Bristle Worm Erradication!

[FreeEnergyReefer]

Hello all. I set up a aqueon 14g frameless for a nano tank in the bedroom. Drilled w/ a 10g diy sump. I use Filter roller,carbon,ceramic media,mb7,uv, & ozone for filtration. Kessil 360x for lighting,1 ai Nero 3 + the random flow generator nozzle for flow. My parameters are:
Alk-7.3
PH-8.0
Po4 - .04
No3-18.7
Cal-380
Mag-1370
I house a pair of tailspot blennies for fish, 4 emerald crabs,2 tuxedo urchins, & 6 snails
This is what I feed to the tank;
sea veggies (purple or green) daily
Phytoplankton daily
LPS & SPS Aminos every other day
me coral & brightwell powder coral food once a week.
I got the bristle worms from the rock I used It came from a 75g mixed reef which didn't seem to have any worms a month after I put the rock in I seen them everywhere and now being in this little tank they're starving.
I love this tank everything is going perfect n I barely have to do anything but at the same time I'm ready to swap the rock and substrate out for new save what coral I can and start over all because of these dang things. I can't own a clam because they will devour it overnight, and they harass my blennies from time to time. The no clam issue is a big one for me my reef tank is not complete without one. I have tried an arrow crab got a really small baby one and he was doing great but I decided to take him out because he was getting to big stomping on corals and trying to eat my fish. That little tank is too small for an arrow crab. I've thought about a wrasse but imo my fish load is at max now they probably wouldn't get along and said wrasse would only eat the tiny ones. I have a bristle worm trap but it only catches small ones and is a pain in the butt to bait every single evening and put in the tank and that would never eradicate all of them anywayz. So I am open to ideas and suggestions. My daughter loves this Lil tank she calls it hers and she's only 2n a half.

 

[KrisReef]

You have a situation for sure.
Buy your daughter some long gloves and forceps and let her learn how to keep a reef tank.
Win/win for Dad!
Edit Or mom? Sorry I realized my presumption after I posted.
Still a win!

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Hello all. I set up a aqueon 14g frameless for a nano tank in the bedroom. Drilled w/ a 10g diy sump. I use Filter roller,carbon,ceramic media,mb7,uv, & ozone for filtration. Kessil 360x for lighting,1 ai Nero 3 + the random flow generator nozzle for flow. My parameters are:
Alk-7.3
PH-8.0
Po4 - .04
No3-18.7
Cal-380
Mag-1370
I house a pair of tailspot blennies for fish, 4 emerald crabs,2 tuxedo urchins, & 6 snails
This is what I feed to the tank;
sea veggies (purple or green) daily
Phytoplankton daily
LPS & SPS Aminos every other day
me coral & brightwell powder coral food once a week.
I got the bristle worms from the rock I used It came from a 75g mixed reef which didn't seem to have any worms a month after I put the rock in I seen them everywhere and now being in this little tank they're starving.
I love this tank everything is going perfect n I barely have to do anything but at the same time I'm ready to swap the rock and substrate out for new save what coral I can and start over all because of these dang things. I can't own a clam because they will devour it overnight, and they harass my blennies from time to time. The no clam issue is a big one for me my reef tank is not complete without one. I have tried an arrow crab got a really small baby one and he was doing great but I decided to take him out because he was getting to big stomping on corals and trying to eat my fish. That little tank is too small for an arrow crab. I've thought about a wrasse but imo my fish load is at max now they probably wouldn't get along and said wrasse would only eat the tiny ones. I have a bristle worm trap but it only catches small ones and is a pain in the butt to bait every single evening and put in the tank and that would never eradicate all of them anywayz. So I am open to ideas and suggestions. My daughter loves this Lil tank she calls it hers and she's only 2n a half.

If I were you, I'd pull the rocks, remove all the corals, dip and inspect them for worms, remove and replace the sand, and restart with new rock. Throw some Fritz Turbostart in and some pods. Sounds excessive, BUT that's because I just yanked a 10" fireworm/alien creature out of my tank last night... (to say I'm not a fan of bristleworms at all now is a huge understatement).
From my research on bristleworms, I thought their population depends on how much food they have available... so maybe catch as many as you can, and then lighten up on your feeding for a while, and see if that makes a difference in how fast they multiply? I agree, in a 14g I wouldn't add a crab or fish to try to control them. I have a large melanurus wrasse that supposedly will eat them, but he doesn't touch anything but snails. So those pest control options don't always even work like they're supposed to anyway.
Wish I had more advice, but I'd guess either keep setting traps and reduce feeding, or consider replacing the rock/substrate (though I realize that sucks as an option since you're literally restarting your tank and losing all that good bacteria).

 

[Subsea]

With that small of a tank, a rip clean would be ideal. Put live stuff in a 5G bucket, remove all water to be reused when finished. Remove all sand and flush with freshwater. I use a garden hose with sufficient velocity to flush out stuff. Return sand to tank, At this point I would give infested live rock a 10 minute bath with a 10% solution of 3% peroxide. This will kill all micro inverts including bristle worms, spaghetti worms. amphipods, Copepods, & micro starfish, as well as all algae. Coral slime protects corals from this strong oxidizer.

PS: Coral slime, fish slime and original water from tank will inoculate tank with bacteria.

@FreeEnergyReefer
Why four emerald crabs in such a small tank? Would you post a picture of this tank?

 

[FreeEnergyReefer]

You have a situation for sure.
Buy your daughter some long gloves and forceps and let her learn how to keep a reef tank.
Win/win for Dad!
Edit Or mom? Sorry I realized my presumption after I posted.
Still a win!

Yea she's not gonna be down for that. Thx

 

[FreeEnergyReefer]

If I were you, I'd pull the rocks, remove all the corals, dip and inspect them for worms, remove and replace the sand, and restart with new rock. Throw some Fritz Turbostart in and some pods. Sounds excessive, BUT that's because I just yanked a 10" fireworm/alien creature out of my tank last night... (to say I'm not a fan of bristleworms at all now is a huge understatement).
From my research on bristleworms, I thought their population depends on how much food they have available... so maybe catch as many as you can, and then lighten up on your feeding for a while, and see if that makes a difference in how fast they multiply? I agree, in a 14g I wouldn't add a crab or fish to try to control them. I have a large melanurus wrasse that supposedly will eat them, but he doesn't touch anything but snails. So those pest control options don't always even work like they're supposed to anyway.
Wish I had more advice, but I'd guess either keep setting traps and reduce feeding, or consider replacing the rock/substrate (though I realize that sucks as an option since you're literally restarting your tank and losing all that good bacteria).

Yea I don't feed anything just sea veggies on the clip and coral powder food once a week. That's insane a 10in fireworm! Man I'd loose my crap. Craziest thing I ever seen is my old neighbor tore down his 400gal to upgrade when he was taking all the rocks out this huge Bobbitt worm was scurring around the tank. He was like that's why I was mysteriously losing fish.

 

[FreeEnergyReefer]

With that small of a tank, a rip clean would be ideal. Put live stuff in a 5G bucket, remove all water to be reused when finished. Remove all sand and flush with freshwater. I use a garden hose with sufficient velocity to flush out stuff. Return sand to tank, At this point I would give infested live rock a 10 minute bath with a 10% solution of 3% peroxide. This will kill all micro inverts including bristle worms, spaghetti worms. amphipods, Copepods, & micro starfish, as well as all algae. Coral slime protects corals from this strong oxidizer.

PS: Coral slime, fish slime and original water from tank will inoculate tank with bacteria.

@FreeEnergyReefer
Why four emerald crabs in such a small tank? Would you post a picture of this tank?

Yea man best idea so far. I was gonna reuse the water with new rock and sand but that peroxide bath would save some money and time. I just don't know if a 10min bath would do it, and any residual effect on the water quality when you put the rock back in after the bath?
PS- 4 emeralds cause I'm a stickler on clean rock work and glass with minimal effort,and I hate hermit crabs. They get some off the algae clip too so they're not starving. As far as pics go its not much to see I've barely got anything in there cause I've been debating n procrastinating forever about these dang worms. But here's some I just took with my crappy phone.

 

[FishOkay]

Correct me if im wrong but what's the issue with keeping a clam with bristle worms though they wouldnt eat a healthy clam i dont think would they? I have a few bristleworms I've seen not sure how many but never had a problem with my clams.

 

[Subsea]

One full tank shot with white light to understand the biotheme of your tank. Your corals under the blue light reminds me of the fluorescence & bioluminescence in the night scene of Avatar.

I looked at the equipment you listed and was surprised with the use of ozone on a 14G aio.

“I just don't know if a 10min bath would do it, and any residual effect on the water quality when you put the rock back in after the bath?”

@FreeEnergyReefer
If you do it, you will see collateral damage immediately. After 50 years of Reefing, I suggest an “old school” solution to sanitize live rock. With your small system, to not overload your biofilter, I suggest a 5G bucket for quarantine for a few days.

Also, I am with FishOkay on bristle worms not being clam eaters. They are efficient detrivores in my ecosystems.

 

[Nano sapiens]

Our typical detritus eating bristle worms will not attack a healthy clam (or coral). They will of course mob an injured or sick one just as any of the CUC would do. If you had the relatively rare Fire worms then that would be a different story, but you'd also see all your corals eaten in short order.

Perhaps change your POV? Bristle worms are free, are excellent at cleanup and help keep the sand bed turned over. The only downside is that they can steal excess food from coral mouths at times (feed corals regularly, but not too much all at once to minimize this behavior). They are also self-limiting if tank feeding is adequate, but not excessive.

When I started my 12g nano long ago my LR came from a 55g. After I added 2 Clowns I had an explosion of worms that I then dealt with by removing the biggest ones with a tweezer weekly when they were out feeding. Within a few months their population reduced and stabilized at just a visible few.

Terebellid worms (aka 'spaghetti worms') will limit your bristle worm population due to direct competition (assuming you don't mind those worms).

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Yea I don't feed anything just sea veggies on the clip and coral powder food once a week. That's insane a 10in fireworm! Man I'd loose my crap. Craziest thing I ever seen is my old neighbor tore down his 400gal to upgrade when he was taking all the rocks out this huge Bobbitt worm was scurring around the tank. He was like that's why I was mysteriously losing fish.

Hmmm well they must just like your tank, lol. I'd probably try what Subsea suggested. And yeah, that fireworm was insane. I felt bad because my son had named it "Wormy" almost a year ago when I first spotted it - but it grew into a monster that definitely needed evicted! It was rubbing up against my anemone, which caused it to relocate to the top of the rock in the middle of a patch of xenia, and also it kept stealing one of my jawfishes burrows... no way was I going to let a dang worm hurt my $180 fish, lol. I think I'd rather have the fireworm over a bobbitt worm though... those look like something out of a nightmare (well, so does the fireworm I guess).

 

[FreeEnergyReefer]

Correct me if im wrong but what's the issue with keeping a clam with bristle worms though they wouldnt eat a healthy clam i dont think would they? I have a few bristleworms I've seen not sure how many but never had a problem with my clams.

I've only tried 1 clam in the system and it was a baby durasa. It lasted 2 days looked beautiful and healthy both days and on the 3rd day when the lights came on there was nothing there but an empty shell. It was completely devoured overnight. Here's the clam. So I'd say yes absolutely they will eat a healthy clam if they're starving.

 

[FreeEnergyReefer]

One full tank shot with white light to understand the biotheme of your tank. Your corals under the blue light reminds me of the fluorescence & bioluminescence in the night scene of Avatar.

I looked at the equipment you listed and was surprised with the use of ozone on a 14G aio.

“I just don't know if a 10min bath would do it, and any residual effect on the water quality when you put the rock back in after the bath?”

@FreeEnergyReefer
If you do it, you will see collateral damage immediately. After 50 years of Reefing, I suggest an “old school” solution to sanitize live rock. With your small system, to not overload your biofilter, I suggest a 5G bucket for quarantine for a few days.

Also, I am with FishOkay on bristle worms not being clam eaters. They are efficient detrivores in my ecosystems.

Sure I can take a pic under whites but it won't be till tomorrow when I'm off work around lunch when the whites come on. Yes I love ozone this is the 1st nano I've tried it on, it's not an aio, it's drilled w/ a 10g diy sump and a filter roller.If you have never used ozone you must try it the benefits are astounding. Even just not having to clean the glass as often is a luxury for me. I understand your pov on bw being detrivores they most definitely are. In this rare case where I took the rock out of a 75 mixed that was being fed daily to a 14g nano that's never fed nothing but seaweed. They're starving to death and being opportunistic feeders the clam stood no chance. Yea I was thinking of putting all the live coral in a container and bathing the rock and sand in tank with a worm poison return pump being off, then rinsing all the rock and substrate real good with a hose. Who knows though might just leave it how it is and just not put a clam in there I'd have to move the clam after a year anyway.

 

[FreeEnergyReefer]

Our typical detritus eating bristle worms will not attack a healthy clam (or coral). They will of course mob an injured or sick one just as any of the CUC would do. If you had the relatively rare Fire worms then that would be a different story, but you'd also see all your corals eaten in short order.

Perhaps change your POV? Bristle worms are free, are excellent at cleanup and help keep the sand bed turned over. The only downside is that they can steal excess food from coral mouths at times (feed corals regularly, but not too much all at once to minimize this behavior). They are also self-limiting if tank feeding is adequate, but not excessive.

When I started my 12g nano long ago my LR came from a 55g. After I added 2 Clowns I had an explosion of worms that I then dealt with by removing the biggest ones with a tweezer weekly when they were out feeding. Within a few months their population reduced and stabilized at just a visible few.

Terebellid worms (aka 'spaghetti worms') will limit your bristle worm population due to direct competition (assuming you don't mind those worms).

Yea I seen them eat the healthy clam with my own eyes,kinda hard to change my pov after that. Never thought about the terebellid worms,what a unique approach. I'll do some research on them. So you've had a same similar experience with your 12g nano. I just can't seem to catch em with the tweezers. I can continue to trap them out though. I have seen their numbers dwindle greatly. This might just be a waiting game.

 

[FreeEnergyReefer]

Hmmm well they must just like your tank, lol. I'd probably try what Subsea suggested. And yeah, that fireworm was insane. I felt bad because my son had named it "Wormy" almost a year ago when I first spotted it - but it grew into a monster that definitely needed evicted! It was rubbing up against my anemone, which caused it to relocate to the top of the rock in the middle of a patch of xenia, and also it kept stealing one of my jawfishes burrows... no way was I going to let a dang worm hurt my $180 fish, lol. I think I'd rather have the fireworm over a bobbitt worm though... those look like something out of a nightmare (well, so does the fireworm I guess).

That's cute "wormy" from Como. Yea I'm glad you were able to get it outta there, a year is definitely too long of a stay for comfort. That $180 jawfish is probably beautiful, good idea for that tank too. Few years ago I had a blue spotted in a 120 that I loved to watch.

 

[Pete Luna]

Put one of this in all my tanks. No more bristle worn issues

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Put one of this in all my tanks. No more bristle worn issues

That's awesome, thanks for sharing this!

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

That's cute "wormy" from Como. Yea I'm glad you were able to get it outta there, a year is definitely too long of a stay for comfort. That $180 jawfish is probably beautiful, good idea for that tank too. Few years ago I had a blue spotted in a 120 that I loved to watch.

Yeah, I've been trying to get my son interested in anything about my tank, so I asked him to name some things... he didn't have much enthusiasm for the task (he was 7 at the time, and way more interested in getting back to his Minecraft game, lol). He named the worm Wormy, the fire shrimp "Fiery", and tried to name one of my clownfish "Clowny" but that's where I drew the line, haha. My son and husband are now banned from naming stuff (hubby tried to name my tomini tang "Pootie Tang", bahahahah...)
I absolutely love the jawfish! I could sit and watch his grumpy face all day, lol. He makes a HUGE mess spitting sand all over the bottom part of the rockwork, but he's a gorgeous fish so I'll let it slide. Here's Oscar (the Grouch) - this was the day I saw the giant fireworm trying to share his burrow... eek.

 

[IL-Reef-A4]

I think your tank looks really nice! Do other conchs eat those worms? Like a fighting conch?

 

[FSP]

"Baby," "clam" and "healthy" is kind of a toss up. Babies can be tricky until they reach a few inches, and the vendor plays a huge role in how successful you'll be. Once they reach a more stable size, they can still appear "healthy" to most, when in reality they were really sickly and dying from poor care/lack of light at the vendor. Clams rarely kick the bucket overnight, just wither away over the course of a few months until the cleanup crew (as mentioned by Nano sapiens) decides it's time to finish off a dying animal That is to say, I really don't think the bristle worms killed your clam.

I'd take bristle worms any day over a cone though I don't care if their sting only feels like a bee, I don't want bees in my aquarium either.