What does a bristle worm eat?

[Frogmanx82]

It seems like they wouldn't be much of an algae eater. Would they have the same diet as a nassarius snail, detritus, dead animals, and leftover food? Seemingly then they occupy the same role as the nassarius, even with the mild turning of the sand bed. If you have a lot of bristle worms then you shouldn't get a pile of nassarius snails.

Does that make sense?

[RobbyVonAwesome]

Nassarius don't eat detritus, they only eat meaty stuff, like leftover food and dead fish. This is a common misconception.

That being said, the diet of most bristleworms, from what I understand, does include detritus as well as meaty foods. They are a good all around clean up crew, as long as they don't get too big and aggressive. I have hundreds of small ones in my tank that only get about 1-2" long, and have a nice peach and purple coloration.

[BeanMachine]

I've got plenty of bristle worms as well, along with 4 nassarius snails. The main problem I have is those damned blue legged hermits killing the snails and stealing their shells!

[noahm]

Originally Posted by BeanMachine

I've got plenty of bristle worms as well, along with 4 nassarius snails. The main problem I have is those damned blue legged hermits killing the snails and stealing their shells!

Those lil ba#$%ds will kill the snails even when there are gobs of appropriate shells around from other snails they've killed.

[Frogmanx82]

I have the red leg hermits and haven't had a problem. I drop an algae wafer in and the nassarius snails jump right in there with the hermits going after it.

I have heard several people say the blue legs, while smaller, are deadlier to snails. I'm staying away from them.

[redsea reefer]

Originally Posted by robbyvonawesome

nassarius don't eat detritus, they only eat meaty stuff, like leftover food and dead fish. This is a common misconception.

That being said, the diet of most bristleworms, from what i understand, does include detritus as well as meaty foods. They are a good all around clean up crew, as long as they don't get too big and aggressive. I have hundreds of small ones in my tank that only get about 1-2" long, and have a nice peach and purple coloration.

+1

[agreeive?fish]

I like bristle worms because they work very well for cleaning up left over food the problem is my clown trigger likes them as well.(snack time)

[mrkalel]

I think that the last thing in ur tank u need to worry about finding something to eat is bristles.. lol... they proliferate like crazy!

[ludnix]

Bristle worms don't seem to do much for stirring sand, they mostly just hide under rocks or flat surfaces. I don't think they are an appropriate replacement for nassarius snails, though could try fighting conches or other sand stirring animals.

[Herb Fla]

What about sandsiffting stars they work good.

[ludnix]

Originally Posted by Herb Fla

What about sandsiffting stars they work good.

There's a lot of controversy over whether or not they eat the micro-fauna living in the sand and what the minimum tank size is. They will certainly do a good job of stirring your sand bed, but many people seem to suggest they are capable of stripping it of any small organisms living in it.