Bristleworm?

[RayD]

Is this a Bristleworm? Over a foot long in my 20 gallon. Went to grab him but he was FAST!

An ID would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[CrazyCorals]

looks like a bristal to me too............

 

[RayD]

I thought so too. I've NEVER had one that big in any of my tanks over the years. Wow! LOL!!

 

[Turbosnail]

+1 Looks like a bristle.

 

[JohnK]

Color is a little unusual. At that size I might try to remove it just becasue it would give me the creeps.

 

[frank180reef]

are they harmful?

 

[Neya]

Color is a little unusual. At that size I might try to remove it just becasue it would give me the creeps.

I was thinking the same thing too. Although it doesn't look like a fireworm either.

I dislike bristle worms, I don't intentionally remove them unless theyre big and thats only to avoid getting bristles stuck in my fingers later on.

 

[JohnK]

are they harmful?

No, just creepy

 

[Kiah]

Looks like a bristle worm to me. Probably the only one in there . If you take the rock out and let it sit in air they usually come out of the rock

 

[Prack]

theres no way that would be the only one in there if you got one you prob got a bunch. just make sure you dont go with your fingers one that size might sting quite a bit

 

[skotty52]

Hi Ray,

Fellow keyboard player here (you can probably figure out by the name, assisted living methuen), sorry for not staying in touch ANYWAY - there was a time when I used to have alot of these in my system, not necessarily a bad thing, they never touched my coral and I am sure they do alot of scavenging. In the end, though, I think that there may be several types, some not so good. Anthony Calfo doesn't seem to think they are bad in general. If he is really bothering you, there are actually bristleworm traps, not too much money. In the meantime, I would just keep an eye on my corals for signs of chewing

 

[RayD]

Hi Ray,

Fellow keyboard player here (you can probably figure out by the name, assisted living methuen), sorry for not staying in touch ANYWAY - there was a time when I used to have alot of these in my system, not necessarily a bad thing, they never touched my coral and I am sure they do alot of scavenging. In the end, though, I think that there may be several types, some not so good. Anthony Calfo doesn't seem to think they are bad in general. If he is really bothering you, there are actually bristleworm traps, not too much money. In the meantime, I would just keep an eye on my corals for signs of chewing

It never bothered anything. The tank has been broken down but there's still water in it as I gather up clean up crew remnants. It comes right out in the open and I could probably grab him with the tongs if need be. One thing is for sure, I'm not going to put him in my main reef dispaly so I don't know what to do with it once I finish up the breakdown. I hate flushing anything. I'm not into killing anything, it bothers me.

We shall see ...