Bristle Worms? Friend or Foe??

[npp02c]

I was just browsing through that thread about the various hitchikers that come in LR, I am currently buying the equipment needed to start my first reef tank and I frequently hear of bristle worms. I read mostly that they are harmless, but I do not want a large worm in my tank when it gets started. What is the best way to get rid of these? Do any other animals eat/get rid of them?

 

[v-lioness]

Bristle worms make a great clean up crew for your tank, there really is no way to just eliminate the worms with out killing other residents that exist on the rock. There are fish that eat Bristle worms & the other residents on the rock, but they could not be added until your tank is cycled.
Kaye

 

[granny]

Personally, I detest bristle worms. They usually live in the rock, not in the sand, can leave painful little 'splinters' in your hands when you work in the tank, get very large and ugly-all of the Marine Aquaria books that I have (which were all printed prior to year 2000) consider them a nuisance, not a benefit. They can also bore, though slowly, into your live rock and calcerous corals. Why in heavens name anyone would consider them beneficial is beyond me-though I do frequently see that staement on this web site!!
There are several ways to clean your live rock prior to putting it in your tank-most of which will destroy a lot of the living stuff on the surface of the rock, but not all of it.
A prior thread here from someone said that he lays his live rock over a buck, keeps it slightly moist and the critters drop into the bucket which he then sifts through determing good from evil. Others scrub their live rock and leave itout to dry completelly, then clean it again and put it back in the tank. Some of us do wierd stuff like pouring carbonated water (I used ginger ale once) through the holes in the live rock. This doesnt bother anything on the surface and cleans out any boring or hiding critters. It usually does not kill them-at least crabs, snails and shrimp have all survived this treatment, only to be relocated, returned to the tank or fed to somthing after being purged.
Do your own thing, but I do NOT keep bristle worms!!

 

[nm reef]

In general they can be a very positive addition to a well established marine system. It is rare to have problems with them.

 

[granny]

Alll right, NM Reef, Please tell me HOW they are positive?
and why do all three of the marine aquaria books I have say they are pests?
AND, why do I NEVER see them anywhere except boring tunnels through rock-in the LFS tanks, they have bunches in some of th tanks and they look HORRID, plus, again, they are on the rocks, not in the sand doing any beneificial sifting or anything else-just looking creepy-and I have had their little quills stuck in my hands many a time which hurts!
Plus you just cant get around ugly and creepy. They are not, have never been and will never be a welcome addition to any of my tanks!!

 

[thomas712]

They are a benefit because they are excellent detrivoresDetrivore :
Any organism which obtains most of its nutrients from the detritus in an ecosystem.
Detritus (biology), organic waste material from decomposing dead plants or animals
I have way to many to count in my system and have had no problems with them. They are mostly nocturnal so they come out when the lights go out, sometimes they come out when hungry during feeding time during the day as well..
Boring into rocks helps keep water flowing through the rocks, makes it more porous as well, to a point. So far none of my rocks have fallen apart because of it, and bristle worms are not the only boring worms and critters.
I wouldn't be without them, they live in both my 90 gallon main with shallow sand bed and 55 gallon refugium with 4.5 inch DSB.
Thomas

 

[granny]

All I can say to that, my dear Thomas, is BYUCK!!
OH, and I am a college grad so you dont need to define words for me-or did you do that because you remember that I am old and blind??
Good to hear from you again. :happyfish

 

[thomas712]

No offense intended, some folks need reminders my dear

How can you call this ugly?

 

[granny]

UM, HOw does that saying go?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.??
Still looks mighty ugly to me. Multiply it by hundreds-ucky yucky!
I have a tendency to sit in front of my tank at night (the one with all the rock and sand)
with the moonlights on and a flashlight in my hand. This is when the creepy critters emerge-and I attack!! armed with pincers and a bucket to try to catch them.
I used to have an arrow crab, but he bit the dust-think he was done in by the rogue crab I recently ginger aled (remember that one?)
Anyway, do you want me to mail you mine as I catch them? Most of the ones I see are pink with white bristles.

 

[turningtim]

Granny, I had an over abundence you worms (I still have them and like them). Put a raw shrimp in a new nylon stocking and put it on the sand overnight and go fishing. Pull it out first thing in the morning before your lights come on.
Had pretty good luck bringing the population down that way.
Didn't get KILLER yet. picked up a pc of rock and there he was about 7-8" scraed the life out of me but I had to put him back....
Thomas don't you have a KILLER in one of your tanks?
Tim

 

[granny]

ALL RIGHT TT,
I like that idea + it wll give me an idea of how many are really hiding in there.
Good to know I am not the only one who does not welcome these- ugh- things.

 

[npp02c]

Thanks for the information, I would much rather do without these things though. A giant worm in my tank is not really my cup of tea... :scared:

 

[nm reef]

Granny.....Thomas covered your question pretty good in my opinion. I'm curious what books you read that refer to them as pests?
I'm thinking you tend to view them from a personal perspective and fail to grasp the information regarding them as a beneficial part of a eco-system.....sort of the same line of thinking that lead to the near extinction of wolves. They are no more of a pest than copepods or even snails...sounds to me like you have a personal dislike of them but that should not cloud the observations by many experienced reefkeepers that they can be a very beneficial addition to a well established and maintained system. :thinking:

 

[nm reef]

Just a bit of interesting reading quoted fron Ron Shimek.....
"Aquarium Myth #349:
Bristle Worms Should Be Removed From Your Tank Because They Are: _________.
1) Dangerous,
2) Eat Corals,
3) Eat Clams,
4) Eat... Anything (as long as it is expensive or desirable), and
5) They Are Ugly.
This is multiple choice myth. Pick one, any combination of, or all of the above to complete it.
Don’t Make The Common Mythtakes About Bristle Worms!
The reality of the situation is considerably different from the myth. To start at the beginning we need to know just what exactly our hero in the scenario above was dealing with. Bristle worms are, well, worms with bristles. And, there are not a just a few of them either. Bristle worms are related to the common earthworms in their basic anatomy. That means they are segmented. In other words, their body is made of repeated units, or modules, called segments. In earthworms the segments look like rings, or “annuli,” of tissue. This appearance gives the worm’s animal group the name, Annelida. Most folks call them annelid worms.
Bristle worms differ from earthworms by being mostly found in marine environments, whilst earthworms are mostly terrestrial. They also have appendages on their bodies, whereas the earthworms are smooth. Finally, all earthworms are hermaphrodites, having both sexes simultaneously active in the same body, whereas most bristle worms have but one gender per worm.
Probably the most obvious difference between these types of annelids, though, is the presence of appendages all along the sides of the bristle worm’s body. These appendages, which often look like small legs, are tipped in many bristles. The common name for the group, “bristle worms” is relatively apt. Biologists who study these worms call them Polychaete Worms. Sounds rather pretentious until you realize that “Poly” means “many” and “Chaeta” means “bristle.” So, polychaete worm can be translated into the common vernacular as the “worm with many bristles.” Bristle worm will do. Unfortunately, the name is used much too carelessly to be useful. As it turns out there are well over 10,000 described species of bristle worms, and a truly sizeable number of those can make it into reef aquaria."

 

[nm reef]

Yet another reference to their potential benefits...
"Most experienced reefkeepers strongly believe in the beneficial effects of bristle worms on the sand bed. We hold the view that bristle worms and other sand bed scavengers are vitally important components of reef ecosystems, both captive and wild. Our Baby Bristle Worms package comes with 6 fine young specimens, all about 0.5 - 1.0 inches in length. Our clams and corals are grown in commercial mariculture tanks in close proximity with literally thousands of happily breeding bristleworms. Simply put, bristleworms are to reef tanks what earthworms are to gardens. Bristle worms constantly stir the reef tank sand bed and help keep it aerobic. They consume uneaten fish food and fish waste, preventing dead and decaying organic matter from accumulating on top of the sand bed. Baby Bristle Worms will mature rapidly and reproduce to levels that are consistent with the available resources (food and space) in your reef tank. "

 

[stanlalee]

I havent read any books that said they were pest but many many websites and so called experienced hobbiest/experts reference them to have been generally accepted to be pest in the past. In fact just about every article I've read on bristle worms reference the old thinking (pest) vs the now thinking (generally harmless or beneficial in moderation). Like lots of things in this hobby views have changed. I'm with granny though, they may very well be beneficial and harmless but they are quite ugly to look at and generally not pleasant for me to look at or know they are there in general. Luckily for me I've only seen one and that was right when I put a new coral rock in the tank and it came out. Even at night I dont see briste worms although I see nicer welcome worms.
The only bad thing I've really heard about bristle worms is if there population is high its an indication of excessive feeding/nutrients in the system. And quite frankly most people dont want to look at a bunch of bristle worms in their display tank especially ones comfortable and bold enough to feed during the day at feeding time.

 

[npp02c]

Well, thanks for that information, it appears that they are not so bad after all. If they are a vital part of a reef setup, then I will definitly keep them in my tank...
Thanks again

 

[turningtim]

When I got my tank (preowned) I had so many , most likly as stated above b/c of over feeding and such. I used the stocking method just to reduce the population b/c I had read they were pests and not good for the tank. Now after watching my feeding and changeing the substrate I still have quite a few but don't really see them until lights out. Besides scareing the heck out of me the big one can stay. I have never seen them do any harm or suspected they doing anything to my tank.
Thanks NM for confirming the thought process........
Tim