Bristle Worms.... How do I get rid of them?

[tnt3037]

I have tons of bristle worms in my tank.. some are 2 to 3 inches long.. Could this be what has been killing my Fish. I havent had any major problems with my fish until I started noticing these Bristle worms. I have been told Arrow Crabs or Hawkfish will eat these worms. But, I went and got a Hawkfish and It died three days after I had it.. Maybe, to much stress. I went through all the crushed coral in the bottom of the tank and picked out as many as I could find. But, to no avail..... seems like I have double what I did have. Also, Looks like they are coming from the Live Rock.. I have a 40 Gal. tank with 20 lbs of live rock... My fish seem to be dropping like flies. I do a 10 % water change every Sat. I also have (Left) 1 yellow Tang, 1 green Chromis, 1 yellow tail damsel, and 1 neon Blue damsel. Any help on this subject is appreciated!! Thanks alot. TNT3037

 

[beth]

There are few bristle worms that are fish eaters; most are benefical to reef systems, and, as you can see, they are not easy to get rid of.
I'd leave them.
I'm going to send your thread over to the Reef Forum. However, there have been discussions on this issue, so you might also want to look thru Search.

 

[carrie1429]

I have had the best luck with getting rid of them with arrow crabs, I bought two and they ate all the worms that I had. Most of the time, like Beth said, they are good but too many can be a problem, I don't think the bristle worms could be the cuase of the fish death unless they are like really big worms. There are bristle worm traps that you can buy at the LFS, it works good for the small worms.

 

[tnt3037]

Hey, Thanks for the fast reply, I have called my Trusty aquarium, and they are out of the traps. Also wont have any Arrow crabs till friday. All my level are normal.
PH 8.4
Alk Normal
Salinity 1.021
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
But, Like I said my fish are dropping fast. Two this morning and one when I came home from work.. Anything else, that could be killing my fish? I have run out of ideas. Thanks again

 

[surfnturf]

Do your fish look like something tried to eat them, could be a mantis shrimp, not likely, but possible. I would also consider taking a sample of your water to a LFS and have them test it, just to verify your test kits are giving accurate results.

 

[iechy]

I would seriously look into another cause. As Sammy said I really doubt they are killing your fish. If they are killing your fish I'd be willing to bet that this would be the first time most have heard of that. Have you noticed anything fishy( )with your fish? Any spots or rapid breathing? Do you hear any clicking noises? Is anyone doing a lot of bullying? How long do you keep your lights on? These could be causes of fish stress. Just throwing out some options, could be any or none of them. I think you could raise your salinity a bit as well. You could also have your water tested at the LFS just to be sure that your tests are right.

 

[crispcritr]

i have had bristle worms eat sleeping fish. the fish that use bullet holes are easy targets. firefish, jawfish etc...
the best way to catch these guys is using a nylon (pantyhose) cut the hose to form a small bag, place some bait,( squid, shrimp) in the bag and close it. place the bag on the bottom of the tank and secure it so it does not float around. leave it overnight. the scent draws them to the bag. their bristles get stuck on the nylon and cant get free. remove in the morning, my take a few trys and best if you do not feed the tank for two days. cheap and works great.

 

[ed r]

I have difficulty believing that bristleworms would ever eat healthy sleeping fish. From my experience, they ignore healthy live organisms. I keep my clam on the sand. There will usually be one or two worms underneath his shell. I know because I remove him for feeding every couple days. They just ignore the clam. Bristleworms come out of the rocks that my corals are growing on when I feed my tank. However, they do not bother any of those stationary creatures. Dead or dying clams or corals will very quickly attract a swarm of worms. While my fish do not lie stationary on the sand, they do occasional lie in crevices in the same rocks that the worms live in. I have had no casualties.

 

[tnt3037]

Thanks for all your help! I have gotten rid of most of the bristleworms. Only a few small ones remain. I did take a sample of my tank water to my regular Aquarium and all levels were normal. Did another water change. And so far all my fish look good. Havent lost anymore fish since my last posting. Thanks again to all who replied.