Jynxgirl Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Strongly believe that some worms are fish killers. I once pulled out an 18inch worm out my tank. And that was not the entire worm... part of it broke off. It was like the size of a marker, the fat marker. Like almost a quarter inch thick. I had TONS of 12+ inch worms. For a while I would get up in the middle of the night, all lights off, to catch them halfway out their holes to pull/break them in hopes of wiping them out. I acquired that rock from a tank that was set up for a years, and probly didn't start having this problem for like four years after I had that tank set up. The sting of the worms would make my hand blister up like I had been burned and would hurt for a few days before popping and blistering. I hated moving my rocks around when something fell. Little bristle worms are nothing like the big horrible guys. Once something gets out of control like that... I say nuke the rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 At that size, we're definitely not talking about bristle worms anymore. There are plenty of predatory worms out there for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BobcatReefer Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Alright, I'm going to use this thread as a bit of a stream of consciousness as I prepare. Let me know if I'm off base or you have suggestions for improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BobcatReefer Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Current livestock:Clown (regular Nemo style)Six Line WrasseLongfin WrasseOrange Diamond Spotted GobyCleaner ShrimpCoral Banded ShrimpBrittle Starfish4 Nassarius Snails - 3 black, 1 whitePotential additions for the 75galRed MandarinPajama Cardinals (2? 3?)Goldenhead Sleeper GobyCatalina GobyFirefish (Helfrichi or Exquisite?)Black Longspine UrchinConcerns:How many Cardinals? I see "small school" but what does that mean? I'd prefer 2. Is it better to have 3?Will the Goldenhead and Orange Diamond Gobies be compatible? I ask because they are both sand sifting feeders and burrowers and guess they might get territorial?What's the secret to keeping firefish? I've never kept one more than a couple of weeks, but I want one so badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BobcatReefer Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Picked up a 20g long and a Fluval hob filter to be my QT. Going to buy a new heater and will use the current one for the QT. Still need to get a light. Some PVC elbows. What else do I need to know about setting up a Quarantine Tank? Embarrassed to say I've never done this before. Just put the bag in the tank and added water every 10 min for a half hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexC Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 From my understanding of the ecological function of bristle worms in an aquarium system, they consume dead or decaying foods. What I don't know is how they find this food. Do they roam and hope for the best or do they use some sort of smell over eyesight? If they use smell, if, you could lure them out of the rock by placing some sort of food in the tank. If it was me, which it's not, I would take a piece of rock that I believe contains a bristle worm, suspend it in a separate tank using fishing line, and place a piece of shrimp or something on the other side of the tank. If they smell it, they should come out and hunt it down, unable to get back to the suspended rock. This again goes off of an assumption on how a worm finds food, may not work, but wouldn't be costly to try. Sent from my N9515 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BobcatReefer Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 They definitely smell it. Not sure I could rig up a suspension system or have the patience to wait out that process w/ 50+lbs of live rock, but some version of that has crossed my mind. My thought was fill a bin w/ saltwater (I'm going to cure the rock, so I need it anyway) and put a rack of some kind just above the water (like 1/8") and place the rocks on the rack. Thinking that they'd go to the water as it were low tide and they got caught out. If I can figure out a way to do it w/o totally nuking them and starting over, that would be ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexC Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Your idea of keeping them a little out of water may work, but I think they tuck away in the rock inside water pockets they form using their bodies. I have observed this behavior with shrimp in rock and pests on coral before I dip them. If I was going to try your method, I would keep a cup or something to poor water over the rock or dip it to try to lure them out once oxygen is scarce in their pocket. Used the dip on a small rock to get a shrimp out in an attempt to find out what it was. Let me know how things turn out. Sent from my N9515 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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