Bristtle worms in sand bed?

[Pennywise]

I've recently converted my FOWLR to a reef tank. I added about 3~4" of the bagged "live sand" from Natures Ocean about a month ago. How long before the critters on my live rock (mostly bristtle worms) will start inhabbiting the sand bed? Shouldn't I see them poking out of the sand at night (like I do on the live rock)? Whenever I leave my cleaning magnet stuck to the side of my tank, the next morning there's several worms hiding in it. I also find them in the collection cup of my skimmer? Is it worth while picking them off and putting them on the sand to help get things started? I'm concerned nothing is stirring up the sand and I know I'm not supposed to do that myself?

 

[Anonymous]

I guess you should notice some activity in the sandbed. They're probaly there but you don't see them. Do you see any trails or lines in the sand that's against the glass?

 

[Pennywise]

Nope, no trails, or lines. I would think I would see some in the sand that's against the glass. If I do pick one off from somewhere, and drop it on the sand, it does dig in, and disappear.

 

[shr00m]

it can take a long time for you to actually notice them.... my tank has been up nearly a year and im just seeing them in the bed.

 

[Anonymous]

next time you're at the LFS, buy like 5-8 small chunks of rubble rock (1 or 2 inches in size, not larger).

Pile it in a corner or something, pile it somewhere you can observe it. Rubble rock is great for cultivating pods and wormies. See if you can create a playground for them. I did this in my display tank and it worked well.

 

[Pennywise]

OK, thanks guys!

 

[Anonymous]

Can these worms get to be a problem? At night when I shine a flashlight in there I see hordes of 'em crawing around lookin' all creepy and stuff. During the day I pick up an abandoned snail shell and a pile of em tumble out. I was thinking about getting a sixline to keep their population down. I found one real big guy underneath a rock one day about 1/4 inch wide.

 

[Anonymous]

They aren't harmful in any sense...they tear apart uneaten food, fish waste, etc., almost before it hits the sand. I'm guessing I have approx. 1000 bristleworms in my *6 gallon* tank. During the daytime I can look in and observe probably 50-100 at any given time, and these are the ones that are larger, about the width and length of a toothpick. There are many, many more that are smaller. This is in a tank with SPS/LPS/ clams, and they aren't getting bothered.

I don't think sixlines eat bristleworms, I might be wrong. I'm pretty sure orchid dottybacks (Pseudochromis fridmani) prey on bristleworms, and they make a peaceful addition to a community tank anyway.

If you're looking for something to stir the sand up, get a conch (Strombus spp.), or a cucumber if your tank is big enough. IME worms alone don't do much.