Attacked by bristle worms!!! please help

[erickrebsbach]

Ever time I feed my fish I get to see how many bristle worms there are and it seems to be multipling daily I have a coral banded and used to have an arrow crab but he wasn't pulling his wieght and was going after other things Please what do I do I have more than I know what to do with and some of these things are huge others are barely visable WHAT DO I DO :?:

 

[paats]

Other than the coral shrimp the only thing I`ve heard of is a trap for bristle worms.They`re actually supposed to be good detrivores,but I`m with you on having too many in a tank.Just too ugly to look at.

 

[fishfanatic2]

Hence the avatar, paats.

 

[Anonymous]

If you're having issues with bristle worms reaching plague proportions, using animals like arrow crabs (which will eat them - along with your CB shrimp and many other desirable occupants) is a bandaid. You need to begin addressing the root of the issue, and knowing that bristleworms are detritivores means that's your issue. Excess detritus = excess detritivores.

Also, look at it this way, if you didn't have those bristleworms, your water quality would be akin to that of your toilet (sans chlorine).

You will need to begin by addressing filtration - likely it's not sufficient. Then, you must consider your husbandry techniques - I would wager that your substrate has some really thick pockets of well-aerated detritus for those things to be puttin' the feedbag on like that. What's your water change regimen? Not just how often, but also how much, and what cleaning takes place along with?

 

[Anonymous]

you might want to add some detritivores that you find more appealing.

add some nassarius snails, ceriths or small brittle stars (like the ones that come in sand kits).
the worms could be in high number because there is no competition for the spoils. IME, nassarius snails are quick to find detritus and uneaten food, they might be the reason i rarely see bristleworms in my new tank.

if the worms are in high number, oyu might yank some out before adding the other detritivores, just so the new additions are not the ones starved out.
some reefers would actually love to have your excess worms, you might take them to an LFS or reef club meeting.

 

[Fozza]

Having some Bristleworms is actually good then?

I was under the impression they were a bad thing for an aquarium.

 

[Baianotang]

" some reefers would actually love to have your excess worms".
Yes me!!

 

[Anonymous]

Having some Bristleworms is actually good then?

I was under the impression they were a bad thing for an aquarium.

that was the common belief some years ago... i think most people today would agree that they are an inevitable inhabitant in LR and that unless they are very large or in plague proportions they are relatively harmless.