Bristle worm trouble!!

[JCH]

Hey reefers, does anyone have a recommendation on how to get rid of a bristle worm problem? I had a six line wrasse but my neon dottyback killed it and now I have a bunch of worms again. So looking for something else to eat bristle worms that can stand up to the dottyback . Thanks in advance for any help and happy reefing to all !

 

[fishywishy]

Arrow crab or a coral banded shrimp should eat them and be safe from your dottyback.

 

[JCH]

Oh okay, thanks I’ll try one don’t have either of those at the moment. Thanks !

 

[Daz_1978]

I second the Arrow Crab.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Feed less?

 

[JCH]

I second the Arrow Crab.

Noted ! Thank you! And are arrow crabs reef safe as well?

 

[fishywishy]

Noted ! Thank you! And are arrow crabs reef safe as well?

with caution. CBS’s are more reef safe.

 

[Dom]

Why not take advantage of them being in the tank?

Bristle worms do cleanup work; they turn over substrate and eat what they find.

 

[JCH]

Why not take advantage of them being in the tank?

Bristle worms do cleanup work; they turn over substrate and eat what they find.

Yeah I don’t mind a few in there but I at least want to control them before they overtake I’ve had some in the past that got huge ! I want to get after them while they’re still small.

 

[ninjamyst]

You can lay traps for them. But honestly just leave them be. You will never be able to get rid of them all and you can manage their population by reducing waste in your tank

 

[JCH]

Ohh ok , my nutrients are low actually having to dose nitrates. But all of a sudden I’m seeing a ton of worms since my dottyback killed my wrasse.

 

[Dom]

Ohh ok , my nutrients are low actually having to dose nitrates. But all of a sudden I’m seeing a ton of worms since my dottyback killed my wrasse.

I don't believe the two are related.

 

[JCH]

I don't believe the two are related.

Nitrate isn’t related to waste ?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Nitrate isn’t related to waste ?

The worms eat the food before it can become nitrate...

 

[Dom]

Nitrate isn’t related to waste ?

The OP said:
"But all of a sudden I’m seeing a ton of worms since my dottyback killed my wrasse".

I'm saying that I don't believe the sudden appearance of bristle worms is related to the wrasse death.

 

[Travis Warren]

Does anyone know this exact species? I hot one that was taking bites out of my black silicone in my tank. Under microscope it did not have the white bristle but the black legs in front of body.

 

[Thuan]

A fellow reefer and friend 3-D print me traps. It works wonders. Put a piece if frozen food in the middle square, close lid, put it in tank after lights goes out. Wright trap with a pice of rock or disk. Pull the box next day . I use 2 traps for my 65g

 

[Zenonymous]

A fellow reefer and friend 3-D print me traps. It works wonders. Put a piece if frozen food in the middle square, close lid, put it in tank after lights goes out. Wright trap with a pice of rock or disk. Pull the box next day . I use 2 traps for my 65g

I have this same 3d printed trap and it works wonders. It was able to trap two 7-9" fireworms as well. I didn't even have to put bait in it. They just climb into the darkness and get trapped. I love it

 

[JCH]

I have this same 3d printed trap and it works wonders. It was able to trap two 7-9" fireworms as well. I didn't even have to put bait in it. They just climb into the darkness and get trapped. I love it

Thank for the tips. I purchased an arrow crab and I think he’s keeping the worm population at bay I actually saw him holding one And haven’t seen any worms in a while. So population control really is my goal because, as nasty as the worms are they do help as scavengers.

 

[ReefED!]

Peroxide works better than anything else I’ve seen (haven’t tested bayer)

Just last night I did some sump cleaning - and to my disappointment found bristleworms under the rocks in my fuge - after my dipping it was probably 15-20 total of varying sizes

They must have come along when I swapped rocks from the DT and the fuge back before I realized I even had them

I dipped the rocks in a pot of tank water and peroxide - I’d guess around a 20% - and they almost immediately evacuate the rock

I did do a 2nd round before putting the rocks back in after my cleaning was complete and one of the 5 rocks had a small worm escape on the second round - so be aware that you’ll sometimes not get them all

But peroxide is extremely lethal to them

I have a video on my YouTube channel about using it as well

For my next system I want to eradicate bristleworms completely - this will involve a large tank upgrade

So my plan is to:
* frag all of my corals off the current rocks and dip them in peroxide before relocating into a temp holding system
* not carry over any sand or aquascape
* will reuse my sump rocks for cycling if I can confirm that they’re bristleworm free

That’s probably more information than anyone be in this thread needs, but there’s not a lot of info about preventing and getting rid of bristleworms

I learned the hard way that they come extremely tiny - often just an 1/8th inch in length

But I don’t think they’re impossible to prevent - I think it’s just a matter of using dry rock and removing frag plugs and dipping