fireworm overpopulation

[devoman]

im new to sw and i've had my tank for 2 years. the fire worm population has EXPLODED.
my wife and i have pulled out around 40 and there are hundreds of tiny ones everywhere.
is the a natural predator or other scavangers that will help reduce the population?
i only have a few hermits (less than a dozen) and one serpent star. my lfs says they are ok in there but im concerned about the number of them. and they say rabbits breed fast..
any input would be greatly apperciated.

 

[dburr]

How much are you feeding your tank daily? They are most likely bristle worms not fire worms. They are good to have IF they stay small, less than 12".

 

[devoman]

i am feeding a small pinchof flake twice a day and 3 or 4 shrimp pellets once a day as recommended by my lfs. i have only have a clown fish, royal grama, yellow tang and one serpent star in a 60 gallon tank with approx 65-70 pounds of live rock. i noticed this evening after feeding there were lots of them in the sand less than a 1/4inch. and several coming out of the live rock that are over 4 inches. we have pulled out 4 that were between 6 and 8 inches and several more that were maybe an inch or so

 

[alyssia]

If the hermits and star are the only things you have in your tank I think you are overfeeding. If you cut back on feedings the worms will die off somewhat.

 

[devoman]

should i just not feed for a couple of days and then cut back to once a day or just cut back?

 

[dburr]

Maybe stop 1 day and cut back to feeding once a day. Flake one day, pellets the next.
HTH

 

[devoman]

thanks
i'll try that
what criiters should i get to help with sand cleaning?

 

[crzyfshygy]

Coral banded shrimp will wipe them out if you feel they are out of control. I had a good 25 or so and now I have like 3....and thats how I want it. They are beneficial...but I really do not care for them.....they look like trouble when crawling around my expensive corals. My coral banded does a good job in this dept.

 

[sfe]

A trigger fish will take care of that problem and so will a 6 line wrasse.

Those are more effective time-wise than a coralbanded shrimp since they can eat more at a faster rate.

 

[mudplayerx]

Fireworms are bristleworms I believe. Simply cutting down on feeding should take care of them.

 

[dburr]

All fire worms are bristle worms, but all bristle worms are not fire worms.