bristle worm.. good or bad?

[guppy_puppy1]

I recently have been noticing a bristle worm that must have came with some rock. I have some corals and anemone,46 bow with ls and lr. Everything is great except I still am having trouble keeping snails, are those bristles trouble? I see him when I feed krill, he comes out and will steal it from the anemone. Do they eat snails? Thanks for all help!

 

[trebor126]

I have heard that bristle worms are good for a tank. they eat uneaten food and fish wast..
As for the snails death... How long have you had you tank set up?? What are your water readings? I had snails and they all die also, but I think it was due to the hermit crabs killing them for their shells.. Do you have hermit crabs in the tank??

 

[marine fanatic]

I too obtained a couple of bristle worms on some live rock and at first I was alarmed and thought about getting rid of them. I read up on them from here and a few books and the general survey is that they are good to have. But....be careful when you place your hand near where they live since they can "sting" you. Most people say it just itches when they get hit by a bristle worm and a few even stated that it burns so FYI.

 

[hunterdaddy]

I know for a fact bristle worms WILL eat ghost shrimp. Bets are they will eat snails and other shrimp too.
First hand knowledge they eat ghost shrimp. Local fish guy (steve at sea cave) had the same problem.

 

[carrie1429]

They will eat snails if they get big enough. I had a large bristle worm that ate almost all my snails before I was able to get him out.