Bristle Trap

[RothChyld]

Anyone ever heard of making a bristleworm trap? I have one and he is a fast little bugger. Any thoughts?

[OrionGirl]

There are a couple of traps you can try, but I probably wouldn't. Bristleworms are fantastic detrivores, and like FW snails, their population is kept in check by the amount of food available. I personally like them in my tank--an easy thing to monitor, and otherwise pretty safe. Large ones can go after fish and clams, but these are usually easy to spot and remove--and I've only heard one case of them getting a healthy fish.

Most bristleworms are not hazardous to humans. The skin on our fingers is to thick for their spines to penetrate, and most have little to no toxin. Larger specimens (more than 6 inches long) can be a threat to the unwary, and there are species, collectively called fire worms, that do have a toxin in their spines. These look fuzzier, and the spines tend to be whitish, as opposed to the black and red of the common ones.

For traps--cut off the top of a 2 liter bottle. Invert it in the sand and bait it with a chunk of food. Be prepared to release lots of crabs and such, as they will also be caught.

[DCDeacon]

Orion, have you or anyone else heard of natural ways to control bristleworms? I could swear I've heard arrow crabs like to eat bristleworms. A viable option or bad idea?

[mogurnda]

Arrow crabs eat bristleworms, as well as fanworms and many other tasty immobile invertebrates. Most would consider them not reef safe. Of the two, bristleworms are preferable, in my opinion.

[frosty]

I was just at the Omaha Zoo this weekend and a lot of there tanks had bristle worms. Just thought I'd include this fact into the whole bristleworm debate.

P.S.
Anyone who gets a chance to go to the Omaha Zoo should, their aquarium is amazing. Many reef tanks, a tidepool that is awsome, fowlr, and quite a few species tank. Even one with a mantis shrimp, I took so many pictures it made me wish I had bought 256mb card for my camera instead of a 128.

[RothChyld]

I have a decorator crab which is a species of spider crab like the arrow. So far he has not been able to catch him. Honestly the bristle isn't that much of a pain except I need to buy snails a little more often as that seems to be one of his main staples.

So far the decorator has left my fanworm alone but I feed him regularly. He has clipped my macro algae as well as some button polyps and stuck them to himself. So far not too bad but if he gets out of hand he will get a new home at the LFS. :p

RothChyld

[mogurnda]

Are you sure the worm is eating your snails, and not the crab or hermits?

[RothChyld]

Actually I am not. I never see it but I assumed I suppose. I will have to keep an eye out and see if I can see what is going on.