Bristle Worm

[taat2d]

Saw a big nasty lookin bristle worm in the tank today. Is this something that will cause problems in the tank. I remember from the last time I had a reef tank setup I was told to get rid of them at all cost , that they destroy corals. If I do need to get rid of it HOW do I get it rid of it??

 

[Blue02celi]

some say they're good, some say they're bad (or more not bad and bad)
I saw a small one in my rock first day and I took it out

 

[daisy]

Unless this worm is HUGE, I would leave it alone. There are a few exceptions, I think, but for the most part, bristleworms are part of your clean-up crew. They will munch on dead and dying stuff. they are part of the ocean ecosystem.

But do NOT listen only to me!

I have bristleworms in my tank (at least 2 kinds of them) and they never touch stuff that's healthy.

-daisy

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

They should be fine, just don't touch them with your bare hands the bristles are small stingers and can cause some minor discomfort.

 

[taat2d]

Well I gotta say it FREAKED me out to no end when I saw it. It was coming out of my chocolate polyps and looked just like an extension of it. I was like what the hell is going on. It looked like an arm or some kind of tentacle growing out of the polyp colony. Then I realized what it was and when I tried to grab it it tok off.

 

[marki24]

I would leave it.

Leave it alone it wont cause any harm. i have a few of them in my tank and they dont bother anything. Next time take a picture and post it here so we can be sure its a bristle worm and not something else. If its a bristle worm dont bang your head over it:banghead:

 

[taat2d]

HAHA I can see it now I'm gonna set up camp at the tank trying to get a pic and I'm NEVER gonna see it again. As as I fall asleep or go take a leak it's gonna come right up to the glass in the exact spot I was sitting.....

 

[marki24]

Sit down and have a beer and if you need to pee then pee inside a beer bottle and you wont miss a thing. :lol2:

 

[Milkbone]

99% of worms are coral safe

I have all kinds of different worms in my tank. I have two that are in the bristle worm family & neither of them have any kind of sting (but there is something on one of my live rocks that stings the hell out of my hand if I don?t wear gloves). I personally feel that the more diverse your life is in the beginning of the food chain, the better it is for your tank. That being said there are certain bristle worms that are predatorial towards your coral. The likelihood that you got this within the trade is rare, what you do probably have is nighttime/ unseen clean up crew.

http://www.seaslugforum.net/showall.cfm?base=polychaete

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/polychaeidfaqs.htm

 

[KathyC]

Sit down and have a beer and if you need to pee then pee inside a beer bottle and you wont miss a thing. :lol2:

...gotta love the advice that's given out here on MR...lol

 

[taat2d]

Sit down and have a beer and if you need to pee then pee inside a beer bottle and you wont miss a thing. :lol2:

That's great idea I'm just afraid that my son might try doing the same thing and end up peeing all over the floor.:tongue1:

 

[marki24]

Well this is the time when daddy teaches his little son how to use his gun appropriately.

 

[taat2d]

Well this is the time when daddy teaches his little son how to use his gun appropriately.

So what do I do give him his own beer bottle??