W O W !

[scoobs]

I NEVER SEEN A BRISTLE WORM IN MY TANK..
I sit down a minute ago and was watching my tank and back in a cave i have built i see this HUGE things.. it has to be 6+ inches long.. WTH.. how can i get him out?!

 

[scoobs]

btw can he hurt anything? my tang is getting big but man this thing is bigger
freaken amazing something that large can hide so well.

 

[krull001]

at that size he can eat very small fish. i.e. nean gobies..... buy a bristle worm trap or use some of the home made traps on internet.. you need to get him out asap... when food that you add to the tank will not hold him over he will turn to small fish then coral and clams if you can pull the rock out of the tank that he is living in, freshwater dip the rock and he will drop of then replace the rock.... but you need to get him out of the tank now before he becomes a reasl problem!

 

[poniegirl]

It would also be amazing to get lost going from Jonesboro, AR to the airport in Memphis, no?
I have done that, too.
Aren't they something. The bristles..
Probably, no, he won't hurt anything. He likely can't hurt a healthy fish. He will, however clean up anything as equally icky as himself without coming out of the rock entirely. They are not very brave.

 

[hopkins6]

I have only had little worms but I use a hemostat(spelling?) and just pull the suckers out when I see them. I don't know how this method will work with one that big. Gook Luck.

 

[scoobs]

ok.. i just tore half my reef apart with no luck.. how the heck can something this big hide from me.

 

[scoobs]

this thing is freaking me out to no end.

 

[reefkprz]

here is what I use to remove the monster BWs from my tank remember they are awesome detritivores so only remove the largest ones.
just twist the nylon a few times add food to the middle and twist it a few more times put it in your tank at night close to where you last saw the monster though six isnt that large they can get about three feet I think dont quote me on that though. that trap cost me four dollars to build.
If you want a more comprehensive description on how to put it together look up "photos of DIY bristle worm trap" thread started by me.

 

[scoobs]

Should i be so worried about it? think i should remove it? I have a shimp.. a purple tang and a jawfish.. any dhanger here? also a clam and some corals

 

[seannmelly]

ive had 1 just as big or bigger i waited till i seen it and pulled it out with salad tongs lol.

 

[royal gang]

they look nasty

 

[bsp]

I have had 2 so far in my 12 gal. nano. I just wait to see when they come out and grab them with long Stainless steel tongs. The one I got was about 6" long. The next one I only got the head and the gust came out. Hope they can't grow another head. You might want to hold food for awhile. That's when mine have come out in the open. The traps are to big for my little tank. Good luck.

 

[scoobs]

well if i dont feed my tank my pueple tang will go ape and start picking on everything.. he is bad for that.

 

[scoobs]

so i sat.. and i waited.. and then went back and looked now and then.. while lights was off..
then bam i seen it! it was bairly sticking out from under a rock.. i dive for it fast as i can so it dont get away..
well i got him but its the wrong one.. this one is at most 3" and.. my fingers feel funny now

 

[baytran7]

why would you want to remove a scavenger from your tank? If you wanted to remove ugly benificial critters in your tank, you may want to take out snails, pods, hermits, bristleworms also. that guy is keeping your tank clean by eating any uneaten foods. If you really wanted to remove them then buy a predator like a small arrow crab, after you are satisfied with the results then return the crab to your lfs.

 

[scoobs]

dont they get dangerous when they get big like the 6"+ one?

 

[dw62]

Bristleworms eating live fish is an old wives tale. They are beneficial scavengers that should be welcome in any reef tank.

 

[alyssia]

As Bang Guy told me, the bristleworms diet doesn't change as it gets bigger. It won't start eating corals or fish.

 

[ice4ice]

I was reading Modern Reef Aquarium, Vol. 1 book a couple days ago and one of the authors had a bristle worm he pulled out was about 1 meter long. Talk about freaky !

 

[candycane]

Most of the time when they get that big I just wait for them to come most of the way out and squirt them with some sort of aiptasia killing chemical. They immediately just fall out of the hole most of the time and die. Then again if you can't get him, be prepared for a nitrate spike.