just caught a bristle worm

[bigred]

WOOOHOOOO!!!! I just caught one. He was crawing around on the sand and I scooped him up with the net with some sand to. then grabbed him with some tweezers and threw him into a cup oof water from the tank. How long will they survive in the cup? He is a olive green color with like little centapide legs or quills. took pics and will try to post them tomorrow. <img src="graemlins//freak.gif" border="0" alt="[freak]" />

 

[brian'sreef]

good q?.. they are supposed to be in there. they clean your sand bed to a great degree and reproduce like you would not believe.. they're a good thing.. just don't touch it with you hand..OUCHY.. it hurts. trust me every time i have to rearrange live rock i at least get stung by one.. anyway not sure how long it'll live in the jar without food but i'd do as jw says.. put it back..
Brian

 

[blue_carpet]

yes they are good for the tank i just found that out after someone who didnt know about them told me to kill it so i did

 

[joe's reefer]

ok there good detrivores but they will kill your corals with the bristles and u must have a fast hand to catch the worm

 

[wrassecal]

I don't know if I have more than one bristle worm but I do have one cause I caught my cleaner shrimp trying it's best for and hour to eat it, but it got away.

 

[colorado_reef]

I have a bunch of them and all my corals are fine!!

 

[josh]

Hi,
Yes 99% of Bristle worms are beneficial, only the Bermuda / Carribean fireworms can eat the corals. It is green? Dosen't sound like a bristle worm. Just go to google and do an image search for a bristle worm to make sure that is what you have ( red head and tail with a black body ).
Josh

 

[von_rahvin]

the ones here in florida grow to be over 2 feet in lenght!! i KNOW that the florida ones munch on coral but they are red with white bristles. I kid you not i was lobster hunting flipped over a rock to grab a bug and there were 3 of those bloody worms and the smallest must have been 18 inches, i moved back so fast my head swam! still got the lobster though
if it is green it is not the bad kinda worm. i'd like to see a pic.

 

[colorado_reef]

oh
I did not see the color of the thing you took out of your tank!! I also don't think it is a bristle worm.
Von_Rahvin,
I have florida rock and my bristle worms are the red w/ white bristles and they don't bother my corals. I have a few that are about 6" long!!!!

 

[susiepan]

My Daughter-in-law has a Pinkish colered one in her tank and I swear the thing is at least 12" long, and a fat sucker, and thats only the part we see come out..He/it/ comes out right in the daytime, and we did catch him eating one of her small blennys...he was wrapped around it munching away...
I kid you not...

 

[jakob4001]

'sides where there's one, there's usually more <img src="graemlins//evilwhorn.gif" border="0" alt="[Evil Horn]" />

 

[burtonjr]

Here's a pic of a worm that looks kinda green.
<a href="http://atlantisaquatic.com/images/worm1038.jpg" target="_blank">http://atlantisaquatic.com/images/worm1038.jpg</a>

 

[twoods71]

I think bristles are both good and bad. I believe it all depends on the type of worm.
I have seen many in my tank but have caught a few munching on some of my corals. I dont trust the little guys and keep a close eye on them.

 

[uncle fester]

As long as on b/worm topic, I know there are several types of the polychaete (sp?) worms that will sever a portion of their bodies and this portion will swim up in the water column as part of a bizarre but interesting reproductive strategy. I ask only because last night, a section of worm approx 2" in length was swimming upwards in my tank at around 10 pm CST. Can anyone confirm if bristleworms do this? I know it was swimming not drifting. It actually "landed" on substrate repeatedly, seemed to rest, then started swimming again. No digital camera yet, unfortunately. Section of body was brilliant red. Tks, Fester <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />

 

[crissykat9]

i have 3 worms . they are pinkish and are about
6 inches long . i put them in my other yank with
the mantis shrimp. i have had about 5 or 6 worms in the past year.they can be good and bad.