huge bristle?help!anyone!

[dad]

ok i've tried to help out where i can. now it's my turn,lol
i just found this biistle worm i think. it's aboue 4" long and sortof flat. i've never seen it before but got lucky and had my camera handy. i uploaded the pics to my briefcase under pets. http://briefcase.yahoo.com/daddy_6910
can someone confirm that this is a bristle and tell me what to do!
see, now i'm panicing again.
it's huge! about a 1/4" wide and moves like a snake.

 

[dad]

ok it's definite a bristle worm. how do i get rid of it! will peppermint shrimp take on this monster?
i have to go for tonight. so i'll check back.any suggestions would be noted. thx

 

[@knight]

Arrow crabs are about 12 bucks here in Tulsa, they took care of my bristleworm problem. Theyre actually good to have for a DSB but if you dont have one theyre a pest.
If you dont want to get an arrow crab, wrap some krill or brine shrimp in a piece of nylon panty hose with something to weight it down. Sink it near the entrance to the litle boogers home. When he gets hungry, he will go for the bait but its bristles will get stuck in the hose. When this happens, remove it with tongs so you don't get stung.
This actually worked for me when the storebought traps did not.
HTH
btw, where in OK are you?

 

[@knight]

just saw your pics, that buger might be a little big for a crab to handle. prolly need to go with plan B.

 

[twoods71]

I had a big sucker like that in my tank also. I had to remove a rock he crawled into and placed it in freshwater until the big guy came out.

 

[dad]

well i guess i'll buy some panty hose today.
I'm a single man so this will be interesting,lol.
i'm not sure what rock he is in? last night was the first time i ever saw it.i'll keep a close eye out for him now though!!!
thanks.

 

[tangs_in_pacifica]

Wow! I can't believe someone hasn't spoken up for the Bristle worm - this being the reef group. 4" is a bit big, but doesn't sound horrible. I once had a 20L with thousands of large, visible bristle worms. That was the cleanest tank with the healthiest DSB ever. Unfortunately, my DottyBack ate them, when I transfered the inhabitants of the 20L to a 58. I have removed Bristles once ort twice - One guy was well over 12" extended. Overall, I think they contribute to your reef. As a matter of fact, I spoke with a fellow hobbyist that blames his Flame Hawk's bristle predation with the crash of his mini-reef. His theory is that, after the bristles were removed, Hydrogen Sulfide accumulated unchecked until his tank crashed. DSB was entirely black and water stunk really bad... bristles would've stopped this from happening.
So, your bristle(s) might not be a bad thing. IMOHO, adding an Arrow Crab would be much worse. This guy will probably eat any shrimp in ythe tank within a few days. It will attack all worms, including Feather Dusters. It may even harass corals.

 

[dad]

Good news! I cought the bristle!
I took a small beaker, placed some brine in the back of the tube(stuffed some plastic mesh to keep it in place). tied a fishing line to the top.laid it where i saw the worm and it just crawled in.
walla!
just thought i would pass the good news on!

 

[dugan]

I'm with Tangs on this one... I think bristle worms can be a positive in your tank. I've never had a problem with them, though I've never had one that big. At least, not that I know of...
From what I've read about Arrow Crabs lately it seems like using them would make the solution worse than the problem.
Katie

 

[ale368]

Originally posted by dad:
<STRONG>ok i've tried to help out where i can. now it's my turn,lol
i just found this biistle worm i think. it's aboue 4" long and sortof flat. i've never seen it before but got lucky and had my camera handy. i uploaded the pics to my briefcase under pets. http://briefcase.yahoo.com/daddy_6910
can someone confirm that this is a bristle and tell me what to do!
see, now i'm panicing again.
it's huge! about a 1/4" wide and moves like a snake.</STRONG>
null

 

[dad]

here is an article that i read.maybe this will help? http://netclub.athiel.com/bristle/bristle.html

 

[@knight]

bristle worms have been known to attack corals if there is not enuf waste for them to eat. so, it is highly likely that they re behind it. the smaller ones are good for your tank, especially if you are using LS. otherwise, if they are big and seem to be pests or killing things, i would take counter-measures against them.