How to get rid of bristleworms?

[Cibo]

Let Me start by saying

I KNOW THEY ARE GOOD!

I have a frag tank and they are everywhere there is just too many! I'm not looking to rid the tank of them just Intrduce a predator to keep them in check! What likes to eat them I want to put somthing in that will eat them I have a yellow tang and a few chromis in the tank. looking for a fish or invert to help keep them in check.

thanks for any input!:scratchch:scratchch

 

[NYreefNoob]

what size is the tank ? i think six lines eat them

 

[e.muehlbauer]

Put in a wrasse.................Eric

 

[drunktank]

arrow crab

 

[coralite]

There's no real reason to get rid of bristle worms. There are an average of 40,000 on the average square meter of reef so it is unlikely and unecessary to eliminate them from your reef. They are important scavengers and if you are seeing them in abundance you are either feeding too much or there is some kind of defect in your nutrient export system. Hope this helps.

 

[Cibo]

What kind of wrasse is best at eating them? will coral bandits eat them?

 

[OctaviousMonk]

coral banded shrimp are known for feasting on the buggers. If you get a mated pair you also get free food for your tank when the eggs hatch

 

[aaron23]

i agree with coralite

 

[NDY]

Corallite is right theirs no need

 

[LeslieS]

Let Me start by saying

I KNOW THEY ARE GOOD!

there is just too many!

As much as we try to do what is right by the animals in our tank, it is really about how the tank looks. If there are too many, then there are too many.

 

[inkblue]

Use them for bait wHen u go fishing...

 

[rookie07]

thats funny inkblue
just make sure they dont burrow into you fingers OUCH!!!!!!!!

 

[KathyC]

Didn't you say this is in a frag tank?
Are you putting food into the tank directly or is it attached to your main system?
Cutting back on feeding will help lessen the population. The population will die off to whatever level of food is available.

 

[TimberTDI]

Is there a size they grow to where they become a nuisance?

 

[inline6]

Is there a size they grow to where they become a nuisance?

I have seen some monster bristle worms 5-7"

However even at that size I'm not sure what harm they did.

 

[KathyC]

Is there a size they grow to where they become a nuisance?

I have one that is longer than 12"..along with a ton of others..and I can't say they become more problematic as they grow. I also believe there are many different varieties of them as I have some that stay quite small. If all of those grew to be like my bigger ones my tank would be nothing more than a mass of bristleworms!

I can attest to the fact that if you do make contact with one (my incident was with one of the bigger ones) you won't soon forget it. It was more than a month before I could feel the tip of my finger. Do wear gloves if you have them in your tank!

As much as I don't like crawly type things, the bristleworms are interesting to watch feed and I know that if I do a water change the night before a full moon..they will spawn the following night when the lights go off in the tank. The tank looks as if milk was poured into it (although the color of the sperm/eggs is actually pink) and it takes all night before my skimmer starts to work again...

 

[rookie07]

interesting kathy, you are a wealth of knowledge

out of curiousity, where is barnum island

 

[inkblue]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_Island,_New_York

:google:

 

[KathyC]

Cibo...forgot ..I have 8 wrasses in that tank, and I've never seen them eat any bristleworms. The Dusky wrasse tosses the small ones around but that's about it.
They do make bristleworm traps but tried one a few times and caught zero worms.:redface: You could try to put some food out in the open after the lights go out and scoop them up with a net if you feel you can't live with them.

Thanks for the link Ink
Strange that they included Garretts Marsh as part of the 'land' area here:scratch:

 

[qckwzrd]

My nano has TONS of bristleworms. I over feed my tanks so as soon as food hits the water they come out. You can try the mantis coca cola bottle trick. I don't mind my worms at all, any food that the corals or fish can't eat they will.