Are Bristle Worms good or bad?

[johnnyfish]

Seems like I read that they are good to have in a DSB. Others say they are a no no. I was just wondering what other people's expierence has been?

 

[jakob4001]

1.5' one NO PROBS as after 2 years in LR; they make great scavengers; SOMETIMES you might end up w/ one that does eat coral & clams though; sometimes you can check on them at night w/ a flashlight;make sure to put some red plastic wrap over the light though so as to lessen chance of scaring them off while viewing; than you can obseve whether or not they attack your corals or clams or sleeping fish

 

[lordofthereef]

I think that they are fine as long as you don't get an over population of them. usually i put a trap in the tank once a month, somtimes twice, just to keep them in check.

 

[keitho]

well, my trusted buddy at the LFS says that they can cause problems because their bristles can irritate and/or damage corals. to be honest, my tank has been running for over a year now and i have never seen a single one. that doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't any, but i haven't seen any damage from them if they're around *knock on wood*

 

[reeferdawg]

i seen them eat mt coral get a fish that will help keep them under control like a six lined wrasse or a bi-colored psudochromis.

 

[thomas712]

I have several different kind, encourage their growth, and have never seen any bristle worm in my tank or anyone else's tank ever eat a coral, they simply are not coral eaters, they are however great detrivors.
Thomas

 

[pclown]

I have them and they dont bother anything. I dont believe they are harmful unless you grab one with your fingers.

 

[mrdc]

I have several and I was catching them but I now I let them stay. They don't seem to hurt anything. They seem to scavage stuff out of the sand and off the rocks.

 

[ctgretzky9]

Love 'em! I have cc substrate, they do a great job of moving through that and scavaging. I can see them against the glass a lot.
I also have a couple of large ones i see out at night sometimes when I am lucky...
Never saw any kind of damage that could have been caused by them with corals etc.
Great scavengers, and food for some shrimp as well. I am sure my cbs has had a meal or two of them.