# Bristle worm control



## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

My seahorse tank appears to have a healthy population of pink bristle worms (thanks to cypher for the infusion). My question is more about population control. I'm happy with them in the tank as they are very good members of a clean up crew. The funny thing is that they are starting to show up at feeding times just as quickly as my 2 seahorses. It makes for an interesting display for my family and visitors. I am a little concerned however that if they are showing up that easily it probably means there are a lot of them and the food sources are becoming more scarce.

Does anyone have some advice to offer? I'm considering a "culling" of sorts with a DIY trap. Maybe someone out there has interest in adding some to their tank.

Thanks in advance.


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## caker_chris (Apr 22, 2010)

bristle worms usually control their population according to how much food you have available to them. So the more waste/food they have to consume the more you will find.

I find it strange that they come out when you are feeding because that is very unlike them. The only times you normally see them is at night or if you move a rock and disturb their hiding spot.

Now I have known them to become aggressive feeders when they get really big mostly attacking soft corals but I have never seen or heard of them coming out when you are feeding the tank.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

It is strange, but as far as they are concerned the are just as fast as the seahorses in getting to the food. It is nice to have them there to clean up on account that seahorses leave so much wasted food behind.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

yeah, they are clean up crew. i am surprised by the genuine size of BW's when I pick up a rock. their limiting factor is food.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

So based on what I've read so far and what has been said here, I won't worry about it. It still might not be that bad of an idea to remove some


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## J-P (Feb 27, 2011)

caker_chris said:


> bristle worms usually control their population according to how much food you have available to them. So the more waste/food they have to consume the more you will find.
> 
> I find it strange that they come out when you are feeding because that is very unlike them. The only times you normally see them is at night or if you move a rock and disturb their hiding spot.
> 
> Now I have known them to become aggressive feeders when they get really big mostly attacking soft corals but I have never seen or heard of them coming out when you are feeding the tank.


A lack of food in the substrate will do that.


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## MissMonroe6 (Nov 16, 2011)

I had some bristle worms in my display tank that were getting bigger and bigger despite continuous attempts at starving them to control the population, but to no avail.
2 methods I have read or been told about:
1. Place the foot portion of a stocking or pantyhose with some chunky pieces of food (i.e shrimp, fish) in them, over night, at the bottom of your tank. Make sure all lights are off (not sure if this will be an issue for you considering your BWs aren't shy!). By the morning they should be trapped in the stocking.
2. Same idea as above, but with a plastic bottle that is a solid colour. I was told that the BWs are too stupid to find their way out of the bottle if the bottle is completely 'dark' as it is a solid color.
I haven't tried either of these options, as I was able to pick them out manually when I was rearranging some LR.
Hope this helps you!



disman_ca said:


> My seahorse tank appears to have a healthy population of pink bristle worms (thanks to cypher for the infusion). My question is more about population control. I'm happy with them in the tank as they are very good members of a clean up crew. The funny thing is that they are starting to show up at feeding times just as quickly as my 2 seahorses. It makes for an interesting display for my family and visitors. I am a little concerned however that if they are showing up that easily it probably means there are a lot of them and the food sources are becoming more scarce.
> 
> Does anyone have some advice to offer? I'm considering a "culling" of sorts with a DIY trap. Maybe someone out there has interest in adding some to their tank.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Thanks for the advice


MissMonroe6 said:


> I had some bristle worms in my display tank that were getting bigger and bigger despite continuous attempts at starving them to control the population, but to no avail.
> 2 methods I have read or been told about:
> 1. Place the foot portion of a stocking or pantyhose with some chunky pieces of food (i.e shrimp, fish) in them, over night, at the bottom of your tank. Make sure all lights are off (not sure if this will be an issue for you considering your BWs aren't shy!). By the morning they should be trapped in the stocking.
> 2. Same idea as above, but with a plastic bottle that is a solid colour. I was told that the BWs are too stupid to find their way out of the bottle if the bottle is completely 'dark' as it is a solid color.
> ...


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

Good luck with controlling it. As you get them - you are finished. I do not have 1 worm in my tanks already for 1 year, despite I brought many corals and LR and all my tanks are healthy and clean.
I am not a pro, but I it is funny when i hear (especially from the new to SW guys how all these critters are useful and they are running to get this stuff, sand with critters. 
They are good in the Ocean, but not in the tanks which are to small to be exact copy of the ocean where you can not control them. In ocean they controlled by other critters, which you do not have in your tank
*Go and buy good skimmer and good cleaning crew and you will have nice tank*

For these who interested to have non infected by parasites tank, I always use this one before to put anything in my tank. Plumbing torch is also helpful when I put new LR in the tank and I do not care about useful bacteria, but I do care about aphtasia.

This one can not be used in the tank, but kills all parasites - Coral Rx

http://www.coralrx.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=12

*This one you can use in the tank to kill worms and it works to control population*

http://www.goreef.com/Salifert-Flatworm-Exit.html

Just my opinion

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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

sig said:


> Good luck with controlling it. As you get them - you are finished. I do not have 1 in the in my tanks already for 1 year and my all my tanks are healthy and clean.
> I am not a pro, but I it is funny when i hear (especially from the new to SW guys how all these critters are useful to control Blah BLah Blah and they are running to get this stuff
> They are good in the Ocean, but not in the tanks which are to small to be exact copy of the ocean


Great now you make me want to hunt them down and eradicate them. I just hope I don't go crazy and turn into Elmer Fudd. I can hear my wife now "It's okay kids Daddy is hunting bwistle worms, it's bwistle worm season".


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

For my 120G I have approximately 50 Nassarius Snail and always buying more when on sale.
On Sunday I went to one guy to get LR and you would not believe, but you ca not even to see sand properly, just worms everywhere. Any way, disman_ca you are very close to me and can visit after work if you like. I am at home around 3 Pm, I will send you my coordinates, just call before

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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

BettaBeats said:


> yeah, they are clean up crew. i am surprised by the genuine size of BW's when I pick up a rock. their limiting factor is food.


How you guys could limit the food.? will you stop feed fishes, anemones, shrimps and corals?

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## ecoleshill (Jan 22, 2009)

I had a large population and changed the way I feed my fish. Try feeding your fish little amounts at a time. Small enough that very little food hits the bottom. It reduces the amount of decaying food in the tank. I've noticed a big decrease in my worm pop because of it.


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## andco (Aug 15, 2011)

Personally, I love having bristle worms in my tanks. Yes they are ugly and ruin the prestine looking piece of the ocean, but they are always great for cleaning up any left over foods. My six-line wrasse loves them as well. 

I don't have a massive amount of them, but you definetly see them at night looking around for food. 

Though if you are looking for something to sift your sand thoroughly, I would recomend a sea cucumber. unbelievable!! Just make sure you have enough food for them, otherwise if they die, you could lose your tank


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

ecoleshill said:


> I had a large population and changed the way I feed my fish. Try feeding your fish little amounts at a time. Small enough that very little food hits the bottom. It reduces the amount of decaying food in the tank. I've noticed a big decrease in my worm pop because of it.


Its a seahorse tank and they waste a lot of food. I can't afford not to feed them as they have a higher demand for food seeing as they expel so much energy swimming around.


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Then IMHO the worms are serving a valuable purpose...



disman_ca said:


> Its a seahorse tank and they waste a lot of food. I can't afford not to feed them as they have a higher demand for food seeing as they expel so much energy swimming around.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

carmenh said:


> Then IMHO the worms are serving a valuable purpose...


I did not say that they are not valuable.

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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

I know; it's just a matter of opinion on whether they're worth it or not. All our tanks and tolerances are different  
Personally, I like creepy crawlies, they give me something to watch at night with my flashlight 



sig said:


> I did not say that they are not valuable.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

I like the idea of lots of critters. It may be because my DT has just fish but in my fuge, we added a few pounds of nice live rock and with the exception of the snails we had to remove, we have seen a few things that we have found intriguing, including bristle worms.

We are feeding the fuge trying to get them all to multiply


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## J-P (Feb 27, 2011)

sig said:


> They are good in the Ocean, but not in the tanks which are to small to be exact copy of the ocean where you can not control them. In ocean they controlled by other critters, which you do not have in your tank
> *Go and buy good skimmer and good cleaning crew and you will have nice tank*


ummm yea ok... they are highly beneficial. Don't take my word for it. Contact Dr. Ron Shimek at Marine Depot. He is only 1 of 3 that has a PhD in this field (in the English speaking world).


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## adrenaline (Jan 17, 2011)

I'm not sure how true this is, but an associate at Big Al's told me Arrow Crabs like to chow down on bristle worms. Thankfully i haven't seen one in my tank, and i'm hoping now too... helpful or not i don't like seeing them. I have a nicer looking clean up crew lol.

What scares me about arrow crabs is the fact i have lots of serpent stars. and if they have no problem picking out bristle worms, what's going to stop them form eating my starfish.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

J-P said:


> ummm yea ok... they are highly beneficial. Don't take my word for it. Contact Dr. Ron Shimek at Marine Depot. He is only 1 of 3 that has a PhD in this field (in the English speaking world).


I DID NOT SAY THAT THEY ARE NOT BENEFICIAL and was reading many articles from this respected guy

What I am saying that your tank can be perfect without them and without refusium and without many other things that we are spending money on. To put 100lbs of LR in 30G tank is also beneficial, but by some reasons we are not doing it.
Worms are free, but I do not want them in my tank anyway

IMHO

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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Hi disman,

You're welcome . My 2 cents: bristleworms/ in this case 'fire'worms (as they're pink/ redish) are beneficial, but like most things in the natural world, too much of one thing isn't good either. What I do to control them is use my 16 inch steel tweezers to take the really large ones out when I see them. Easy enough to do when they come out to eat. Never touch these guys with your barehands! I've heard their bristles are similar to a bee's sting.

Why take some of them out? Because when there's an over population of these guys and you're still feeding your tank the same amount of food they start turning to other things to feed on as they're not getting enough to eat individually. In my case it's soft macro algae they start going through like ulva. Sometimes they do this on weak or recovering corals in other people's tanks.

So yes, they are beneficial when their numbers are in balance with the system they're in.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

sig said:


> I DID NOT SAY THAT THEY ARE NOT BENEFICIAL and was reading many articles from this respected guy
> 
> What I am saying that your tank can be perfect without them and without refusium and without many other things that we are spending money on. To put 100lbs of LR in 30G tank is also beneficial, but by some reasons we are not doing it.
> Worms are free, but I do not want them in my tank anyway
> ...


It's just differing philosophies. Some people prefer relying on technology to run their tanks, other people prefer using biology. Those who use technology like to see their tanks just the way they want. Those who prefer biology like to see the diversity of life in their little piece of the ocean, bristle worms and all.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

solarz said:


> It's just differing philosophies. Some people prefer relying on technology to run their tanks, other people prefer using biology. Those who use technology like to see their tanks just the way they want. Those who prefer biology like to see the diversity of life in their little piece of the ocean, bristle worms and all.


I just think you need a bigger tank

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## vaporize (Apr 10, 2006)

adrenaline said:


> I'm not sure how true this is, but an associate at Big Al's told me Arrow Crabs like to chow down on bristle worms. Thankfully i haven't seen one in my tank, and i'm hoping now too... helpful or not i don't like seeing them. I have a nicer looking clean up crew lol.


Arrow crabs does eat bristle worm, so does boxing shrimps, reef lobsters and spiny lobsters. But aside from spiny lobster, none of them will really get rid of them completely as they prefer fish food more.

But then again, you cannot put a spiny lobster into a seahorse tank anyways.

I kind of remember somebody told me about bristle worm traps or making bristle worm traps , but I forgot exactly how. If anybody knows

You can try the glass bottle trick to get rid of some, but wont' totally get rid of them


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

solarz said:


> It's just differing philosophies. Some people prefer relying on technology to run their tanks, other people prefer using biology. Those who use technology like to see their tanks just the way they want. Those who prefer biology like to see the diversity of life in their little piece of the ocean, bristle worms and all.


I'm definitely one of them. The more critters the better. I now have some new baby bristleworms. Mine are now coming out when I feed the fuge  They are lazy though, they still stay 1/2 inside the rock when they go out to forage for food so if it involves them having to leave theior rock they will leave the food alone. The new babies however have no fear, they go out and get the food they want then head back home.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

I'm okay with having some, so I'm just going to start picking them out when I see them and I'm going to make my own trap (dark tube with small holes with some bait).


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