bristle worm predator

[swimmingswammi]

The bristle worms in my tank fear nothing and come out during the day. I read that i need a predator to keep them in check. Any fish serve this role well? I dont want a nudibranch.

 

[Oiseau Reefer]

the best best thing I've found is coral banded shrimp

 

[FishLipz]

Coral Banded Shrimp work great. If you want a little something diffrent, look for the ones with a blue hue to the exoskeleton.

 

[sportzfish]

I have a pair of golden coral banded shrimp and they do not seem to put a dent in my population. What type of fish would anybody recommend? Do the dottybacks really go after them?

 

[FishLipz]

Some dottybacks will and wrasses like the tail spot (H. Melanurus) will. Unfortunately, there are exceptions to every rule.

 

[swimmingswammi]

Thanks.

My LFS also recommended a Basslet. I will try anything.

Thanks for the help.

 

[nayrgaijin]

I believe 6-line wrasses too?

Of course my first though was the CBS as well. You guys are right, they are awesome at eating them!

 

[subielover]

Curious as to your reasoning for getting rid of them? They are beneficial scavengers, IME.

 

[reefpeeper]

i had a basslett of some sort that picked them off quite well. he had brownish red dots on him.

 

[jlt23]

I heard arrow crabs are the best and they are always eating bristle worms at the LFS.

 

[dakotasreef]

I heard arrow crabs are the best and they are always eating bristle worms at the LFS.

+1. When we would get these at the shop I use to work at, they would devour bristle worms. Everytime I saw them they had a bristleworm in their claws

 

[KLR]

I believe 6-line wrasses too?

Of course my first though was the CBS as well. You guys are right, they are awesome at eating them!

I used to have a 6 line i could take live bristle worms from my tank,drop them in the 6 line's tank and he would eat them be4 they hit the bottom!

 

[aalvarado87]

i have an arrow crab kind of got tossed my way... my sister thought he was hideous and her husband bought him he is always munching on bristle worms only bad thing is he will eat my snails if they are caught flipped over... none the less he is a great conversation starter...

 

[swimmingswammi]

Curious as to your reasoning for getting rid of them? They are beneficial scavengers, IME.

There are just too many of them and I want to keep them checked. I dont want them to rule the tank. I think a natural predator would do that well, and in this case, not cause them to be extinct from my tank. The other option is not to feed as much. But I like feeding and my corals seem to like it.

 

[650-IS350]

Co-sign, arrow crabs are good predators for bristleworms but will also mess with other sesile inverts, feather dusters etc.
Video: Arrow Crab Eating a Bristle Worm | Aquarist Refuge

Arrow Crab Description

[FONT=Verdana,
Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Taxonomy: Arrow Crab belongs to the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Arthropoda, Class Crustacea, Order Decapoda, Family Majidae, Genus Stenorhynchus and Species seticornis.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Scientific names: The scientific name of Arrow Crab is Stenorhynchus seticornis.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Other common names: Stenorhynchus seticornis is also known as Yellowline Arrow Crab and Spider Crab.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica,
sans-serif]Origin or natural range: Arrow Crab is found in the Indo-Pacific region, Brazil, Atlantic Ocean including Caribbean, Florida, California and Texas.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,
Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Size: Stenorhynchus seticornis generally grows to a size of around six inches to ten inches. The female Arrow Crab is smaller in size as compared to their male counterparts.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Color: Stenorhynchus seticornis occurs in golden, brown and white colors.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Compatibility: Arrow Crab is semi-aggressive towards the other marine aquarium invertebrates.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica,
sans-serif]Habit & Habitat:

• Stenorhynchus seticornis is found in rocky areas or on coral reefs at a depth of ten feet to thirty feet in its habitat.
• Being nocturnal, during the day time Arrow Crab lives in shady areas such as under ledges, sea fans, crevice, small caves and on sponges and comes out at night.
• Arrow Crab stretches its legs out completely to keep its predators off.

Morphology:

• Stenorhynchus seticornis is hardy.
• The body of Arrow Crab is small and is triangular in shape.
• Stenorhynchus seticornis has very long, eight, hinged legs resembling to that of a spider with violet colored tips.
• Arrow Crab has two pairs of antennae, three body parts and five pairs of legs.
• The head of Stenorhynchus seticornis is quite pointed and is connected to thorax.
• The thorax of Arrow Crab is covered by a covering called carapace.
• Stenorhynchus seticornis has a small abdomen and the crab shrinks its abdomen and its tail to fit them as well into the carapace.
• The dorsal side of Arrow Crab’s body has golden, brown or white stripes on it.
• The first pair of legs of Stenorhynchus seticornis is developed to form its claws which are tipped in purple color.
• Arrow Crab sheds its exoskeleton sometimes as it grows. The new exoskeleton forms by taking Calcium Carbonate from the water. Stenorhynchus seticornis also eats the old exfoliated shell to get required minerals for the new shell.

Breeding:

• Arrow Crab reproduces sexually which involves the fertilization of egg by sperms.
• Male Stenorhynchus seticornis holds female Crab against its belly and deposits sperm in it.
• Female arrow crab keeps the eggs under her abdomen till they hatch to release the larva called zoea.
• Zoea is small in size with rounded and transparent body. Zoea lives in air and therefore, swims towards the sea surface. The larva free floats and feeds upon zooplankton and phytoplankton available on the sea surface.
• After a fortnight, zoea sheds its exoskeleton to enter into a new developmental phase and is called megalops.
• Megalops begin to shape up like a crab except that its abdomen is not folded at this stage.
• Arrow Crab continues to shed its exoskeleton to finally grow to an adult crab.

Growth enabling environment in your marine aquarium:

• Temperature of water: Seventy-two to seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit.
• Specific gravity of water: 1.023 to 1.025.
• pH of water: 8.10 to 8.40.
• Habit & habitat:
  • To host Arrow Crab, you should have a large sized reef type marine aquarium having coral, rock and sand in it.
  • In around an hour, Stenorhynchus seticornis adjusts itself to its marine aquarium environment.
  • Keep only one Arrow Crab per tank as it does not grow well with the other members of its own species.
  • Don’t keep clams and Stenorhynchus seticornis in the same marine aquarium.
• Feeding & Nutrition:
  • Arrow Crab is a scavenger in feeding habit and generally feeds upon meaty bits.
  • Stenorhynchus seticornis also reflects Carnivorous feeding habit on the account of its catching and eating small feather duster worms, bristle worms, flat worms and the other small animals found on the coral reef.
  • Breeding: Arrow Crab does not breed well in a marine aquarium.

Care: Arrow Crab is easy to maintain owing to its non-poisonous nature.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica,
sans-serif]Caution: A large sized Stenorhynchus seticornis may sometimes attack the small fish in your marine aquarium.[/FONT]

Ornamental Crustaceans by Aaron Sewell - Reefkeeping.com