Bristle worms

[jon in tx]

I suspected bristle worms and got a wrasse at the recommendation of the LPS several months ago. The Wrasse was tearing into the live rocks and obviously chowing down on them! However, he died after about 3 months (?) and now they're back and even worse.
They are hard to see since they mostly come out at night but I even find them in the filters when I do periodic cleaning/maint. I'm not sure I want another wrasse since most of them hide often. Are these worms a real concern? Any suggestions on dealing with them?

 

[patandlace]

I would just leave them alone they are good scavengers and beneficial to most tanks. They are harmless to most healthy animals.

 

[cjml]

Originally Posted by patandlace
I would just leave them alone they are good scavengers and beneficial to most tanks. They are harmless to most healthy animals.
I agree!! I have 3 wrasses and they do not eat my bristles. If your wrasse died it was from some other reason. :notsure:

 

[poniegirl]

I feel like such a harpie, but I'm posting anyway.
I have wrasses for the same reason, and they most definitely do control the bristleworms.
I've heard of other effective animals, such as arrow crabs and CB shrimp, but also hear they have been known to prey on fish.
What kind of wrasse did you have, Jon?

 

[firefish9]

I heard coral banded butterflyfish but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[jon in tx]

I may be wrong but I was thinking it was a 'formosa' wrasse... problem is I don't even see it on the list of Wrasse's on this site (??). I found an old pic of him I kept (see below).
My LFS owner did say the bristeworms come out at night and may be stinging the fish - even resulting in death after repeated stings.

 

[theappe]

I have a sixline wrasse and he doesnt eat bristles

 

[dr. evil]

I just started to notice bristle worms in my tank too and was wondering how many is too many last nite i counted 11 and they all average about 1" to 1-1/4" long should i worry?

 

[outatime97]

I have too many small ones to count, and at least 3 that are 12' to 16' long. They never bother anything. They do a great job of keeping the sand clean. I have a large domino that keeps their numbers down though.
Jon, how is Nederland? I used to live there about 25 years ago.

 

[jon in tx]

Nederland is good.... now. It's been a little crazy since Hurricane Rita hit us last Fall. Things are just now getting back to normal. The only bad thing is the pet stores in Mid-County only carry fresh water fish. I have to travel all the way to.... Beaumont... a whopping 25 minute drive.

 

[poniegirl]

Originally Posted by Dr. Evil
I just started to notice bristle worms in my tank too and was wondering how many is too many last nite i counted 11 and they all average about 1" to 1-1/4" long should i worry?
Not to give anyone the creeps, but I think they're like black widows, that is if you see them in the open during daylight, you might have issues. That's how it was for me.
I wouldn't mind them, but with seahorses in the tank, it was not acceptable.
My wrasse team is great at keeping the population controlled, eating the small ones like yours. I do see some worms at lights up in the morning, but they just draw back into the rock. That's fine by me, they do serve a cleaning purpose, after all.

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by theappe
I have a sixline wrasse and he doesnt eat bristles

Mine doesn't either.

 

[kailiek]

you can try a bristle worm trap.

 

[poniegirl]

Originally Posted by Outatime97
I have too many small ones to count, and at least 3 that are 12' to 16' long. They never bother anything. They do a great job of keeping the sand clean. I have a large domino that keeps their numbers down though.
12 to 16 feet :scared:

I just bet that sand is clean!

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by PonieGirl
Not to give anyone the creeps, but I think they're like black widows, that is if you see them in the open during daylight, you might have issues. That's how it was for me.
.

:scared: :scared: :scared:
Thanks for that!

 

[outatime97]

Originally Posted by PonieGirl
12 to 16 feet :scared:

I just bet that sand is clean!
Oops, I meant inches

I just WISH I had a big enough tank for that

 

[1journeyman]

Bristle worms, for the vast majority of folks, are harmless. They are great scavengers.
Some Bristle worms, aka "fireworms", can deliver a painful sting from the hairs.
If you are seeing a lot of Bristle worms you need to diagnose why they are breeding. There is something feeding them. Like all animals, population explosions occur during times of food abundance.
Cut down on the food source and the Bristle Worm population will diminish.
I have a Bristle in my tank about 8-14 inches long (They can stretch out a lot). I spot feed it when I know where it's burrow is. Not a fireworm, fortunately, as I accidentally grabbed onto it while moving my tank last month.
Anyway, point is, Bristle worms are often a sign of overfeeding, overcrowding, etc.

 

[jon in tx]

I feed my fish a tiny amount every two days. Could that be over feeding?

 

[poniegirl]

Overfeeding is definitely one possible cause.
If you have a lot of live rock, they can live in it (nutrient rich, aside from ((or due to)) its filtering benefit) and flourish.
Our tanks are an incredible balancing act.
What size is your tank, how long since the end of the first cycle and what are your test readings?

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Bristle worms, for the vast majority of folks, are harmless. They are great scavengers.
Some Bristle worms, aka "fireworms", can deliver a painful sting from the hairs.
If you are seeing a lot of Bristle worms you need to diagnose why they are breeding. There is something feeding them. Like all animals, population explosions occur during times of food abundance.
Cut down on the food source and the Bristle Worm population will diminish.
I have a Bristle in my tank about 8-14 inches long (They can stretch out a lot). I spot feed it when I know where it's burrow is. Not a fireworm, fortunately, as I accidentally grabbed onto it while moving my tank last month.
Anyway, point is, Bristle worms are often a sign of overfeeding, overcrowding, etc.

excellent answer!!
Historically, bristleworms had a bad rap. This is now somewhat of an outdated idea. Rarely are bristleworms a real problem and usually it is a single larger individual of a problem species that causes trouble. Just really is not all that common.
It goes without saying that animals need food...they reproduce and "bloom" if there is plenty of food. So when you have an animal that is a scavenger that is "blooming," it stands to reason they are getting a lot of food.
You can remove all the worms you want. But they will simply come back - their population will return to a size that is "allowed" by the available nutrients in the system.