Bristle worms and other bugs in nano tank

[TangAddict]

I have a 16 gallon bio cube with no fish or coral right now. It’s been running for about 8 months. I’ve noticed tons of what look to be bristle worms and lots of other little bugs running around the sand bed. Want to be sure what they are so I can remove them. Couldn’t get great pictures though.

 

[living_tribunal]

I have a 16 gallon bio cube with no fish or coral right now. It’s been running for about 8 months. I’ve noticed tons of what look to be bristle worms and lots of other little bugs running around the sand bed. Want to be sure what they are so I can remove them. Couldn’t get great pictures though.

Amphipods and bristle worms. Both are good to have. Just make sure you have something to keep the amphipod population in check. Many like to argue this but my amphipods bred out of control. Had several thousand in my tank and when I cut back feeding they started consuming a large amount of my lps tissue. I added a canary wrasse/ pipefish and problem was solved.

I wouldn't worry about that though, mine was an edge case. Amphipods will keep your tank spotless as will the bristles.

 

[TangAddict]

Thanks for the help!

 

[tnw50cal]

Amphipods and bristle worms. Both are good to have. Just make sure you have something to keep the amphipod population in check. Many like to argue this but my amphipods bred out of control. Had several thousand in my tank and when I cut back feeding they started consuming a large amount of my lps tissue. I added a canary wrasse/ pipefish and problem was solved.

I wouldn't worry about that though, mine was an edge case. Amphipods will keep your tank spotless as will the bristles.

Softhammer says that amphipods don't eat corals and said it was ignorant of me to post that they did. I have the same problem with amphipods right now. I'm thinking of adding a Orchid dottyback. Do you think that the dottyback will do as well as a Canary wrasse at keeping them in check? A Canary wrasse is my 2nd choice.
My QT is all cleaned out and cycling now so I'm going to buy one or the other soon.

 

[living_tribunal]

Softhammer says that amphipods don't eat corals and said it was ignorant of me to post that they did. I have the same problem with amphipods right now. I'm thinking of adding a Orchid dottyback. Do you think that the dottyback will do as well as a Canary wrasse at keeping them in check? A Canary wrasse is my 2nd choice.
My QT is all cleaned out and cycling now so I'm going to buy one or the other soon.

I’ve dealt with strange people on here who repeat odd prescribed notions and won’t believe anything else.

Amphipods are omnivores and tend to skew a bit more towards carniverous meaty foods. I watched about 20-40 amphipods feast on one section of a micro I had all day and all night, even witnessing them remove visible chunks.

Not sure where people came to the conclusion that amphipods won’t eat coral tissue but they are most certainly wrong and also incredibly closed minded.

Typically, they will decaying tissue. Oftentimes, they’ll continue to eat healthy tissue past the decaying tissue.

I had a colony of amphipods who nested in the skeleton of my wilso. He would stress and then they’d eat the tissue that stressed.

Disregard the people on here who talk out of their **** and parrot common narratives.

 

[living_tribunal]

Softhammer says that amphipods don't eat corals and said it was ignorant of me to post that they did. I have the same problem with amphipods right now. I'm thinking of adding a Orchid dottyback. Do you think that the dottyback will do as well as a Canary wrasse at keeping them in check? A Canary wrasse is my 2nd choice.
My QT is all cleaned out and cycling now so I'm going to buy one or the other soon.

Regarding your question, the canary wrasse is the answer. I’m convinced there isn’t a more effective fish for handling pests. Mine cut back the amphipod population to where I couldn’t even see one during the day in about two weeks. I used to see about 2,000-3,000 every time I’d look into the tank during peak daytime lights.