Bristleworms

[golfer]

I know these critters are good to have but how many are too much ? Last night I saw about 4 that are at least 5 inches long and my tank is only a 40g hex. Do they have any natural predators ?

Thanks for any help in advance,

Paul

[OrionGirl]

There are many fish and inverts that will eat bristleworms, but when bristleworm numbers are high, it usually means the tank is being fed too heavily and other cleaners are inadequate. Monitor your feeding for a couple weeks and make sure there is not a lot of food going uneaten, into rock, etc. Consider adding some hermit crabs, shrimp, snails, or other cleaners.

[golfer]

Thanks, I have 10 red-legs but maybe more are needed. The tank residents are a yellow tang and 2 green chromis'. The tang seems to devour purple seaweed very fast so that might be the problem,excess seaweed fragments.

[gcvt]

A yellow tang in a 40g tank - especially a hex tank - is a bad idea. They need a lot more room than that. Are you planning to buy a bigger tank in the near future?