Hold your horses everybody, or your worms in this case
Most people have bristleworms, which are often called fireworms....one of the commonly interchangeable names in this hobby that may not refer to the same beast a scientist may call a fireworm. Historically, in this hobby, bristleworms were very bad. People thought they were infestations that were killing stuff, when in reality they were scavengers that multiplied because tanks were pretty dirty. Now people see bristleworms as beneficial critters to have because they are scavengers. Most everyone with LR will have them. Maybe a couple of inches long, pinkish or red or brown generally with some irridesence. They have bristles - used in locomotion - that can be an irritant if you brush against them - kind of like cactus spines that are really tiny.
Sometimes though someone gets a big old nasty one. And these can be predatory instead of scavengers. They are often not the same species but good luck trying to identify the different species. You would need to be an expert and have a microscope and be a little strange...I know some
Anyway, these guys are usually these large beasts. So when they are quite large, it is probably best to remove them....but the small guys? I wouldn't. First, you would waste a heck of a lot of time trying, not to mention losing some of the joy of the hobby. And second, they are pretty good critters to have in general.
