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StartingInUtah 
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 Topic: Bristleworms
Posted: January 09 2015 at 3:14pm |
On New Years Eve I moved my tank and it crashed and I was only able to save one Ocellaris Clownfish (the female) and a couple corals by pulling them out and putting them in a small tank for a couple days. I was able to get my tank back up and running and get those corals that survived along with the clownfish back into my tank and they are all doing very well now. The water is also testing very well but I am getting concerned because I now have a ton of bristleworms all over my tank. I think they are disgusting looking and am worried because they are all over the rocks and sand and some are even climbing up the glass sometimes. Can anyone give any advice on this? I am feeding very lightly so I am not sure what is going on. I was told that arrow crabs and coral banded shrimp would eat the bristleworms but I am not sure about either of them yet. I like the look of the coral banded shrimp but some people say they eat corals and attack snails, hermit crabs and even sometimes fish. I don't want that to happen. Can anyone advise on any of this? Also, how long should I wait before I start adding some fish slowly into the tank?
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Hogie
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Posted: January 09 2015 at 4:18pm |
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I had a 6 line wrasse that discovered it liked bristle worms. It cleaned my tank out.
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aceofspadeskb
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Posted: January 09 2015 at 4:44pm |
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My Melanurus wrasse took care of all my bristleworms. They also aren't as agressive as 6 line wrasses can become.
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Bryce
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Posted: January 09 2015 at 5:47pm |
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The fact that they are out during the light period would be a concern usually they are nocturnal or at least try to hind during lights on, I would grab them with tank tools like hemostats, over sized tweazers, etc, or trap them in some bridal mesh wrapped around some frozen shrimp which they get trapped in. I have them in my tank, they have never bothered coral or snails. Hermits is debatable. In small numbers and smaller ones they are great tank cleaners, big nasty ones and large population I would start yanking them.
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65g Reef
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StartingInUtah
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Posted: January 09 2015 at 7:32pm |
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Thank you. What do people think about coral banded shrimp? Any experience?
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Bryce
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Posted: January 09 2015 at 7:42pm |
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They are evil and opportunistic...ok evil is harsh but I personally think most the suggested solutions such as shrimp and wrasses are going to be more of a problem than the worms, wrasses can reign havoc on your clean up crew ("can"... not always, but you try interviewing a wrasse to see if he will or not before you add him to your tank) the two coral bandeds I had wanted coral and fish more than any bristleworms
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65g Reef
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jeremiah4321
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Posted: January 09 2015 at 9:04pm |
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Here is what worked for me on pest removal. Instead of testing a new predator. Or chemical. Turn off lights even moon light over night.in the morning feed with a fish food or any kind of food a scavenger would like. The Bristol worms should come out to feed. Use a turkey baster to suck them out and dispove of. With the turkey baster push all air out before you put into tank and it will have a suction on it to suck out the worms. It may take a few tries to get it but that helped me reduce numbers without expermenting with new stuff
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ReefdUp
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Posted: January 09 2015 at 9:15pm |
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Bristleworms are harmless detrivores...part of a healthy reef. Yes, things will eat them, but those things are usually worse than the bristleworms themselves. Arrow crabs can spear fish, and banded coral shrimp are just plain aggressive. Both are opportunistic and will go after anything they can eat if they get hungry...or bored...enough.
Wrasses can be a pain as well...but I personally prefer them over a shrimp. Honestly, I'd learn to just accept bristleworms and keep a bottle of vinegar nearby for when you get stung.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 10 2015 at 4:34am |
I very much agree with what ReefdUp said and I'll share an awesome trick for removing Bristleworms. But first, I believe it's important to talk about how this happened. Knowing how it happened will help you avoid it in the future.
An overpopulation of bristleworms (see the pics below), is caused by a lot of extra food in the tank. In my experience with helping people take care of their tanks, 9 out of 10 times, overfeeding is the reason for the extra food that caused a Bristleworm plague. If more than one person in the household/office has access to the fish food, overfeeding can easily get out of hand without anyone knowing about it. A quick series of fish deaths/disappearances can also be the "food" that causes an overpopulation. Bristleworms are awesome members of the Clean Up Crew.
If I understand your situation, I'll bet the tank has been overfed for a while, but no worries, this can be rectified. It's important to realize that compared to a person, a fishes belly is extremely, I mean extremely, tiny. Also remember that, even after a big meal, fish will look and act like they are still very hungry. In the wild this works to their advantage, but in a household with several "little mothers" this can be detrimental to the fish and to the tank in general. The recent crash after moving was probably caused by the extra detritus and associated water pollution as a result of this long term overfeeding. I'm not saying this to criticize, only to help you to avoid a similar problem in the future.
After reducing feeding, a lot of very hungry Bristleworms are out roaming the tank for a morsel of food. What can be done? What is the easiest way to remove Bristleworms without adding a predatory animal that will later end up causing other problems. It's actually very simple. In those pics you can see some Bridalveil netting. Bridalveil or Tulle can be purchased for $1 at the local fabric store. Before lights out, wrap a cube of frozen shrimp in a bunch of netting, using several loose layers. Tie it like a christmas package with fishing line or common thread. With a length of line long enough to reach up and outside the tank, place the net ball down on the sand near the rock. As shown in the pics below, wait for a bunch of Bristleworms to go through the netting as they try to reach the food. When there is a good ball of them caught in the netting, pull it out and toss it in the garbage. If necessary, repeat the procedure with a new net ball to remove more Bristleworms.
Happy Hunting, 
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Mike Savage
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Posted: January 10 2015 at 11:35am |
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I like bristleworms in my tank too.
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Matthew
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Posted: January 11 2015 at 8:59am |
I hate bristleworms because they always sting me. :( Actually I usually wear gloves if I am going to be in my tank for very long because my skin seems to be sensitive to corals and all the rest of the inhabitants of my tank.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 11 2015 at 2:29pm |
 ReefdUp wrote:
...just accept bristleworms and keep a bottle of vinegar nearby for when you get stung. |
I love white vinegar for all it's uses, especially how it dissolves all coral and bristleworm stinging nematocysts. A 5-10 minute soak dissolves the tiny harpoons and soothes the pain.
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Reefer4Ever
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Posted: January 11 2015 at 7:32pm |
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It's also very good with some olive oil on a salad :)
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Pete Moss
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Posted: January 12 2015 at 9:08am |
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Another solution to bristle worms is to put a robin in the tank. Just make sure you set it up with scuba gear before you send him down. Also a lid on the tank is highly recommended for this treatment.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 12 2015 at 9:14am |
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