bristle worm and new rock questions

slt wtr stupid

slt wtr stupid

Member
I just got my live rock today it was shiped on wed. and when i opened it it had no smell isnt it supposed to stink if it has alot of die off? Also it has alot of what i think are bristle worms on it some appear to be dead some are still alive these are a dark orange to red in color i have heard that some are bad and some are good should i clean them off or leave them on and also if theres no smell and not much die off how long would it take to cure aproxamatly?



 
shaun larlee

shaun larlee

Member
Pictures? No smell doesnt sound right. If its still fresh it should smell fishy, like the ocean. Bad smell indicates die off. As for worms ive heard both sides argued. If they are indeed Bristles i think they can leave barbs in your skin if touched, no big deal if you have tweezers. Check out the hitchhiker thread for a pic and all the info...
 
shaun larlee

shaun larlee

Member
Good! i would cure them ( it should not take long) but test water every other day or so and keep an eye out for a small ammonia spike. Make sure they have a heater and powerhead in water, and just wait it out. Water changes if ammonia gets to high and in a week or so youll be good to go.
hope that helps....
 
kellenr

kellenr

Member
If you don't have any fish in your tank and it's still amidst cycling you can go ahead and put them straight in. Just make sure everything is 'fully' cycled before adding any type of marine life. Your levels might look cool for a week or so then all of a sudden they spike up big time.
As for the worms, check out pics of bristle worms and compare. The pics you loaded are kinda hard to see. Usually the bristle worms look pale in color and have a bunch of bristles along their sides that are clearly visible.
Another technique is to mix up some saltwater in a large bucket, the Specific Gravity of this water should be about 1.031 or a few thousandths higher. Drop the rock into the bucket for about 1 minute or so. Most 'free standing' hitchhikers such as worms etc. will seek an escape from their hiding spots due to the high salinity and you'll see them floating in the bucket water. You can then remove the rock and check out what you have in the water. If it's good and you want to keep it then throw it back on the rock or into your tank. If it's bad just leave it in the water and pour everything out into the bushes. That's just my experience, I'm sure others have different ways. Good luck!
 
slt wtr stupid

slt wtr stupid

Member
i have a FO tank and i'm curing in a bucket these worms have lots of white legs or bristles? thats what makes me think that there bristle worms sorry about pics but there the best i could do in a rush
 
shackaholic

shackaholic

New Member
bristleworms are a very beneficial part of your clean up crew, imo.
i would recommend keeping them unless they are two of the bad ones, i.e eunicid and fireworms.
there are tons upon tons of marine worms. as far as bristleworms go, almost all of them are detrivores, obviously not including fireworms and eunicid worms which are of a predatory nature.
go to this site and you find all sorts of worm pictures/id's:
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/
click hitchhikers on the left pane. then scroll down and click on worms.
hope that helps
 
shackaholic

shackaholic

New Member
it all depends on whether or not the rock was fully cured and how long it was out of the water from in between your tank and the place it came from (die off).
do you see any diatoms (brown carpet algae like substance)?
i'd say keep testing for another week or so.
also, it's possible that your tank is already cycled, though i wouldn't bank on it just yet.
 
slt wtr stupid

slt wtr stupid

Member
the rock is in a bucket curing it was out of "water" for three days during shipping but when they arrived they were still very wet and had no bad smell they are going into a cycled tank
 
T

tizzo

Guest
It will. Any minute now. The smell and the ammonia starts when the organisms ROT, not simply die. I mean when a cat get hit by a car, it doesn't start to smell the moment it died. But in about 3 or 4 days, then holy c'moly! I think you see where I'm going, lol.
You shoulda had at least some ammonia though.
And just to be very sure have another source test your ammonia to make sure your test isn't bad.
 
slt wtr stupid

slt wtr stupid

Member
Ok this is day five with aprox 25 lbs of curing live rock in a five gal bucket still no ammonia nitrates are at aprox 15 so what do you guys think should i have seen an ammonia spike by now or at least just a little?
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by slt wtr stupid
http:///forum/post/2633795
Ok this is day five with aprox 25 lbs of curing live rock in a five gal bucket still no ammonia nitrates are at aprox 15 so what do you guys think should i have seen an ammonia spike by now or at least just a little?
Yes, it should have spiked by now. Do you have a power head in the tub? Was the water new or from the display? If it was new and is showing nitrates then it sounds like it is cured. You may want to give it a few more days just to be sure. It sounds like it is done though.
 
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