Some say bristleworms are good?

[saltyrich]

I'm considering purchasing a detrivore kit from a particular company to seed my soon to be new sand bed. The kit has lots of great micro stuff in it like amphipods, copepods, various types of worms, mysis and gammarus shrimp, and bristleworms (babies). They claim that they are reef safe and in fact are the best detrivore in the kit. Is this the case or not?

 

[carrie1429]

When they are small they are harmless but they grow fast and reproduce rapidly, and when they're big they eat corals and snails. And they are really hard to get out when they large, beleive me I know.
There are mixed opinions on them. Some say they are good and some say they're bad. IMO, they are bad when they are large. They are though a good member of the cleanup crew when they are small enough not to harm anything.

 

[ed r]

More people each day lean toward the thought that the common bristleworms are beneficial, even the large ones. I have added small ones to my tank deliberately. They will eagerly eat dead or dying corals and fish. I do not think they attack any healthy creatures. The only minor caution is to be careful with your hands when you are moving your rocks around. The bristles of larger worms will hurt if you get them in your fingers. Some other worms that occasionally get lumped into the category with the typical bristleworms have jaws that allow them to catch or bite fish. These species are not what you want, nor are they what you get with any reputable company's detrivore kits. Mine was from IPSF. I was very pleased with it. Good luck.