would a big bristleworm kill a sleeping fish?

J

jstdv8

Guest
My mandarin went missing a week ago, never saw him dead anywhere or on the floor or in the sump, just gone. he was very healthy looking, fat and happy, plenty of pods being produced for him in the sump.
I have no mean fish, they all got along great, ive never seen any aggression towards any of my fish from another.
 
So i'm thinking, I have this huge bristleworm that lives under a big base rock right near where the Mandarin used to sleep at night.
When mandarins sleep (or at least when mine slept) he looks like he's dead, you can even go in and tip him over with your finger and he won't move, scared the crap out of me a few times.
So, if this big worm were so inclined would he be able to just roll out of his den and grab the sleeping mandarin and pull him under the rock with him?
or do they absolutley not eat living meat?
 
Just trying to figure out what happend to my favorite fish. Other than a sixline I lost because of a boneheaded QT setup I've never had a fish die on me before.
 
If I have to I'll tear the whole tank apart until I find the big worm.
I've also seen a few others that are on the verge of being considered too big and need to be ejected to the sump too.
 

bang guy

Moderator
There are two species that I know of that will eat a sleeping fish (out of over 10,000 species). I've only seen one of them in a tank before and it will "spin" a mucous web around a sleeping fish that will first anesthetize the fish and eventually suffocate it to be eaten after it dies. The other one is just a large brute that will crawl up to the fish and grab it in its jaws.
 
Of the Bristle Worms that can actually eat fish flesh, there are the only ones that I know of that can kill a fish. The rest of the carrion eaters actually can't digest freshly dead meat so they don't look for anything except dead flesh.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Well dangit, that just leaves me with a missing fish and no explanation then LOL
Thanks for the info guys.
Sometime this coming week I'm going to take down half the tanka dn see if I can't get that big guy and a couple of his cronys out fot ehre and put tehm in the sump anyways.
If I get the big one out i'll post a picture. you guys are gonna wanna see this thing.
I hope i can get him out in one piece.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///forum/thread/379920/would-a-big-bristleworm-kill-a-sleeping-fish#post_3304496
Well dangit, that just leaves me with a missing fish and no explanation then LOL
Thanks for the info guys.
Sometime this coming week I'm going to take down half the tanka dn see if I can't get that big guy and a couple of his cronys out fot ehre and put tehm in the sump anyways.
If I get the big one out i'll post a picture. you guys are gonna wanna see this thing.
I hope i can get him out in one piece.

 
 
I am tossing this out because I lost a star fish once. Did you build your rock on the sand or put the rock in, THEN add the sand?

You may not notice a slight change the rocks, but a critter digging for food could get squashed or trapped in rock if it shifts.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
no I actually did it right, I put egg crate down and then ground my rock into the crate to get it locked in good then I added the sand in around it.
However, If i take the rock out that I'm pretty sure he's under when I put it back I'm only going to be able to do so much about getting the rock in the sand since I can't really get it all out of the way.
Plus I don't want to stir up the sand much.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
on that note, i think I'll wait till I get my new turf scubber pump and get that up and going good again before I go and mess with the sand. The more filtration I have at that point to suck up bad stuff the better.
 
A

aquatica

Guest
I have only had my tank set up for around two years now and i have only recently started to build up a fish community. Before i started buying some some fish to add i noticed that my tank was beginning to be overrun by bristleworms i took no notice to this as i researched them and found out that they do no harm and in fact help your tank. The water quality of my tank and its salinity etc is all as it should be but around a day or two after i put my fish in the tank they they would be fine during the day but when i woke up they would be dead. The only explanation i have for killing my fish at the moment is the bristleworms. What also adds to my suspicion is why they have all been dying during the night when the bristleworms are the most active and when the fish are at their most relaxed. If anyone has any explanation for what is happening to them it would be much appreciated and for any solutions on how to fix it.

Thanks
 

bang guy

Moderator
Can you provide a detailed description of your tank & inhabitants? Very unlikely it has anything to do with worms.

Water parameters, size of the tank, how long the fish were in the tank, what fish were added, what fish are doing well, etc.
 
A

aquatica

Guest
Yeah it is a 100 litre tank and it only had 3 small fish in it: PG wrasse and 2 small clown fish. I also have snails and srimp but they are all getting on ok and look healthy. The fish i added were only in for around 48 hours before 2 had already died which both of them happened and night. The 3rd which was the pg wrass which i noticed was starting to have white dots on its skin once i noticed this i tested the water quality etc to make sure everything was ok with it to make sure it wasnt the water that was causing this but the water and everything was ok. The only other explination i have for this happening is the worms but i only want to remove them if completely nessecery because they help your tank. The tank is around 1 meter tall and 2/3 foot wide and it holds 100 litre. Everything else in the tank is looking healthy the buttons, rocks, shrimp and snails etc. Im not sure what could be causing only the fish to die.
 

bang guy

Moderator
I strongly doubt the Bristleworms had anything to do with it.

White spots indicate a disease, ick or brook or something like that.
 
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