mysticgal22
Member
I have ATLEAST a thousand very large bristle worms. Can someone please tell me a good way to cut back and get read of the large ones? thanks:help:
Bristle worm BIG problem
- Thread starter mysticgal22
- Start date
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big pete
Guest
copper! hah thatl take out everything though
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tizzo
Guest
I got a coral banded for thet very reason. Well sorta, I didn't have BIG ones, but I wanted something to keep them under control. Anyway, it was a bad idea, so don't do that!!
He tries to attack my fish. And I've only seen him eat bristles twice!! Try one of those bristle worm traps... (?)
He tries to attack my fish. And I've only seen him eat bristles twice!! Try one of those bristle worm traps... (?)
mysticgal22
Member
Ok, I dont over feed. They get fed once a day.... And the one that I saw last night (worm) was at least 2 feet long! Now I have lost my niger to something in the tank... He was fine last night and this morning not even an eye ball was left in his skull, just alittle skin left. I was told to take the LR out and put it in buckets of fresh water... but I dont know that doesnt sound right to me. thanks
ericholcek
Member
Arrow Crab.... although their temperment is very bold, if anything spooks them they will poke it with its legs. My arrow has calmed down now and lets my cleaner shrimp jump all over him....
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cowpoke
Guest
Holy Cats Mystic
Well forget the traps, well at least the ones I have seen, it won't fit!!!!!!!!!!
It is really two feet long?
IMHO, if it got to be two feet long, and when they are small they only feed on detritus, you maybe feeding too much even if you only feeding once a day.
If you really believe that it is in the rocks, you could do what the folks who sell live rock, when they perpare it for shipment.
They put the rock on a shelf of some kind, above a bucket, pan etc, and squirt water (salt) on it, I don't know if a hand spray bottle would work to keep the rock damp enough to keep the good critters, but anywho, when the worms figure they are in a bad place they will bail out of thier hidding places in the rock and fall into the bucket!
Then you can sort out which critters you want to keep!
Your substrate maybe hidding some also, so you might want to look there too.
When you do catch get a picture that will great to see that sea monster!
Well forget the traps, well at least the ones I have seen, it won't fit!!!!!!!!!!
It is really two feet long?
IMHO, if it got to be two feet long, and when they are small they only feed on detritus, you maybe feeding too much even if you only feeding once a day.
If you really believe that it is in the rocks, you could do what the folks who sell live rock, when they perpare it for shipment.
They put the rock on a shelf of some kind, above a bucket, pan etc, and squirt water (salt) on it, I don't know if a hand spray bottle would work to keep the rock damp enough to keep the good critters, but anywho, when the worms figure they are in a bad place they will bail out of thier hidding places in the rock and fall into the bucket!
Then you can sort out which critters you want to keep!
Your substrate maybe hidding some also, so you might want to look there too.
When you do catch get a picture that will great to see that sea monster!
mysticgal22
Member
Ya its finding my fish, snails and crabs to eat. I feed my fish once a day and this is what they get. Brine shrimp/beef heart- 1 cube or 1/2 small fresh shrimp or a pinch of pellet food. We had bought this set up from some friends of ours and they believed that the bristle worms were a great addition to their tank so they did nothing to them, but she had to sell the tank do to she was deadly allergic to the bristle worms and ended up in the ER many times for being stuck by them. So ok now I have over 100 pounds of live rock I could just imagin how many are in there. I have to get these things (the huge ones) out of my tank. Dont get me wrong Im not the PERFECT tank personal but I do know some things and I know that if these things get any bigger Im gonna have a big bristle farm going on instead of a fwlr tank.
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sebae0
Guest
i aggree with bang i don't beleive the bristle killed your trigger i beleive he died and the bristles cleaned up. but the trap would work and help you reduce their population if you want to try it.
mysticgal22
Member
Ok Ill try the trap. Do I buy one or make one? Anyone know where to get one or how to make one? thanks
bang guy
Moderator
If you really want to remove some then just wrap up 1/2 a shrimp in a small section of clean nylons. The worms will go for the shrimp & get stuck in the material.
I still believe the population would decrease naturally if you fed less. These worms can't live on nothing. I have to wonder what's going to clean up the waste after you start removing worms.
I still believe the population would decrease naturally if you fed less. These worms can't live on nothing. I have to wonder what's going to clean up the waste after you start removing worms.
bang guy
Moderator
There are about 10,000 known species of Bristle Worms.
About a dozen are known to be predators.
In my 25+ years of keeping reef tanks I have actually seen three predatory Bristle Worms.
They exist, they are just not very common.
I have never ever seen nor heard of a Bristle Worm that can take down a Triggerfish.
I've seen 15+ foot Bristle Worms but they still couldn't take out a Triggerfish.
About a dozen are known to be predators.
In my 25+ years of keeping reef tanks I have actually seen three predatory Bristle Worms.
They exist, they are just not very common.
I have never ever seen nor heard of a Bristle Worm that can take down a Triggerfish.
I've seen 15+ foot Bristle Worms but they still couldn't take out a Triggerfish.
lori faust
New Member
I'm ready to tear down my tank after only 5 months!! you are scaring the -#$% out of me....
2 foot worms !!!
2 foot worms !!!
loopy
Member
I bought live rock and a bristle worm hitch hiked home on it. I personally thought the thing was utterly disgusting, and THEN read how big they get. That REALLY creaped me out. I don't care if they are benefical...I moved and nudged rock with one end of a net till it came floating out from under, then I scooped it out with another net and it kissed it's sorry as* goodbye. They are just too grose for me.
howardcu
Member
As posted before more than 99% of bristleworms are harmless and in fact are actually beneficial. Also most do not attain a lenght of 2 feet. That thing must have been grossly overfed by the previous owners of the LR. I had an outbreak of bristleworms in my 55 about a year ago after I had setup an automatic feeder that fed way too much. I moved shortly after and used that opportunity to sift out the larger ones when I was emptying the rock and sand into buckets. I also have a sunrise dottyback that seems to keep everything in control. Oh and I stopped using the automatic feeder since it's lowest setting was still too much for my fish load. There are of course still bristleworms that come out at night, but it doesn't look like the whole floor is moving now and they don't come out for pieces of food in swarms in the day like they did before.