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Bristol worm. What should I do?

Olivier

Olivier

I found a bristol worm in my tank. I don't know what type it is. Can someone please help me on Identify these worm? which is good and which is bad? It is about my 1/4 inche width and I can not see its entire body length since it hidden inside the rock. it come out and feed on my leftover food. I try to catch it with my long handle feeder thingy but it is very quick for catch. any advise is greatly help.
Olivier
 
D

DaveK

Generally small bristle worms can be left alone. Really large ones, as in over a foot long, you may want to remove because if it dies, it can foul a lot of water.
 
Olivier

Olivier

any good or bad from bristle worm? Any type of worm I should watch out for?
I try to search on Google.com and and the result show there is a fireworm that can be bad. How can i tell if it is a bristle worm?
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

Olivier,

More than likely you have a "bristle" worm from the family Eunicidae.

When big these worms are not reef safe. When small (as described) they are just scavengers. The give-away for these worms is that they have five "antennae" on their head.

ON the other hand - if you really had a worm from the family Hermodice (what most people are referring to when they say "fire worm")...it would be fuzzy more than likely reddish color - and hardly afraid of anything or anyone. It certainly would not be hiding in LR. Most of the time people do not have this worm - but if you do - it's not reef safe.

Most Bristle worms are scavengers. They help to round out your clean up crew. If you think you have too many (as they can be unsightly) - one could use a trap to bait some out or procure a fish/invert (six-line wrasse and the coral banded shrimp are supposedly fans of eating *small* worms).

I forgot to post this link on fire worms:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2003/short.htm
 
blange3

blange3

deadcpu said:
I found a bristol worm in my tank.... any advise is greatly help.
Olivier
Click to expand...

STOMP IT! ;D

Older folks will get my joke Olivier, pay no attention to me! The others have given you the correct advice. ;)
 
C

calaxa

Quarter inch wide? You must be exaggerating. That is a pretty large worm if it is truly that wide. Most worms are fine but if you really want to get rid of it, you can remove the rock it is living on or bait a trap for him. If it is a bristle, wear gloves. They do hurt a bit to the touch.
 
A

albie611

i used the trap method to remove one about 12 in long a while back.when they get this big they can become trouble ...either irritating corals or eating them( yes its true )
the one i removed had started to eat my zoo colonies at the pace of 5 or 6 polyps a day until i saw him do and promptly took him out.
take a piece of rigid tube and put a piece of shrimp in it by tying a string to it and threading it through the tube pull the bait up a little from the bottom and then put the end of the tube near his hideing spot. as he climbs up the tube move the bait a little further away by pulling the string until he is fully out of the rock work and in the tube , then remove the tube and worm together....they are scavengers and will not pass up a free meal...trust me..... if you try to pull him out you will either break him in two and then have twice the problem or you will spook him back into the rock and you will have to try at another time....good luck.....al
 
K

KennyZush

I have had HUGE bristle worms and it is a constant struggle to keep them under control.

I had success by making a poland spring water bottle trap. Cutting and inverting the top, placing the bait and some weight on the inside and letting the worms crawl in. One was so long that he was able to crawl all the way in and get the bait, but was still more than half out of the trap as well. They are much faster than you imagine.

I can't really blame them for any real harm, although they are currently suspect in the disappearance of my clam and feather duster.

Kenny Z.
 
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