why keep bristleworms: the reasons

Sk8r · 06/20/2006, 10:29 AM

Bristleworms look scary, can sting you, and many people assume anything that creeps or bristles must be harmful, or that anything that stings you can kill fish or hurt your corals. Some say that really big ones go rogue.

No.

I have a 52 gallon with about 2 cupfuls of bristleworms, some around 10 inches. I value them. What's good about them?

1. they clean up holes no toothbrush can get into, and prevent crud from building up and raising your nitrates.
2. some reefers say they are essential for healthy corals and other small-particle feeders, because worm-poo is small enough to get through their filters: that snail- and fish-poo isn't, on its own.
3. they're undertakers. If you find them near something dead, they didn't kill it; they're keeping it from rotting away into your tank.
4. they can crawl right over the face of the most sensitive coral without puncturing or harming it.
5. they're free.

six.line · 06/20/2006, 10:33 AM

There are some worms that are bad. Odds are 50 zillion billion jillion to one against that the worms you're looking at in your tank are BAD. That's right, the bristleworms (they give me the jimmblies) are nasty looking but they are GOOD.

Even if your LFS sells bristleworm traps, they are still GOOD. Leave them alone. They didn't kill the snail. They're eating its rotting carcass, which is better than having it rot entirely.

Ti · 06/20/2006, 11:44 AM

They eat everything that dies so it doesn't foul the tank.
scary to look at, but helpful

Mike.B · 06/20/2006, 01:59 PM

Arent they a bad thing when they get big? If so how big?

NeilPearson · 06/20/2006, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by subzero420
Arent they a bad thing when they get big? If so how big?

Nope. Big ones are good too.

kevin2000 · 06/20/2006, 03:24 PM

Bristle worms are a natural part of most aquariums ... they tend to be secretive and many aquarist will seldom see them unless they do a substrate change or rearrange their live rock. Bristle worms will regulate their own population based on the available food source. Since bristle worms tend to stay hidden .. if you see alot of bristle worms then you have ALOT of bristle worms and that's a good indicator that you are overfeeding your tank.

Sk8r · 06/20/2006, 04:18 PM

The only bristleworm I'd probably get rid of would be the near 3-footer somebody in Oregon pulled out of a drain---not that I'm afraid the bristleworm per se would harm anything; but he'd sure block the drain.

Seriously, my larger ones, the four that are ten-inchers, have names: Barney, Fred, Sam, and Harry. They will come out if I drop pellet food, but won't stir for cyclopeeze, so there's some sort of pattern-learning that goes on in their almost brainless heads...

six.line · 06/20/2006, 05:04 PM

Ugh... They sure are nasty looking.

I saw a tug of war once over a dead snail between a hermit crab and roughly 5 inches of bristleworm. The rest of the bristleworm was in/under the rock. I suppose the hermit crab wanted a bigger shell and the bristleworm wanted lunch.

The bristleworm won.

whiteshark · 06/20/2006, 05:12 PM

I was feeding a sun coral and while I was watching it eat (still had my hand in the tank), a bristleworm crawled up into the pipette to get some of the leftover mysis. We had a tug-of-war, but I won...

Sk8r · 06/20/2006, 05:21 PM

They're one of a few things that can actually extract food pellets from a scrumming ball of blue-leg hermits and get away with it.

msuzuki126 · 06/20/2006, 07:32 PM

Great thread!

doox00 · 06/20/2006, 08:01 PM

lol, whenever I drop shrimp pellets in my tank I see about 10 bristleworms start popping out of holes, I love it lol

yeame · 06/20/2006, 08:11 PM

they make great food for a couple of my fish

jay24k · 06/20/2006, 09:24 PM

They can be bad when they get very large and irritate corals. Most of the time we won't ever see that but a guy name Steve Weast I believe his name was found one that around 4 to 6 feet if I recall correctly. It was irritating many of his corals.

NeilPearson · 06/21/2006, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jay24k
They can be bad when they get very large and irritate corals. Most of the time we won't ever see that but a guy name Steve Weast I believe his name was found one that around 4 to 6 feet if I recall correctly. It was irritating many of his corals.

That wouldn't be a normal, everyday bristleworm. The species that most people have don't get that big.

E-A-G-L-E-S · 06/21/2006, 02:16 PM

thats not true...he said it was a common worm that grew that size over many years......

....sk8r, you've been doing alot of these write-ups....how come?

Sk8r · 06/21/2006, 05:39 PM

E-A-G-L-E-S, just time-filling. I live by the keyboard, and just enjoy typing something different now and again, when my brain could use a break. I started up in this hobby again back in January, had to do a crash course on a hobby that had really transformed itself during the 5 years I was out, and enjoy helping out newbies, which is what I was 6 months ago...it reminds me what details I need to know, and the problem-solving and organization is actually relaxation for me. When I problem-solve the same problem 4 or 5 times over in the main list, and it's the same thing over and over, I figure maybe a note in the newbie forum might be helpful. This is sort of a collection of things I wish I'd known when I started.

bllfish · 06/21/2006, 05:56 PM

good job Sk8r

Sk8r · 06/21/2006, 06:13 PM

Thank you, bllfish.

E-A-G-L-E-S · 06/21/2006, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sk8r
E-A-G-L-E-S, just time-filling. I live by the keyboard, and just enjoy typing something different now and again, when my brain could use a break. I started up in this hobby again back in January, had to do a crash course on a hobby that had really transformed itself during the 5 years I was out, and enjoy helping out newbies, which is what I was 6 months ago...it reminds me what details I need to know, and the problem-solving and organization is actually relaxation for me. When I problem-solve the same problem 4 or 5 times over in the main list, and it's the same thing over and over, I figure maybe a note in the newbie forum might be helpful. This is sort of a collection of things I wish I'd known when I started.

that makes perfect sense, good job

.......keep truckin

Sk8r · 06/21/2006, 06:19 PM

Thanks, E-A-G-L-E-S.

jawaiianmon · 06/21/2006, 07:42 PM

I just found two bristleworms this past week in my two month old tank. I think they came in on frag rocks. I am more interested in finding them again than I am in watching all of the other critters I have. Bristleworms are really cool. I always enjoy your threads Sk8r.

bllfish · 06/21/2006, 07:47 PM

Check out your tank with a flashlight about an hour after the lights go out.

Sk8r · 06/21/2006, 09:21 PM

Thank you, Jawaiianmon.

I've formed the suspicion the big worms somehow wend their way through adjacent rocks, in the holes. I'm sure either Barney or Fred is the same one that turns up further to the left of their ordinary rock. But I'm not good enough at spotting to tell the difference between Barney and Fred.

Nabob89 · 06/21/2006, 09:26 PM

do bristleworms only come out when the tank is completly dark?...my fuge lights run reverse the tank lights, but its a HOB fuge, so part of the tank is lit up by the fuge lights during the nights.....i haven't seen any worms yet, so could this be scaring them to stay in the rocks?

06/20/2006, 10:29 AM	#1
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	why keep bristleworms: the reasons Bristleworms look scary, can sting you, and many people assume anything that creeps or bristles must be harmful, or that anything that stings you can kill fish or hurt your corals. Some say that really big ones go rogue. No. I have a 52 gallon with about 2 cupfuls of bristleworms, some around 10 inches. I value them. What's good about them? 1. they clean up holes no toothbrush can get into, and prevent crud from building up and raising your nitrates. 2. some reefers say they are essential for healthy corals and other small-particle feeders, because worm-poo is small enough to get through their filters: that snail- and fish-poo isn't, on its own. 3. they're undertakers. If you find them near something dead, they didn't kill it; they're keeping it from rotting away into your tank. 4. they can crawl right over the face of the most sensitive coral without puncturing or harming it. 5. they're free. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/20/2006, 10:33 AM	#2
six.line Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Logan, UT Posts: 775	There are some worms that are bad. Odds are 50 zillion billion jillion to one against that the worms you're looking at in your tank are BAD. That's right, the bristleworms (they give me the jimmblies) are nasty looking but they are GOOD. Even if your LFS sells bristleworm traps, they are still GOOD. Leave them alone. They didn't kill the snail. They're eating its rotting carcass, which is better than having it rot entirely. __________________ This post approved by Mrs. Sixline. assign <= six.line(#FFFFFF && string("nerdy")) Current Tank Info: 30 gallon with 10 gallon sump

06/20/2006, 11:44 AM	#3
Ti Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 7,927	They eat everything that dies so it doesn't foul the tank. scary to look at, but helpful __________________ Hair algae is my Macro algae.

06/20/2006, 04:18 PM	#7
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	The only bristleworm I'd probably get rid of would be the near 3-footer somebody in Oregon pulled out of a drain---not that I'm afraid the bristleworm per se would harm anything; but he'd sure block the drain. Seriously, my larger ones, the four that are ten-inchers, have names: Barney, Fred, Sam, and Harry. They will come out if I drop pellet food, but won't stir for cyclopeeze, so there's some sort of pattern-learning that goes on in their almost brainless heads... __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/20/2006, 05:04 PM	#8
six.line Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Logan, UT Posts: 775	Ugh... They sure are nasty looking. I saw a tug of war once over a dead snail between a hermit crab and roughly 5 inches of bristleworm. The rest of the bristleworm was in/under the rock. I suppose the hermit crab wanted a bigger shell and the bristleworm wanted lunch. The bristleworm won. __________________ This post approved by Mrs. Sixline. assign <= six.line(#FFFFFF && string("nerdy")) Current Tank Info: 30 gallon with 10 gallon sump

06/20/2006, 01:59 PM	#4
Mike.B Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 548	Arent they a bad thing when they get big? If so how big?

06/20/2006, 03:24 PM	#6
kevin2000 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,805	Bristle worms are a natural part of most aquariums ... they tend to be secretive and many aquarist will seldom see them unless they do a substrate change or rearrange their live rock. Bristle worms will regulate their own population based on the available food source. Since bristle worms tend to stay hidden .. if you see alot of bristle worms then you have ALOT of bristle worms and that's a good indicator that you are overfeeding your tank.

06/20/2006, 05:12 PM	#9
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	I was feeding a sun coral and while I was watching it eat (still had my hand in the tank), a bristleworm crawled up into the pipette to get some of the leftover mysis. We had a tug-of-war, but I won... __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

06/20/2006, 05:21 PM	#10
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	They're one of a few things that can actually extract food pellets from a scrumming ball of blue-leg hermits and get away with it. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/20/2006, 07:32 PM	#11
msuzuki126 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dutchess County, New York Posts: 1,377	Great thread! __________________ Red House=My 90 build. Matt. Current Tank Info: 90 rebuild

06/20/2006, 08:01 PM	#12
doox00 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Michigan Posts: 928	lol, whenever I drop shrimp pellets in my tank I see about 10 bristleworms start popping out of holes, I love it lol

06/20/2006, 08:11 PM	#13
yeame Moved On Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: maine Posts: 488	they make great food for a couple of my fish

06/20/2006, 09:24 PM	#14
jay24k Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Leesburg, Florida Posts: 6,546	They can be bad when they get very large and irritate corals. Most of the time we won't ever see that but a guy name Steve Weast I believe his name was found one that around 4 to 6 feet if I recall correctly. It was irritating many of his corals.

06/21/2006, 02:16 PM	#16
E-A-G-L-E-S Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lehigh Valley, PA Posts: 7,038	thats not true...he said it was a common worm that grew that size over many years...... ....sk8r, you've been doing alot of these write-ups....how come? __________________ Smug Egotistical Contemptuous It's difficult to get a man to understand something that his salary requires him not to.

06/21/2006, 05:39 PM	#17
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	E-A-G-L-E-S, just time-filling. I live by the keyboard, and just enjoy typing something different now and again, when my brain could use a break. I started up in this hobby again back in January, had to do a crash course on a hobby that had really transformed itself during the 5 years I was out, and enjoy helping out newbies, which is what I was 6 months ago...it reminds me what details I need to know, and the problem-solving and organization is actually relaxation for me. When I problem-solve the same problem 4 or 5 times over in the main list, and it's the same thing over and over, I figure maybe a note in the newbie forum might be helpful. This is sort of a collection of things I wish I'd known when I started. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/21/2006, 05:56 PM	#18
bllfish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Stuart, Florida Posts: 1,818	good job Sk8r __________________ "I fish by myself because lots of people don't like me, and the ones that do like me, well, I don't want them to know my spots." ><)))))*>--- Current Tank Info: 72 bow, 36" stand, 4 54W T5, vantec stealth fans, eheim 1260, mj 1200 & 2 Koralia #1 to WaveMaster Pro, CPR 24" Aquafuge HOB & 7100K PC, JBJ Arctica chiller, LiterMeter III

06/21/2006, 06:13 PM	#19
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Thank you, bllfish. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/21/2006, 06:19 PM	#21
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Thanks, E-A-G-L-E-S. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/21/2006, 07:42 PM	#22
jawaiianmon Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Satellite Beach, FL Posts: 200	I just found two bristleworms this past week in my two month old tank. I think they came in on frag rocks. I am more interested in finding them again than I am in watching all of the other critters I have. Bristleworms are really cool. I always enjoy your threads Sk8r.

06/21/2006, 07:47 PM	#23
bllfish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Stuart, Florida Posts: 1,818	Check out your tank with a flashlight about an hour after the lights go out. __________________ "I fish by myself because lots of people don't like me, and the ones that do like me, well, I don't want them to know my spots." ><)))))*>--- Current Tank Info: 72 bow, 36" stand, 4 54W T5, vantec stealth fans, eheim 1260, mj 1200 & 2 Koralia #1 to WaveMaster Pro, CPR 24" Aquafuge HOB & 7100K PC, JBJ Arctica chiller, LiterMeter III

06/21/2006, 09:21 PM	#24
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Thank you, Jawaiianmon. I've formed the suspicion the big worms somehow wend their way through adjacent rocks, in the holes. I'm sure either Barney or Fred is the same one that turns up further to the left of their ordinary rock. But I'm not good enough at spotting to tell the difference between Barney and Fred. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/21/2006, 09:26 PM	#25
Nabob89 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston Posts: 477	do bristleworms only come out when the tank is completly dark?...my fuge lights run reverse the tank lights, but its a HOB fuge, so part of the tank is lit up by the fuge lights during the nights.....i haven't seen any worms yet, so could this be scaring them to stay in the rocks?