Huge bristelworm

[drewdog82]

I noticed last night when the moon lights were on that I have a worm hiding in one of my rocks. I'm not sure how big it is because it wont come fully out, but it must be at least 8 in. I am pretty sure it is a bristleworm and the funny thing is I saw it going to work on my hair algae and because of this I was wondering if it would be bad to keep it????

 

[nygel]

depends i believe, I saw this one i pulled out of my rock kill a snail, i have another one too, both dead now. Mine was about a foot and a half or two though, little bigger, plus It was in a 10 gallon.

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by nYgel
depends i believe, I saw this one i pulled out of my rock kill a snail, i have another one too, both dead now. Mine was about a foot and a half or two though, little bigger, plus It was in a 10 gallon.
That's amazing that that was in a 10.... mine could be that big, I haven't seen his whole body, but mine is in a 55

 

[threed240]

:scared:

 

[drewissett]

what is the best way of extracting them?
Is there a way that does not involve ripping apart the tank?

 

[hamsmith]

I'm pretty sure they are beneficial. Most people think they are killers but usually what they are seeing is the worm eating an already dead critter. Check out your live rock a couple hours after lights out with a flashlight and you will most likely see several of these worms.

 

[aw2x3]

Originally Posted by HAMsmith
I'm pretty sure they are beneficial. Most people think they are killers but usually what they are seeing is the worm eating an already dead critter. Check out your live rock a couple hours after lights out with a flashlight and you will most likely see several of these worms.

I totally agree. I've scavenged the bottom of fish store's live rock bins, just to get Bristle and Fire Worms. They are fantastic as a clean up crew!

 

[nigerbang]

Bristle worms are also good at sifting sand. Watch those fireworms...They bite hard

 

[stanlalee]

You dont want fireworms in a reef tank, they are suppose to prey on corals and such. I dont know the difference, to me a common bristle worm looks like a common bristle worm but I guess if you see one eating corals and such its probably a fireworm.
check out these bad boy snails feeding on fireworms

 

[tangwhispr]

Originally Posted by Stanlalee
You dont want fireworms in a reef tank, they are suppose to prey on corals and such. I dont know the difference, to me a common bristle worm looks like a common bristle worm but I guess if you see one eating corals and such its probably a fireworm.
check out these bad boy snails feeding on fireworms

Where can one get these snails? and are they reef safe?

 

[stanlalee]

heres an [advertisement free] link from where I got the pictures.
http://www.seashell-collector.com/ar...regiuslive.htm

 

[acrylic51]

Bristle worms aren't as bad as what people think as long as they stay in check......10" I might consider a problem......If you check out Steve Wests' tank and see the size that he got out of his big, tank the thing clogged a pipe if I remember and were not talking a little tank guys with little 1" plumbing.....were talking big time tank.....Check out the site Oregonreef dot com and see the worm and the size.......

 

[nygel]

it wasn't a bristle worm though, i forget the name of what it was.

 

[payton 350]

i love my bristle worms in my tank..i've watched them ATTACK my hair algae and dead sttringy algae and eat a bunch of crap from my tank....i don't have on that big yet either but i can't wait till i do and see what it does

 

[nygel]

Originally Posted by Payton 350
i love my bristle worms in my tank..i've watched them ATTACK my hair algae and dead sttringy algae and eat a bunch of crap from my tank....i don't have on that big yet either but i can't wait till i do and see what it does
it will eat ur snail, thats what mine did...

 

[payton 350]

a small snail or a big turbo...i have three the size of a baseball.....i also had one last nite the was swimming in the tank about 2 inches and made his way into the powerhead...talk about tank food and the cycle of life....i'm sure my corals and cleaning crew loved that

 

[nygel]

it was a new margirita snail, it had an awesoem shell, which is why i got it, so i was quite unhappy with its death, but i slowly killed the worm so i feel what went around came back around.