Well I got some live rock and Gsp a while back and had some Hitchhikers ... Bristle worms , them seem to breed like mad. I fish out as many as I can every few days... How do I lower the population of them. I have only 2 snowflake clowns and a six line wrasse , and cleaning crew , in a 34 gallon Red Sea max .. Any advice will be greatly appreciated !!!!
Bristle worms....good ? Bad ? What to do
- Thread starter Sanchez2896
- Start date
- Location
- Staten Island
Leave them be they are detrivores when i got my live rock it was loaded with thrm they were always moving and visible over time they find there way inti the rocks and you rarley see them unless at night , they generally go no harm theres one speilcies of it that is bad i forget what it is but most likely not what u have
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs
- Location
- Long Island, NY
+1 they are good to have.
- Location
- Long Island
I had a insane amount of them when I first started my 95. I picked up a sixline and melenarious wrasse and they took out like 90% of them and also I stopped overfeeding the tank. Overfeeding will make them reproduce like wildfire!!
- Location
- Queens, NY
The major problem that I have with them is when I'm handling rockwork or coral. If I accidentally pick one up, the spikes get into my skin and give me a rash for a few days. What I do now when I make contact, is to rub the bristles out using a dull knife under running water.
- Location
- Manhattan New York
Arrow crab would wipe them right out
- Location
- Long Island
#1 stop putting your hands in the tank and #2 wear gloves if you do. Reduce your feeding, get a worm trap and start trapping. There is no easy way to nuke them. I used a pair of prongs at night and pulled them as I saw them. I would spend hrs pulling worms but once I reduced my feelings they stopped reproducing and the worms became manageable. They work great as a cleanup care also. Some are good but a lot is just ugly and annoying.
- Location
- Long Island, NY
I always use an undersized pair of powder less nitrile gloves when I work in my tank. Protects my hands when I have to work in the rocks or with my zoas and feels like I'm wearing nothing. CVS has em cheap.
Lower the population by not overfeeding your fish. That means all food is consumed within 2 minutes. The more garbage you have around the more worms you will have. getting rid of the worms will just mean the garbage will feed other things like algae.
- Location
- Danbury, CT
For bristles in the finger soak in warm vinegar and they will dissolve
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
