Bristle worm

sapgranth25

sapgranth25

AC Members
May 25, 2006
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Sheffield uk
I`ve always be lived that Bristle worms are in away not pest but more a good part of the cleaning crew BUT after getting a classic yellow coral i was reading about leathers & the name brissle worms popped up i was pis**d off it says that they will eat/damage them!!!!

dose anyone have bristle worms in there tank plus corals?

if so how are your corals doing?

anyone had any nightmares with bristle worms & soft corals

PLEASE HELP
after reading about these worms most of the morning im still confused some people say there great no damaged caused etc but then again you got people near enough tripping over there self trying to get rid of these worms with traps,arrow head crabs,6liner&dragon wrasses etc

but i still want to know if people have had problems with bristle worms eating corals are do people have no problem with them mixing with in a tank containing corals
 
i have dozens and dozens of bristle worms in my 75 gallon reef and have never had a problem with them picking at any of my corals. from what i hear the small bristle worms are ok but bigger ones (1 foot plus) can cause problems. from what i can see none of the bristle worms in my tank are over 2 inches long. HTH
 
thanks oscar :dance2: been bit of a worry tut
 
hmmm.... I don't think bristleworms are a good idea... i've heard they eat corals and can even go after fish while they sleep or hurt them if the fish bump into them by accident.
 
Yeah this is what i`ve heard/read on one hand then on the other just as oscar said i hear over & over again plus i`ve read they are no threat to corals etc but i think its one of those catch 22`s of reef keeping... ...

back stuck with the catch 22 now not sure what to do of course leaving the bristle worms is the way easy-st option because getting rid can prove very difficult if not impossible i think bristle worms are in every tank in low numbers so there not seen
 
if you start to notice that your corals look like they're being eaten what you can do to see if it is bristle worms doing the damage is look at ur tank at night with a very dim or red flashlight. the worms are only active at night and the red light wont scare them away like a normal white or yellowish light would. but IME you should be fine. every tank has bristle worms in it, theres almost no way you can completely irradicate them.
 
It really depends on the species. Most of the annelids that people call "bristleworms" are amphinomids, and most of these are completely harmless. There are species, like the Caribbean "fireworm" (Hermodice carunculata) that can eat corals, but they aren't that common, and would have to have come into your tank on rock from the Gulf or Caribbean. The most likely species is Eurythoe, which has been very well-behaved in my tanks, even when large.

Another group you might encounter is the Eunicids. These can be pretty nasty, but live in burrows in the sand rather than among the rocks.

I have had corals and bristleworms together for years without evidence of problems.
 
i have the common light brown 1`s & the odd half light brown&half red? but from what i`ve read they can come in a vast amount of colours but is the half red 1`s common?
 
yeah i have those in my tank. the ones that ive seen in my tank range from almost white to a dark brown, some pinkish to a maroon color and also some that are half one color and half another. crazy crazy worms.
 
THANKS people after reading your replys&reading loads on the net i asked a few people whom had been in the game years plus asked my lfs`s & come back with i`ll leave them in there till damaged is cause by them & after watching them the last few nights with a red light well yeah they do travel around&on my soft corals but there is no signs of damage as yet so there ok for the time been........ hope things stay this way
 
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