+JoseZ Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 So I saw this when I was looking at the underside of my tank. I'm pretty sure its a bristle worm but wasnt 100% I had never seen one so big in person . Easily the length of my hand . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 yes, a bristleworm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 +1 bristle worm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 If you feel the need to get rid of it I'll take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JoseZ Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Yes I would like to get rid of it lol just don't want to flip my tank upside down to do so the two times that I've spotted him have been in that same spot where my pistol shrimp stays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 I have some very large ones in my DT and sump and haven't seen them to be a problem in my system.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 If you catch him let me know and I can swing by and get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Sorry to drive this off course but why do you want it?...I have them in my tank and they kinda creep me out. I never thought they would be good...guess I oughta read up Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I have a large yellow banded sea star in my sump but it's my predator area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Ahh....I gotcha Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 They are also a good part of the clean up crew from what I have heard. There is mixed opinions weather they are good or bad. I leave them alone and never notice major issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+acfilmz Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Got bristled the other day by one of a similar size - my finger swelled up like a sausage I was moving some rocks around and didn't even notice it under the rock at first until my finger started feeling like it had a thousand cactus needles in it. Sure enough - several hundred small bristles were in my finger. Later that evening my finger began to turn red and swell. After a healthy dose of benadryl and the use cortizone on the site for two days it cleared up. I think they are good for cleaning when they are VERY small. If they are bigger than an inch and I can catch them with tweezers - then they wind up in my driveway basking in the sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I've had them in all three of my tanks. My second tank i went to great lengths to catch them. I would sit there with a bristle worm trap and dried brine for hours pulling those suckers out, but from what i've read recently. They burrow in the rocks making more homes for pods and micro-organisms and aid in the removal of uneaten food. I've hear rumors that they'll attack fish if they get too big, but i haven't seen any hardcore evidence. It has always been my practive to keep a coral banded, six lined wrasse, or something else that will keep the population in check if it starts to become overwhelming (i'm no pro, but that's my philosophy based off of what i've read). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Bristle worms are without a doubt a beneficial detrivore. With thousands of subspecies, fire bristle worms are very rare at less than 0.1%. I pick them up regularly. I am sure I will be stung eventually. I walk barefooted outside and have stepped on scorpions and wasp. I continue to walk barefooted outside. Laissez la bonne temps roulee, Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JoseZ Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 That's what Im more worried about than anything coming into contact with it . I haven't seen very many in my tank almost none. I tried to get rid of them completely so this is why it surprised me . Is there anything that will eat them this big? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 That's what Im more worried about than anything coming into contact with it . I haven't seen very many in my tank almost none. I tried to get rid of them completely so this is why it surprised me . Is there anything that will eat them this big?If you got something to eat a bristle worm of that size, then you would have introduced a real problem in your tank. The worm is not a problem, unless you make it a problem.Patrick PS. I see detrivores as an integral part of the food chain. As they consume detritus in your sandbed, they produce larva that feeds corals and filter feeders. This is nutrient recycling at its best. By adding a large fish as a predator of detrivores, the bioload is increased at the expense of the detrivore crew. In the long run, you will be required to get bigger skimmers and do larger water changes because of these choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 That's what Im more worried about than anything coming into contact with it . I haven't seen very many in my tank almost none. I tried to get rid of them completely so this is why it surprised me . Is there anything that will eat them this big? hawkfish, six lined wrasse, and a variety of shrimps. I had a purple lobster in my last tank that would chase them like crazy... he was awesome. I've come into contact with them... i used to pick them up by hand until i actually knew what they were. I think it is all a reaction thing. I get stung and i feel it, but i don't swell up or anything, it's not that bad at all actually, just kind of feels hot suddenly, then five minutes later nothing. Just do a little research and find a cool critter to add that will help you keep them in check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 i missed the length of your hand bit hahaha, i would still think that certain shrimp and lobsters would chew on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chippwalters Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 My coral banded shrimp likes to chomp on bristle worms. But, there still seems to be enough of them to continue the beneficial process they provide in the tank AND keep my Coral banded shrimp busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I would try to avoid Purple Lobsters as my experience with them is they catch fish when the opportunity arises at night.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JoseZ Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 It wouldn't bother me as much if it wasn't so big I just don't want to have to deal with it later on when it gets even bigger. If I can't catch him ill go ahead and try one of the suggested fish which is my preferred route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I would try to avoid Purple Lobsters as my experience with them is they catch fish when the opportunity arises at night.... i also had an 18 inch snowflake eel with two clowns that weren't much more than an inch long.... keep them fed, they'll be fat and happy and not want to exert the energy to chase/fight a fish. Along with that, every one is different. I had luck and maybe that's all it was... I'd go with the coral banded! they're an awesome addition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 That's funny as I have had a 12" snowflake that was just super aggressive and would eat $25 fairy wrasses whenever possible... I got rid of it and got a 20" Skeletor eel and love it and it has never touched a thing other than the frozen shrimp I feed it... Each specimen definitely has its own character.... Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JoseZ Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 So I was doing some research and ran across a fire worm. Could this be one??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Arrow crabs from my exerience don't do well and definitely have issues when placed in with coral banded shrimp but I have seen a couple over the years grab a bristle worm in one claw and daintily pick pieces of it while it sqirms and wriths in it's grip, rather cute and amusing in a morbid way. I don' have as bad a reaction as Acfilmz but i do have some mnor swelling that goes away after a couple of hours. They are ubiquitous and part of the CUC and very difficult to completely erradicate so if you occasionally remove big ones you could just think of it as one form of nutrient export. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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