TenPointStudios Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 So - I've had reef tanks on and off since about 2004 and have had bristleworms in my reefs as long as I can remember... I recently had a temp swing while on vacation that knocked out my entire snail pop, leading to a dino explosion... Had a bunch of work going on so let the tank run its course and it's now clearing up. Needless to say a goliath bristleworm has become the king of the tank. It's about 6-7 inches long (which isn't crazy) but it's 1/2 inch thick, and more round/thick than skinny! Last night - I was feeding ~1/4 of a hikari algae wafer to my hermit crabs and this bristle worm comes humming out of the liverock. Roams the edge of the tank following the smell, then plunges into the horde of hermits and bullies them right off the wafer... It pulls the wafer to itself and away from the hermits, then proceeds to eat the 1/4 wafer WHOLE! Like a snake eating a mouse.... I've never seen anything like it... and have now been watching him very closely around my new CUC. Thus far I've seen it go up and "bump" snails on the shell for lack of a better term, but I haven't seen it actually make a move on one. That said, I'm pretty nervous about it... I don't want a $5 trochus becoming a snack for "Bristle Goliath". Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 Oh, yeah, that's how they eat stuff. If it's the normal species of bristleworm, it won't eat your snails unless the snails are dying or dead, it'll just engulf whatever dead things/preexisting food it finds. Quote Link to comment
TenPointStudios Posted October 14, 2023 Author Share Posted October 14, 2023 Yea it's wild - I usually get smaller (1-2 inch) thin ones that are orange and blue/brown. This guy is a uniform silvery color and thick. I like to periodically drop a small piece of Hikari into the tank... this guy comes out and beats up the hermit crabs for it. He may have to go regardless. Just too aggressive. Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Can you get a photo under white lights? Silvery color may mean a fireworm, which can eat corals. Quote Link to comment
clearlyzigzag Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 On 10/13/2023 at 11:17 PM, TenPointStudios said: So - I've had reef tanks on and off since about 2004 and have had bristleworms in my reefs as long as I can remember... I recently had a temp swing while on vacation that knocked out my entire snail pop, leading to a dino explosion... Had a bunch of work going on so let the tank run its course and it's now clearing up. Needless to say a goliath bristleworm has become the king of the tank. It's about 6-7 inches long (which isn't crazy) but it's 1/2 inch thick, and more round/thick than skinny! Last night - I was feeding ~1/4 of a hikari algae wafer to my hermit crabs and this bristle worm comes humming out of the liverock. Roams the edge of the tank following the smell, then plunges into the horde of hermits and bullies them right off the wafer... It pulls the wafer to itself and away from the hermits, then proceeds to eat the 1/4 wafer WHOLE! Like a snake eating a mouse.... I've never seen anything like it... and have now been watching him very closely around my new CUC. Thus far I've seen it go up and "bump" snails on the shell for lack of a better term, but I haven't seen it actually make a move on one. That said, I'm pretty nervous about it... I don't want a $5 trochus becoming a snack for "Bristle Goliath". basketball stars In the case of the typical bristleworm species, it will not consume live snails until they are in a state of decline or deceased. Instead, it will consume any deceased organisms or preexisting food sources it encounters. Quote Link to comment
TenPointStudios Posted October 20, 2023 Author Share Posted October 20, 2023 Will try. Regardless he is probably coming out... Quote Link to comment
TenPointStudios Posted October 20, 2023 Author Share Posted October 20, 2023 On 10/19/2023 at 6:38 PM, Tired said: Can you get a photo under white lights? Silvery color may mean a fireworm, which can eat corals. Looking at more photos, and him under white lights.... it's 100% a fireworm... Silvery lined body. Little red tufts of spines close to the body with longer white spines... He's also just "built different" than the other bristle worms... vastly more aggressive even compared to the larger ones I have. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 Ah, yeah, that's a fireworm. They're quite cool, and are still not dangerous to moving animals, but they do eat corals sometimes. Quote Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 i had a huge one of these in my last tank and i couldn't get it out, finally just took the rock i knew it was in out and tossed it. Quote Link to comment
TenPointStudios Posted November 7, 2023 Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 Quick update. I have 2 or 3 of them ranging from ~4 to ~7 inches. I've been watching them like a hawk trying to catch them messing with anything else in the tank but they've been OK to this point. Haven't 100% decided on pulling them or not. I'm not sure what they ate to get so large, and I'm not sure what's sustaining them at this point. Do they eat sessile worms potentially? Had an issue with them in the past but they're mostly gone. Not sure if starved or if these guys went to work. Quote Link to comment
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