Bristle worm/fire worm....

[JhonQ]

Hi.... I found abt 5 bristle/fire worms in my fuge when trimming my caulerpa and last night I saw one in the live rock in my display tank... I've tried doing some research but it's a little confusing with different opinions... I wanted to get some input from BRS members... Should I try and take all the bristle worms out by removing and inspecting my live Rock or should I let them be... Some people say they are good to have in a tank as scavengers... Taking in to account that this live rock will get transferred to my new setup...

 

[afsportsguy000]

I had a bristle worm in my tank for 3-4 months, Really never bothered anything, I think once they get to a bigger size they can eat smaller fish or inverts...but if you are having that many I would not put any in your new tank, and if you transfer things over I wouldn't put them in the new tank but if they get in there on there own who cares. Other then that not the end of the world and they are cool to look at .

 

[stingythingy45]

Let them be.I must have dozens in my tank,they hurt nothing and scavenge extra food.

 

[beelezebubba]

yep, i've always considered them to be great scavengers and have never seen one doing something it wasn't supposed to

 

[charged45]

It is very difficult to get rid of them once they are in your tank. You can put some some wrasses or Dottybacks in to keep them in check. If that is not an option then be careful not to overfeed. They are beneficial if they stay small and don't over populate your tank.

 

[stingythingy45]

The only critter I've seen eat them is a Coral Banded Shrimp.

 

[JohnK]

They are normal and good for your tank. You probably can't remove them all, nor should you try.

 

[JhonQ]

Would a diadema dottyback eat bristle worms... I have one in my tank...

 

[JohnK]

Do you think they are causing some sort of problem?

You said you've heard of confusing/different opinions, most of that comes from misinformed new reefers who don't understand how bristle works fit into a reef system. They are like earth worms in a garden, normal, healthy, good, and probably impossible to prevent or get rid of.

"fireworms" are extremely rare, but get mentioned all the time by confused hobbiests. "I heard that fire worms are bad and you said you have bristle or fire worms. You better get rid of them fast".

 

[JhonQ]

I dont see any signs of the causing problems in my tank...this are two of the ones i found..

 

[JhonQ]

Just saw a video on YouTube and I think these are the harmless bristle worms and not fire worms... What do you think...

 

[JohnK]

The one in the pic is an everyday bristle worm. FWIW I'v been in this hobby for @18 yrs and I've never seen a fireworm in person. IIRC every tank I have ever seen has had some bristleworms though