reefman Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Over the past several days, I have pulled 4 Bristle Worms out of one of my tanks, using either the Coralife trap (one), or baiting the sand bed with sinking type food (like Diamici) and harpooning them with a tool I've made. My wife is convinced these are the devil's spawn, and are even chewing the ends of the legs off one of our sanding shifting stars and possibly eating corals. The stuff I've read about them on different sites goes from the gamut of her opinion, to the other extreme of being harmless. What are your opinions about whether they are truly bad or not, and does anyone have any tips are methods that work better than others? We are still seeing several big ones (that I haven't been able to nail yet), so I'm wondering how much sleep I should be missing with my "Adventures in Bristle Worm Hunting". Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jroescher Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 I've always understood them to be good, unless the numbers get out of hand or one gets way too big. They are detrivores. Arrow crabs will hunt and eat them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeK Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 I've never had any problems with the bristle worms that I had. When the tank was taken down for moving we found at least 4 that were 8 or so inches long. I'd be interested in hearing about your DIY Bristle harpoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefman Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 I used to use a lot of insulin syringes when I did scale model building for glue and plastic welding jobs, so I have a bunch left over. My first harpoon was simply taking on of these, pulling the plunger out, and duck taping it onto the end of a wooden dowel I had. The single needle made it harder to hit, plus I had one I stabbed fall off the needle as I was trying to bring him up and get away. The needles are super small, too. So on version 2 I got 3 of the syringes, snipped of the barrels where the finger holds were, and used like a 1/4 inch dowel and duck taped the 3 syringes to the end (so it kind of makes a trident). Makes it a little easier to hit the worm, and normally I get him with at least 2 of the 3 needles, so I haven't had a problem with him sliding off. Still hard to get them as long as they are on the rocks, but if they come out onto the sand bed he is mine. Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhayden Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 LOL, I dont know if they are pests, but your hunting sounds like a ball LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefman Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 We're sure something is eating the ends of the legs off the starfish, and we're pretty sure its the bristle worms. We have seen the worms over on the starfish's legs at night. I researched Arrow Crabs, and Coral Banded Shrimp, and my concern for both of those is that they will eat other stuff (good stuff) besides the Bristle Worms. Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhayden Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 I had an arrow for a bit in the beginning. He ate all my hermits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefman Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Yep, that is what we are afraid of. We think the BW population has gotten large enough, they have physically gotten so large, food in the sandbed had gotten depleted over time, or a combination of those three have caused the current situation. We still have some pretty big ones in there. As much fun as it sounds like trying to harpoon them (and it is), its also not getting the job done. For the 4 I have gotten (3 with harpoon), I've missed, they have slid off, or I couldn't get in a good position to hit them on at least 8 - 10 other occasions. This seems to be a subject that is hard to get much info on, especially for ways to get rid of them. I will be moving the starfish to my other tank today (which always scares me with the re-acclimation thing), cause we're afraid he will get literally get eaten alive after what we have seen. We had a smaller sand shifting star in there with him too, that we haven't seen in a long time, and fear the worse. Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jroescher Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Mine usually only come out at night, and sometimes when I feed the tanks. They usually disappear almost instantly if they detect light or movement. I've read that a six-line wrasse will also hunt them down. Be careful handling them, they are also known as fire worms. If one of the spines gets in the skin, it burns like fire. Been there, done that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhayden Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 Man Ill never forget trying to catch one of those **** things about 15years ago Had no idea what it was. Found out real quick why its called what it is. I was itchin for a week. Then someone told me to use ductape to pull all the stickers out.. wonderfull stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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