he came out and was stealing algae wafer bits right out of their arms. I quickly grabbed a 20" plastic tank pliers and grabbed him at about 2". Only 5" length was out of the rock, and he tore himself off, about 3-4" were all I got of him. Is he going to heal, grow back, or die and nuke the tank? Any experiences? Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Did the head escape? If so, it will likely survive. It wouldn't nuke the tank if it died unless you have a very small tank. It'll probably heal up, if it got away with enough organs. I would be curious to see whatever you got of the worm. I want to see what species it is. Are you sure it isn't a eunicid? Quote Link to comment
growsomething Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 Thanks for the reply, If the head is what comes out to feed, that is the part I got. The wife was freaked out so I quickly flushed it. I may just pull that rock tomorrow anyway, a nearby frogspawn has grown into a gorgonian that I need to move so it survives. If I get the rest, I'll post a pic. It's a 1yo Nuvo 10, waiting on a tsb from Drreef. Pods galore, 3 "serpent" starfish, and one hermit. Countless cerinth snails. Maybe something will take care of it if it dies and I can't get it. I shouldn't have grabbed it. Quote Link to comment
growsomething Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 2 shots of him from July 2020. Around 9-10" then. He is not much longer, but much, much thicker now. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 That looks to me like a pretty typical bristleworm. Awfully big, but it doesn't look like a eunicid or fireworm. How sure are you that it actually killed the shrimp? 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Sometimes shrimp can take a week or more to come out of hiding when they molt. (Usually quicker.) I bet a recycled bit that it was just a shrimp molt being consumed – not the actual shrimp....a detritivore doing what a detritivore does. 😉 (I hope, anyway.) 2 Quote Link to comment
Matteo Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Gross. I have bristle worms too and even though they are a good cuc they nasty af 🤢 Quote Link to comment
growsomething Posted February 21, 2021 Author Share Posted February 21, 2021 Unfortunately the shrimp has been gone for 4+ weeks. Paul B on r2r assured me he has seen bristlworms eat live inverts so I have to assume it did, but maybe that isn't generally true. Parameters are great and all other inverts are healthy. I got a light dusting of brown algae on the sand which persists unchanged day or night, but I fed some cheap fw pellets to the inverts for the 1st time earlier this week, so that's a variable in whether or not a dead worm is causing it. I kind of liked the worm till I was made to understand he could murder small inverts if not fed enough. It was a great conversation piece. Just drop the tiniest pinch of food in and out he came crawling. Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 5 hours ago, growsomething said: I kind of liked the worm till I was made to understand he could murder small inverts if not fed enough. It was a great conversation piece. Just drop the tiniest pinch of food in and out he came crawling. Everything our tanks host – from fish to corals – comes with some limitations like that. IMO he is a legitimate tank inhabitant. Cater to his needs as long as he's in there. If he (or the limitations) really bothers you, keep trying to trap him out of the tank...you will eventually be successful. 👍 Ripping him in half didn't help anything though, and probably just stressed both of you needlessly. On 2/19/2021 at 8:09 PM, growsomething said: 3 "serpent" starfish I missed this earlier. These guys can be gnarly night time ambush predators, especially of inverts but they will try to pounce on fish at night too. I had one (about 5" tip to tip) eat a Porcelain crab whole. Keep yours well fed – do not treat them like CUC in my opinion. On 2/19/2021 at 8:09 PM, growsomething said: It's a 1yo Nuvo 10 You have an interesting tank even if it's not the friendliest place for small inverts! Nothing wrong with that. If you ever upgrade to 30+ gallons, get a Hawkfish....perfect fit; excellent fish. Also not invert safe at all. 1 Quote Link to comment
ausram Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 CUC, yes, but also powerful enough to hunt when feeling hungry. They always gave me the creeps! Quote Link to comment
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