(Bio)³ Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I'm just curious what size do you consider a bristle worm too large? I fed the qt tank today and saw one of the big guys come out. Probably a dozen this size in the tank. For size the bic lighter is a standard size bic not the mini bic. He was out a lot further but tucked in when I came back with the camera and bic lighter. I'd say what you see is half of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 That would scare me. I try to grab them when they get 4+ inches just to be sure. People say they only eat dead stuff, but I'm sure they're opportunistic like other scavengers and may help weakened creatures become dead stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 if you pull him out....put him in your fuge...or I'll be happy to throw him in mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 My 'fuge' is where I pull them out, because it's supposed to be a refuge from predators. I have growing populations of small stuff, recovering invertebrates and fish fry down there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I have never had any issue with them in my fuge...but I see what you are coming from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 george your welcome to drop them all into my QT tank I've got probably a dozen that size in the QT plus millions of small ones. I love to watch them, would never rip a big one out unless I witnessed it do something bad. even then I'd just rip it out and set up a biotope devoted to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 There's one in my refugium now that's about 4" that I haven't bothered to get, yet. I can't even catch the **** cleaner shrimp (tried minnow trap yesterday), so it's low on my list. If I catch it, I'll probably throw it in my 20g (land of misfit critters). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesreyn Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I don't see them as a problem at all. If you don't want them, I would take them all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Only have one in my fuge right now but he's tiny. Hoping to get more biodiversity in there soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sifuentes31 Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Mine is about a 6 to 8 inches long when he comes out of his hole in the rock.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 yeah, I have many pink smaller ones, but I have some 6-8 inch Grey ones in my sump...scared me at first but now I like them... I will take any and all that people want to get rid of. I have never seen them on anything but dead stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I have never seen them on anything but dead stuff. But did you see how the dead stuff died Last August my wife and I were drift diving off Oahu at night. We were suddenly surrounded by tons of 1/4" pink swimming things. I realized that they were bristleworms, and I could feel them rubbing up against me around my regulator. Ignorance would have been much more blissful. I've pulled two out of my refugium, and both were before that incident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 +1 on bristleworms being beneficial. Never understood the scare with these guys. They're great! -Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I have never seen them on anything but dead stuff. But did you see how the dead stuff died Last August my wife and I were drift diving off Oahu at night. We were suddenly surrounded by tons of 1/4" pink swimming things. I realized that they were bristleworms, and I could feel them rubbing up against me around my regulator. Ignorance would have been much more blissful. I've pulled two out of my refugium, and both were before that incident. If I feared and pulled everything out of my tank that "might" be detrimental to something else in my tank, I wouldn't have anything in there but water... Welcome to the food chain... If I have a fish that is not healthy enough to survive in the tank, so be it. That is the way nature works. I do the best I can to make the environment the healthiest it can be and then I enjoy nature. That is why I have a reef tank, to bring a little bit of nature into my house. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 If I feared and pulled everything out of my tank that "might" be detrimental to something else in my tank, I wouldn't have anything in there but water... Welcome to the food chain... If I have a fish that is not healthy enough to survive in the tank, so be it. That is the way nature works. I do the best I can to make the environment the healthiest it can be and then I enjoy nature. That is why I have a reef tank, to bring a little bit of nature into my house. So you don't mind aipatasia, hydroids, mantis shrimp, sea spiders, pyramid snails, sundial snails, flat worms, etc.? What if your bristleworm is a Hermodice carunculata and eats your coral? I'm sorry, but I'm paying big money to have inhabitants I like, and if snails eat my clam or worms eat my coral I'll be upset and try to kill them not embrace them. I'm pretty sure around 100% of reefers do the same. I've seen a lot of posts across the web of people complaining about bad hitchhikers and how to get rid of them and pretty much zero of people posting "It's so cute how the flat worms sucked the life out of my coral." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I think the point of emphasis is to pull out "pests" that may be detrimental to your tank. To each tank, it may be different what is classified as a pest. Most of the pests listed above are generally universal pests. I don't think that was the intent when listing bristleworms as they walk the line for some as being detrimental or beneficial. For me it is beneficial because in case one of my fish die, if I didn't notice in time, I would appreciate the backup of bristleworms and nassarius snails to clean up as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I think the point of emphasis is to pull out "pests" that may be detrimental to your tank. To each tank, it may be different what is classified as a pest. Most of the pests listed above are generally universal pests. I don't think that was the intent when listing bristleworms as they walk the line for some as being detrimental or beneficial. For me it is beneficial because in case one of my fish die, if I didn't notice in time, I would appreciate the backup of bristleworms and nassarius snails to clean up as much as possible. I agree with you, Ty. I only pull out worms in my refugium that are >6x bigger than the shrimp and other things in there taking refuge. I have a ton of brittlestar, feather duster worm, foraminiferan, spionid worm, vermetid snail, spirorbid worm, various sponges, etc. hitchhikers that I love having. All but one of the hitchhikers I've seen are good, and the one is questionable. I've been lucky so far. And I've only pulled out the two largest bristleworms, which I think is silly to have to defend. It's statements like this that make me distrust large bristleworms. Majority of bristle worms found in a marine aquarium are beneficial scavengers and crucial members of the live sand community. They are active scavengers and predators, but most are strictly opportunistic feeders, simply eating what they can capture. I'd rather pull out a couple of them when they get to be large than worry if the bristleworm got it every time a shrimp or fish disappears. That has happened, two Sexy Shrimp in my small refugium disappeared before I removed 2 of the 3 big bristleworms. As I said above, I'll be happy to give them away or leave them in my 20g. There may be bristleworms in my DT, but I've never seen them. All my shrimp, my giant black brittlestar, a ton of small brittlestar hitchhikers, hermits, bumblebee snails, other hitchhikers mentioned above, etc. do a pretty good job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I would be for sure pulling bristleworms if I had sexy shrimp. They are like the sea's shrimp-flavored snack... everything wants to take a bite of them... and it helps that they are so bite-sized. Haha. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I have to agree with Woods post. With the exception of "ick" the one animal that has caused me significantly more grief and cost a lot more damage dollar wise than all the "pests" are BTAs. As far as removing bristle worms if it's convienent I'll try to remove it. But it's because they are ugly and I don't want to get so many of them they can be seen all the time. As far as size, the one in Chris's first post is tiny. Having torn moved a few systems over the years I have found bristle worms the size of my small finger when they are all sucked up from being disturbed and they clearly had not been killing anything off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 I have to agree with Woods post. With the exception of "ick" the one animal that has caused me significantly more grief and cost a lot more damage dollar wise than all the "pests" are BTAs. As far as removing bristle worms if it's convienent I'll try to remove it. But it's because they are ugly and I don't want to get so many of them they can be seen all the time. As far as size, the one in Chris's first post is tiny. Having torn moved a few systems over the years I have found bristle worms the size of my small finger when they are all sucked up from being disturbed and they clearly had not been killing anything off. If you find another one of these giants and happen to think he is ugly. Just remember my QT tank is a home for ugly critters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacc05 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 How do these worms get into the tank? I have only seen two brittle stars and a few pods in mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 Hitchhike on rock and coral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Looks like the little guy is growing. I now have atleast 6 that are the size of the original post. And this guy moves very fast when I got a light on him. Sure don't have any food laying on the sand bed with these guys cleaning up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I've got dozens of pretty huge ones. Anytime I flashlight across the tank at night there is usually one every 2-3 inches crawling back under rocks. Looking at night is your best bet with a red led lamp, or red cellophane over your flashlight,. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 (edited) Yeah I detected him with red light but he was even sensitive to that. I have found that I can take my multiple color LED light and there are a couple colors that work much better for night viewing, I'm able to select colors that do not make them run like the red or white light does to these guys. Edited February 26, 2013 by (Bio)³ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.