Brissleworms?

[scubachris]

Are they harmful or beneficial to the tank? I bought a piece of lr and I guess it had some in it. I pulled a big one out the other day, when I had no idea what it was, but today I found another small one. Its in the back of the tank under a ledge so I cant get to him or take pics, but are they bad to have in the tank?

 

[florida joe]

If it is a true brissle worm they can become large and destructive.

 

[girlina4x4]

Bristleworms are beneficial to your tank. They eat leftover food and scavenge. If you feel you have too many you can lookup bristle worm traps online. Other than that, I would leave them alone

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by Girlina4x4
http:///forum/post/2849143
Bristleworms are beneficial to your tank. They eat leftover food and scavenge. If you feel you have too many you can lookup bristle worm traps online. Other than that, I would leave them alone
Oh it is good to be back in some small way I am sure my good friend Sir Q is smiling right now. I must restate that it is important to identify what kind of worms you have. They are not selective about what they eat, and will pray on all types of other motile and sessile invertebrates, such as coral, crustaceans, mollusks. They are aggressive predators, as my old friends know I am always open to debate the subject though

 

[ophiura]

The majority of polychaete worms are considered beneficial. everyone with live rock as bristleworms.
There are some species that become destructive, but it is very very very hard to identify polychaetes.
However there is a lot of hype and fear promoted. Most are harmless...and you would miss them if they were gone. Might you get a nasty one? Maybe, but it is pretty rare all considering. If you try and remove all thing things in your tank where you might get a bad species, there would be little joy in the hobby, and few things "natural" about the tank.
So offhand, I would not worry, personally. If you have a worm that is 6 or more inches long, that is where I would consider doing something but even then a large number will not cause trouble. But most are doing a very important job as members of your clean up crew. There are bad one's, definitely.. But most are not bad.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by ophiura
http:///forum/post/2849191
The majority of polychaete worms are considered beneficial. everyone with live rock as bristleworms.
There are some species that become destructive, but it is very very very hard to identify polychaetes.
However there is a lot of hype and fear promoted. Most are harmless...and you would miss them if they were gone. Might you get a nasty one? Maybe, but it is pretty rare all considering. If you try and remove all thing things in your tank where you might get a bad species, there would be little joy in the hobby, and few things "natural" about the tank.
So offhand, I would not worry, personally. If you have a worm that is 6 or more inches long, that is where I would consider doing something but even then a large number will not cause trouble. But most are doing a very important job as members of your clean up crew. There are bad one's, definitely.. But most are not bad.
+1
I don't see a problem with having a few large ones, they are an important part of the clean up crew.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2849165
Oh it is good to be back in some small way I am sure my good friend Sir Q is smiling right now. I must restate that it is important to identify what kind of worms you have. They are not selective about what they eat, and will pray on all types of other motile and sessile invertebrates, such as coral, crustaceans, mollusks. They are aggressive predators, as my old friends know I am always open to debate the subject though
I can agree with first identifying the animal but I think you paint them as destructive with much too broad a brush. There might be a dozen or so that can prey on other animals, a dozen out of 10,000 species.

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2849195
+1
I don't see a problem with having a few large ones, they are an important part of the clean up crew.
I would absolutely positively agree with you. But when they are so often portrayed in an "all bad" sort of light, and when they are so difficult to identify for hobbyists...at least go for really big one's. Personally, I would not unless I had real valid reason to think something was up.

 

[scubachris]

ok Thanks. What should I watch for to make sure its not destructive? I have some xenia and star polyps now, and plan to add some other corals soon.

 

[socal57che]

Originally Posted by Girlina4x4
http:///forum/post/2849143
Bristleworms are beneficial to your tank. They eat leftover food and scavenge. If you feel you have too many you can lookup bristle worm traps online. Other than that, I would leave them alone

Originally Posted by ophiura
http:///forum/post/2849191
The majority of polychaete worms are considered beneficial. everyone with live rock as bristleworms.
There are some species that become destructive, but it is very very very hard to identify polychaetes.
However there is a lot of hype and fear promoted. Most are harmless...and you would miss them if they were gone. Might you get a nasty one? Maybe, but it is pretty rare all considering. If you try and remove all thing things in your tank where you might get a bad species, there would be little joy in the hobby, and few things "natural" about the tank.
So offhand, I would not worry, personally. If you have a worm that is 6 or more inches long, that is where I would consider doing something but even then a large number will not cause trouble. But most are doing a very important job as members of your clean up crew. There are bad one's, definitely.. But most are not bad.

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2849195
+1
I don't see a problem with having a few large ones, they are an important part of the clean up crew.

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2849198
I can agree with first identifying the animal but I think you paint them as destructive with much too broad a brush. There might be a dozen or so that can prey on other animals, a dozen out of 10,000 species.

Originally Posted by ophiura
http:///forum/post/2849204
I would absolutely positively agree with you. But when they are so often portrayed in an "all bad" sort of light, and when they are so difficult to identify for hobbyists...at least go for really big one's. Personally, I would not unless I had real valid reason to think something was up.

Not that you kids need any validation from the likes of me, but
+1 on all these...
They are beneficial detritivores.
...and adding that a high population infestation can be an indication of overfeeding. (I mean like hundreds of them)

 

[ophiura]

Exactly right - thanks for pointing that out. They are a very good indicator of overfeeding

 

[socal57che]

Originally Posted by scubachris
http:///forum/post/2849238
ok Thanks. What should I watch for to make sure its not destructive? I have some xenia and star polyps now, and plan to add some other corals soon.
Sometimes it's hard to tell because they will feed on dead or dying specimens. They are often blamed for crimes they did not commit.
Oh, and Hi Susan. It's good to see you back.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2849198
I can agree with first identifying the animal but I think you paint them as destructive with much too broad a brush. There might be a dozen or so that can prey on other animals, a dozen out of 10,000 species.
Bang I feel that by saying that they are beneficial with out telling the original poster to at least try to identify what kind of worms they have is also painting them as harmless with a broad brush. I have bristle worms in my tank, but I feel confident enough that they are not fire worms to let them stay. I feel that anything present in our tanks that may be detrimental should at least should be researched.
I do however apologize for my previous posts I did paint all bristle worms as bad and that is just not true

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2849299
Bang I feel that by saying that they are beneficial with out telling the original poster to at least try to identify what kind of worms they have is also painting them as harmless with a broad brush. I have bristle worms in my tank, but I feel confident enough that they are not fire worms to let them stay. I feel that anything present in our tanks that may be detrimental should at least should be researched.
I do however apologize for my previous posts I did paint all bristle worms as bad and that is just not true

Then we agree.
I was going to point out that I saw a large Bristleworm in you latest photo of the right side of your tank. It's under the Xenia, right above a colony of Zoanthids. It looks to be bigger around than a pencil.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2849316
Then we agree.
I was going to point out that I saw a large Bristleworm in you latest photo of the right side of your tank. It's under the Xenia, right above a colony of Zoanthids. It looks to be bigger around than a pencil.

LOL Bang my good friend you really had me going lets see who else sees it but excellent example of good worms

 

[natclanwy]

I have at least a dozen different species of polychaete worms in my tank, bristle worms fall into this classifaction as do feather dusters. I have long claimed that they are benificial and most are harmless. Recently though I have been watching a very large worm 12"+ and have finally decided its time has come to go to the ocean in the sky. It has taken a liking to eating soft corals on occasion and has also attacked my 18" green brittle star, its no match for the star though. The point is most are harmless and many of us never even see the ones we have in our tanks but it is important to monitor them and try to ID them if you can, I have discovered that it is almost impossible to find a scientific name and if you do there isn't much useful info about it, but sometimes you can find someone that has had the same worm in their tank and they can share their experience with it.