Bristle worms

[buttons buster]

I noticed some bristle worms in my newly setup tank.
What is the best way to get rid of them?

I really want them out.
I think that they are fire worms if that helps.
If they are in the tank will they bother things like corals?

 

[Trogdor]

There are traps that you can make that they might fall for. I've never used one so I can't say if they work or not. If they are just bristle worms then they shouldn't harm anything unless they get rather large.

 

[buttons buster]

Update.

Hopefully I did the right thing.

Alright so three days after set-up and with no food the bristleworms are pretty much screwed.

They appeared very week and were scavenging for food.
pretty much the entire "colony" was just out in the open.
I took off the lid and turned off the filter and started to get the out one-by-one using tweezers.
There are little to none remaining and they are going to die because there is nothing for them to eat.
i thought that removing them when I had the chance was the best Ides.
I probably screwed up a lot of the parameters though, but hopefully this will right itself.

Please tell me if I did the right thing?

Also how lonf should the tank be running before I add anything?

 

[reefman23]

I dont think you hurt anything... including the poulations long term. I dont think youwillever get rid of all of them. They should have plenty to eat though because of the dead mater falling off of the LR and all that. They are scavenger as thus they sort of naturally control their own populations based on available food.

Bristle worms generally arent a problem as long as you dont see a big huge one. They are actually quite beneficial scavengers.

As far as how long you tank should be running, your nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia test results will dictate that. It is usually 2-4 weeks though.

Jesse

 

[buttons buster]

I'm pretty sure all of them died.
There was literally no food.
it was funny because they were all clumped up in an orgy like fashio and were probably eating each other.
SO I'm hoping that they are gone for good.
Unless I get them from another outside source I'm pretty sure they are.

Just curious what are your water parameters?
Like what should I aim for at a minimum before I attempt to add anything?
please don't just say "perfect" conditions.

 

[Trogdor]

You will want your ammonia and nitrites to reach zero and nitrates to be under 15-20ppm. Ideally nitrates will be zero as well but you can't always achieve that.

I used to think that bristle worms were horrible to have in a tank. I heard horror stories about them and always tried to get rid of them. That's impossible. I still kill one if I take a rock out and find one slivering around, more out of fear of getting poked by the bristles. Like jesse said, they are beneficial scavengers that will eat a lot of the dead matter in your tank. Just because there isn't any "food" doesn't mean that they won't have anything to eat. Once one dies then he feeds the others.

 

[buttons buster]

ya I know, like I said they were eating each other.
But ya thanks for the helpful information.
Especially the nitrates part.

 

[carolk]

I have several bristles worms and just saw last nite a really big one---should I be worried?