need help quick! BIG bristleworm--how to remove?

[xnikki118x]

I was just peering into my tank with my trusty orange flashlight (orange exterior, not bulb) and I saw this HUGE bristleworm. I didn't get an extremely good look at it beacuse it began to duck away when I shined the light on it. But, it's about a centimeter wide, probably almost half an inch wide including its huge bristles, it had a reddish tint I think, and I saw about 3 inches of it and there was more in the rocks still.
I know they can do damage and I need to get it out. How? I've read you're not supposed to grab them w/ your bare hands. What if I wear (cotton) gloves? Would a pair of eyebrow tweezers work? A pair of kitchen tongs??
Thanks for the quick responses--I do'nt want him to get away.

 

[sweetreef]

its fire worm probly use rubber gloves are you can try the tweezers i use tweezers to get some of the big ones out of my tank...

 

[xnikki118x]

Sweetreef! When I saw that you were on, I had a feeling you'd be the first to respond. :joy:
Do I run the risk of like breaking this worm with the tweezers? If I only get part of it out, does the other part stay alive?
Why can't I use my bare hands? (Stupid question, but probably an important one.)
There's a thread about a huge bristleworm going right now also, and a few reefers have said they have large bristleworms and keep them as long as they don't eat anything. Is a fireworm the same as a bristleworm?

 

[sweetreef]

well if you grab it with your bare hand it will not fill to good there kinda like a porky pine and the do sting as far as it breaking in half thats the chance your going have to take and most of the time they will live even if brokin in half but like i said just try to use tweezers..I really dont worry about small ones its just the big ones i dont care for as well they are not bad to have in your tank its only bad when they over take the tank when you get alot its most do from over feeding your fish

 

[sweetreef]

fireworm/bristle worm they a the same thing most of the ones we have in are tanks are called eurythoe complanata..

 

[xnikki118x]

Well I'm going to attempt the removal right now...keep your fingers crossed for me! :scared:

 

[xnikki118x]

I got one!! It was about 6 inches long or so, which isn't that big by comparison, but I do have a smallll tank.
Unfortunately, it's not the reddish one. Unless I really didn't see a reddish tint, lol. I saw the other one while I was catching this one, but it was too quick for me.
To think I thought there was only one monster bristleworm....oh boy.
The one I caught creeped me out so much that I couldn't even stand to kill it, so I threw it into my QT tank, where it will probably die from the cold unless it's extremely hardy. Whenever my QT is not in use--which is most of the time, obviously--I don't run the lights or the heater, so the water is like room temperature.
If the cold doesn't kill him, the water probably will....I'm sure there's still PimaFix in there from when I treated my clown for popeye a month or so ago.
Thanks for your help, sweetreef. I'm gonna get the other bass-turd soon!!

 

[mudplayerx]

There are a lot of crab species and shrimp species sold on this site that eat bristles. Some of them are around $5.

 

[bang guy]

Why would you risk damaging your rock for a worm that is probably a beneficial detrivore?

 

[motohead]

dunno bang,i got a couple of larger ones in my tank that i have witnessed at night.they stay away from my corals and all.i am of the opinion let em stay and eat poop.

 

[xnikki118x]

So it's better to just leave them in there? I've heard horror stories about losing corals to big bristle worms, and I don't really have any corals to begin with haha, so I don't want to take any chances.
Was removing him a bad idea?

 

[sweetreef]

imo i dont like the big ones and i have seen them eat away at corals at my lfs...But all in all they are not bad for the system like i said earler they are only bad when the seen to take over the tank and they seem to love cc sub more than sand

 

[terryr]

Hi! This is my first time here - and I saw you all talking about "bristlewoms". Are they pink with gray in the middle and fuzzy? I hate them - some are very tiny, but I have found 4 inch ones. This is the reason I registered - so I could find out what to do about them. What kinds of things eat them?? HELP!

 

[beth]

Feed them well. They are very beneficial to your tank, so you want to nuture them and encourage their proliferation. At least, that's my opinion. Don't touch them, though. Their "bristles" can really bite.

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by xnikki118x
Was removing him a bad idea?
Probably.
There are over 10,000 species of Bristleworms. A dozen, give or take, have been found to be destructive. The vast majority are detrivores that will be your first line of defense in keeping your tank clean and water quality high.

 

[sweetreef]

Caribbean fire worms feed on corals,hydrocorals,gorgonians and anemones i have seen them do it in this type of species look up hermodice carunculata are eurythoe complanata these are the type of worms to worry about if they look like them imo i would get them out you can get them from florida live rock they are also found in the gulf of mexico i have seen some at some lfs when picking up a coral

 

[bang guy]

"hermodice carunculata"
Yes, these will eat soft corals and should be removed. They are quite uncommon but do show up from time to time.

 

[knots]

I'm curious how these guys or girls get into your tank? Is it from live rock or sand? Or do they come from somewhere else? Or hitchhiker from something? :notsure: I have never seen them for sale.

 

[sweetreef]

They come on live rock mostly but just like bang said not all worms are bad

 

[tooldini]

Can anyone tell me what type of worm this is? I figured it was a type of bristle worm. He hates light and is about 3+ inches long. This is in a new aquarium I am setting up. The worm was in a chunk of live rock. Any help would be great.
thanks
Jeff