Bristleworms in tank - good, bad, indifferent?

OK so those who have been following my saga know I'm about a month in
to my setup. It's been running well with a few snails and crabs added
just a couple days ago. Algae seems to be getting under control as
they do their thing.

Now a new thing has arisen. I was staring into my tank yesterday and
noticed some movement by one of the live rock chunks. I was shocked
to see about 6 inches of what looked like a centipede sticking out of
the rock. Did some research and determined him to be a bristleworm.

Now, the question. What do I do about it? Nothing in there for him
to scavenge as there's nothing dead in the tank. I've read a ton of
articles saying they are a good thing because they keep the tank
clean, and I've also read a ton of articles saying they are a nuisance
and should be removed. Which do you folks believe to be correct? If
removal, what process do you suggest for doing so (I know I cna't just
reach in and grab the thing...and truth told, he's creepy looking, I'd
rather not go anywhere near him if I can avoid it)?

Mitch

Big Habeeb wrote on Fri, 26 Oct 2007:
Now a new thing has arisen. I was staring into my tank yesterday and
noticed some movement by one of the live rock chunks. I was shocked
to see about 6 inches of what looked like a centipede sticking out of
the rock. Did some research and determined him to be a bristleworm.

That's part of having a reef tank with live rock and sand.

Now, the question. What do I do about it?

Nothing. It's part of your cleanup crew, just like snails and hermit crabs.

I've read a ton of articles saying they are a good thing because they keep
the tank clean, and I've also read a ton of articles saying they are a
nuisance and should be removed. Which do you folks believe to be correct?

There are tons of species, and some small number of them may be annoying.
But in general, you can just ignore them. They probably look something like
this:
http://reef.geddis.org/a/Bristleworm/
You'll find, over time, that lots of stuff starts growing in your reef tank,
that you didn't put there on purpose. Different kinds of algae, worms, crabs,
feather dusters, maybe a few coral polyps if you're lucky. Plus some annoying
things like Aiptasia anemones.

As for the bristleworms, I've read some stories about huge ones many feet
long. I suppose, if they're big enough, they might start attacking small
things that you care about. But it seems unlikely.

In general, they're nothing to worry about. Worse, even if you did care,
it's unlikely that you'd be able to remove them completely. (I've got a
similar problem with Valonia algae and Aiptasia anemones. Can't remove them
completely, but every so often I prune down my forest a bit.)

If removal, what process do you suggest for doing so (I know I cna't just
reach in and grab the thing...and truth told, he's creepy looking, I'd
rather not go anywhere near him if I can avoid it)?

I'd ignore it. And just enjoy seeing new stuff you never realized was in the
tank. I kept having new stuff appear that I had never seen before, years
after my tank was first established.

-- Don
__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Don Geddis http://reef.geddis.org/
I guess I wouldn't mind if aliens from outer space came and visited our planet.
But please, no children. -- Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey [1999]

They are beneficial. Just don't pet them. :-)

Though I did have one that took a liking to the
silicone, and made the tank leak. :-)

Wayne Sallee



Big Habeeb wrote on 10/26/2007 12:26 PM:
OK so those who have been following my saga know I'm about a month in
to my setup. It's been running well with a few snails and crabs added
just a couple days ago. Algae seems to be getting under control as
they do their thing.

Now a new thing has arisen. I was staring into my tank yesterday and
noticed some movement by one of the live rock chunks. I was shocked
to see about 6 inches of what looked like a centipede sticking out of
the rock. Did some research and determined him to be a bristleworm.

Now, the question. What do I do about it? Nothing in there for him
to scavenge as there's nothing dead in the tank. I've read a ton of
articles saying they are a good thing because they keep the tank
clean, and I've also read a ton of articles saying they are a nuisance
and should be removed. Which do you folks believe to be correct? If
removal, what process do you suggest for doing so (I know I cna't just
reach in and grab the thing...and truth told, he's creepy looking, I'd
rather not go anywhere near him if I can avoid it)?

Mitch

Wayne Sallee wrote:
Though I did have one that took a liking to the silicone, and made the
tank leak. :-)

Did you use the mildew resistant silicone after that? :-/

--Kurt

Big Habeeb wrote:
Now a new thing has arisen. I was staring into my tank yesterday and
noticed some movement by one of the live rock chunks. I was shocked
to see about 6 inches of what looked like a centipede sticking out of
the rock. Did some research and determined him to be a bristleworm.

It's fun to find new things like that. They are often referred to as
hitch hikers and I recently found what looks like a white bristle star
in my sand.

Bristle worms are mostly harmless. They'll eat the organic crud in the
sand, so they are beneficial in that way.

--Kurt

On Oct 26, 2:54 pm, Don Geddis wrote:
Big Habeeb wrote on Fri, 26 Oct 2007:

Now a new thing has arisen. I was staring into my tank yesterday and
noticed some movement by one of the live rock chunks. I was shocked
to see about 6 inches of what looked like a centipede sticking out of
the rock. Did some research and determined him to be a bristleworm.

That's part of having a reef tank with live rock and sand.

Now, the question. What do I do about it?

Nothing. It's part of your cleanup crew, just like snails and hermit crabs.

I've read a ton of articles saying they are a good thing because they keep
the tank clean, and I've also read a ton of articles saying they are a
nuisance and should be removed. Which do you folks believe to be correct?

There are tons of species, and some small number of them may be annoying.
But in general, you can just ignore them. They probably look something like
this:
http://reef.geddis.org/a/Bristleworm/
You'll find, over time, that lots of stuff starts growing in your reef tank,
that you didn't put there on purpose. Different kinds of algae, worms, crabs,
feather dusters, maybe a few coral polyps if you're lucky. Plus some annoying
things like Aiptasia anemones.

As for the bristleworms, I've read some stories about huge ones many feet
long. I suppose, if they're big enough, they might start attacking small
things that you care about. But it seems unlikely.

In general, they're nothing to worry about. Worse, even if you did care,
it's unlikely that you'd be able to remove them completely. (I've got a
similar problem with Valonia algae and Aiptasia anemones. Can't remove them
completely, but every so often I prune down my forest a bit.)

If removal, what process do you suggest for doing so (I know I cna't just
reach in and grab the thing...and truth told, he's creepy looking, I'd
rather not go anywhere near him if I can avoid it)?

I'd ignore it. And just enjoy seeing new stuff you never realized was in the
tank. I kept having new stuff appear that I had never seen before, years
after my tank was first established.

-- Don
__________________________________________________ _________________________*____
Don Geddis http://reef.geddis.org/
I guess I wouldn't mind if aliens from outer space came and visited our planet.
But please, no children. -- Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey [1999]

Don,
Thanks for setting my mind at ease. The LFS said something similar,
but I figured I'd double check sources. I was worried it might have
been a "get off my phone, you annoying newbie" type of answer. The
LFS is VERY good about chatting with me for as long as I want, I was
just concerned I might have finally worn out my welcome.

I'm looking forward to seeing what else crops up. I've seen a couple
white "poofs" for lack of any other way of describing them stick out
of the live rock...seemingly very sensitive to vibration because when
I walked near the tank to investigate it sucked right back in.

This whole process is really fascinating to me...as someone who has
always used dead corals in the past, I'm not used to having random
organisms show up...as my wife said, its more like a science project
than a fish tank at this point!!!

Now, all of that in mind, is there anything else I gotta feed this
bugger? I'm not currently putting any food in the tank since I just
have the clean up crew running around eating the massive amounts of
algae already in there...or should I just leave him be? He's
obviously survived the last month munching on SOMETHING out of
sight...

Mitch

On Oct 26, 3:14 pm, Wayne Sallee wrote:
They are beneficial. Just don't pet them. :-)

Though I did have one that took a liking to the
silicone, and made the tank leak. :-)

Wayne Sallee


Big Habeeb wrote on 10/26/2007 12:26 PM:



OK so those who have been following my saga know I'm about a month in
to my setup. It's been running well with a few snails and crabs added
just a couple days ago. Algae seems to be getting under control as
they do their thing.

Now a new thing has arisen. I was staring into my tank yesterday and
noticed some movement by one of the live rock chunks. I was shocked
to see about 6 inches of what looked like a centipede sticking out of
the rock. Did some research and determined him to be a bristleworm.

Now, the question. What do I do about it? Nothing in there for him
to scavenge as there's nothing dead in the tank. I've read a ton of
articles saying they are a good thing because they keep the tank
clean, and I've also read a ton of articles saying they are a nuisance
and should be removed. Which do you folks believe to be correct? If
removal, what process do you suggest for doing so (I know I cna't just
reach in and grab the thing...and truth told, he's creepy looking, I'd
rather not go anywhere near him if I can avoid it)?

Mitch- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Heh, no I didn't plan on petting him. I figured he was made to look
creepy as hell for a reason
Mitch

On Oct 26, 5:12 pm, Big Habeeb wrote:
On Oct 26, 3:14 pm, Wayne Sallee wrote:





They are beneficial. Just don't pet them. :-)

Though I did have one that took a liking to the
silicone, and made the tank leak. :-)

Wayne Sallee


Big Habeeb wrote on 10/26/2007 12:26 PM:

OK so those who have been following my saga know I'm about a month in
to my setup. It's been running well with a few snails and crabs added
just a couple days ago. Algae seems to be getting under control as
they do their thing.

Now a new thing has arisen. I was staring into my tank yesterday and
noticed some movement by one of the live rock chunks. I was shocked
to see about 6 inches of what looked like a centipede sticking out of
the rock. Did some research and determined him to be a bristleworm.

Now, the question. What do I do about it? Nothing in there for him
to scavenge as there's nothing dead in the tank. I've read a ton of
articles saying they are a good thing because they keep the tank
clean, and I've also read a ton of articles saying they are a nuisance
and should be removed. Which do you folks believe to be correct? If
removal, what process do you suggest for doing so (I know I cna't just
reach in and grab the thing...and truth told, he's creepy looking, I'd
rather not go anywhere near him if I can avoid it)?

Mitch- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Heh, no I didn't plan on petting him. I figured he was made to look
creepy as hell for a reason
Mitch- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

So while examining the tank tonight, I found another 3 or 4 of the
things...and, surprisingly, a teeny tiny little snail!
The worm population is bugging me a bit, but its awfully cool to see
other new stuff coming out of the rock.

Personally, I'm not a fan of worms. The main concern would be the part
where they could cause a leak on your glass tank.
If you have acrylic, don't worry about it.
Some fish like to eat them.

Other than that, they are somewhat harmless.

Good Luck.


"Big Habeeb" wrote in message
ups.com...
OK so those who have been following my saga know I'm about a month in
to my setup. It's been running well with a few snails and crabs added
just a couple days ago. Algae seems to be getting under control as
they do their thing.

Now a new thing has arisen. I was staring into my tank yesterday and
noticed some movement by one of the live rock chunks. I was shocked
to see about 6 inches of what looked like a centipede sticking out of
the rock. Did some research and determined him to be a bristleworm.

Now, the question. What do I do about it? Nothing in there for him
to scavenge as there's nothing dead in the tank. I've read a ton of
articles saying they are a good thing because they keep the tank
clean, and I've also read a ton of articles saying they are a nuisance
and should be removed. Which do you folks believe to be correct? If
removal, what process do you suggest for doing so (I know I cna't just
reach in and grab the thing...and truth told, he's creepy looking, I'd
rather not go anywhere near him if I can avoid it)?

Mitch

"Big Habeeb" wrote in message ups.com...
So while examining the tank tonight, I found another 3 or 4 of the
things...and, surprisingly, a teeny tiny little snail!
The worm population is bugging me a bit, but its awfully cool to see
other new stuff coming out of the rock.

Worms are big help in the cleaning of your tank.
Become friends with them as soon as possible :-)

And my personal favor to ask: please cut out old quotations.
Keep only what is necesary to understand your answer.
There is really no reason to repeat same words 3-4 times.
Thanks!