Bristle worm good or bad

[Walter White]

So I believe this to be a very common and harmless species of Bristle worm however its not very clear online, lots of disagreement. Even Julian Sprung's book on Inverts is very unclear as he lumps all bristle worms anf fireworms together only stating that some are harmfull. This is not from my tank but looks very similar.

 

[chelseagrin]

all bristleworms have good and bad. i believe they are some of the best animals you can have in your tank. but if you have the big ones that are like an inch in diameter you have to fear for your fishes lives, and your fingers. but i think they are mostly harmless i have never been bitten stung or had a fish eaten. unless it was already dead.

 

[Walter White]

yeah my tank is new. I have only seen one maybe 3/4" long i'm sure there are more though and if theres not there soon will be. I dont believe it to be a concern my cowokers tank litterally has hundreds under each rock some as much as 2-3' and has seen no issues with corals/fish or otherwise. I just like to be educated. I find it so hard to find good information on line that is truly strustworthy and most publications are very outdated.

Thanks

 

[Mini T]

I like them. Great detrivores!

 

[chelseagrin]

the most common is the smaller variety, very rarely will you find one that gets over 6 inches and that is when you need to do something about it.

 

[subpotentjoe]

I have had bristle worms in my tank just like the one in the picture since I set it up in 2009. I have never had any live fish or live corals eaten by them. There are lots in my tank and sump too. They are great cleaners and imo are an important factor in my excellent water quality. I have never had any clams so i dont know if they would be safe but sps, lps zoas small fish all no problem. My only worry is if the population of bristle worms gets too big will the competition for food drive them to eat corals? I do however have pods that eat the base of some of my sps colonies. I watch them at night when the lights are out with a red flash light. Not sure if there is anything I can do about that.

 

[Walter White]

I have had bristle worms in my tank just like the one in the picture since I set it up in 2009. I have never had any live fish or live corals eaten by them. There are lots in my tank and sump too. They are great cleaners and imo are an important factor in my excellent water quality. I have never had any clams so i dont know if they would be safe but sps, lps zoas small fish all no problem. My only worry is if the population of bristle worms gets too big will the competition for food drive them to eat corals? I do however have pods that eat the base of some of my sps colonies. I watch them at night when the lights are out with a red flash light. Not sure if there is anything I can do about that.

Perhaps a Mandarin would make quick work of the pod populateion? I am supplimenting my tank with tiger pods right now to get a good population going so i can get a Mandarin in anothe month or two and feel confident there is sufficient food for it.

 

[ChrisB]

I used to have them the 1st time I had my tank up. They only ate dead things and they did it well. My 6 line kept them in check. I still have them in the rocks in my cube and debating if I want to intentionally introduce them to my tank.

They hurt like a mofo if you grab one though

 

[Yaten13]

Perhaps a Mandarin would make quick work of the pod populateion? I am supplimenting my tank with tiger pods right now to get a good population going so i can get a Mandarin in anothe month or two and feel confident there is sufficient food for it.

Ugg trigger pods. I have had nothing but bad luck with those guys. Imo they are an expensive waste of money (my two attempts at 20$ each bottle = 40$ and no triggers anywhere to be found) and don't really breed in reef tanks. If you want a real VIABLE option, I would suggest getting a handful of chaeto or w/e from someone with an established tank, and keep doing that until they take. I have lots of bugs now (copepods, amphipods, mysis), but they have all been hitchhikers and never the pods I bought.

Anyone have a different experience with buying pods?

 

[Walter White]

Really! I have tigers everywhere I added one bottle a week or two ago. Cant believe how many are scurrying around. My clowns ate a buch when I first added them I put half in the tank and have in my cheato compartment. pulled the Cheato out yesterday and thy were all over it. I might just be lucky??

 

[Yaten13]

Wow, that's great for you. I added them slowly, directly into my chaeto, and never saw one more than a day after I put mine in. A lot of reviews I saw online said the exact same thing. I'm really glad to hear that they are working for you!

 

[Walter White]

perhaps because my tank is only a couple months old and not really established yet and there are no real natural predators. I started it with all dry Marco and one small piece of live rock and a cup of live sand. Maybe thats the difference?

 

[Zooid]

Tiggerpods like lower temperatures. I've NEVER had good luck with them because I liked my tanks at 80 degrees F.
I'll try them again sooner or later but my Apocyclops culture is far more stable.

 

[subpotentjoe]

Perhaps a Mandarin would make quick work of the pod populateion? I am supplimenting my tank with tiger pods right now to get a good population going so i can get a Mandarin in anothe month or two and feel confident there is sufficient food for it.

Melevs reef I believe has a smart way of feeding mandarins with fish roe in a jar. Mandarins are tough with just the pod population in your tank. I have had one eat the pod population very low and get super skinny. Mandarins are slow and I think they need easy pickens to stay fat. I gave it to a friend with a 225 gallon. My tank is only 115. Those sps eating pods are only out if the tank is completely dark. They only like 2 of my colonies. The rest are left alone.