To Dip Live Rock in Fresh Water or not to that is the Question

[tykill]

I Recently bought some live rock that seems to have a varity of worms with it. I have heard that you can dip the rock in fresh water and the worms would explode. Is this True. Should I do this or just let nature be. Don't they have a purpose? I got two replys on this subject before....one said to dip it and the other said not too.........Lets kill this myth right here and now and get to the facts. Please post your experiences or Theorys on this subject.

 

[fshhub]

WORMS ARE A GOOD THING, why would you even want them to explode?, you can clean them off, using tweazers and rubber gloves DO NOT TOUCH, but they will help with your detritus, thsu helping with nitrate reduction
I personally like having them in there, they save me alot of work
you also may kill other good stuff by dipping your lr in fw, so there are 2 strikes against dipping
for a third, I wouldn't guarentee that they would explode anyhow, even if it does work, one guarentee you do have, is it will not be 100%, you probaably will kill more of the stuff you do want than worms, unless you leave it in there for a long period of time and the longer it is inthere, the closer you come to exterminating your lr which you just paid so much for
the only thing i wanted to get rid of was any crabs and mantis shrimp we may have had, which fw probably won't even disturb

 

[wamp]

I have always dipped mine in saltwater and shook it real hard and fast that way all the detrius buildup and loose worms fall of.. That way I can pick up the stuff from the bucket I want to keep in my tank..

 

[daluminum]

This is more of a question for you to research than an answer but... Are the worms in LR bad for a FO? or just bad for a reeftanks since they harm corals.?? just trying to give you a different question to ask so you can decide for yourself.. THX ~DAniel

 

[jonthefb]

I thought the worms were bad at first as well, and i had a ton of them in the rock that was in my 75, however, after i switched tanks to my new 135, al o fthe worms have seemed to migrate to the dsb, where they eat detritus and actually do the tank good. However,i did find them a nuisance in my 75, and raather than dip your rocks in a freshwater treatment, i have been advised to dip the rocks in a highly saline solution, specific gravity at about 1.025 to 1.030. I did this to some of the rock in my 75 for purely cosmetic appeal, and found that it did an excellent job of extracting the worms, and ther was minimal damage to the rock itself! HTH
JOn

 

[hillbilly]

Dipping in FW will not explode bristle worms. It will cause a lot of life both positive and negative such as Bristle Worms and Mantis Shrimp to evacuate the rock.
Bristle worms are considered by many to a good thing if you have a sand bed. Mantis Shrimp on the other hand are notorious killers.
Hillbilly

 

[ebeckels]

i have never dipped live rock into FW. why kill the life that's in there?
-Eric

 

[q]

The bristle worms are good for the tank be it eather reef of FO. There are some worms that are bad in a reef tank because they will eat or irritate corals. You need to know what you have.