Bristle Worms, Chitons and Tuxedo Urchins

ORReefer

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So recently, I aquired some new snails and other invertebrates to combat a recent increase of algae in my tank. My population of snails was decreasing so it was time to restock.

Among my new pets were 2 fuzzy chitons. Within about 12 hours of placing the chitons in the tank both had been consumed by (I think) bristle worms. Maybe shipping was an issue and they were already weak but I saw them starting to move as the lights got dimmer so they weren't dead.

Unfortunately I also saw bristle worms pursuing the slow moving chitons and by morning there was just empty chiton shells.

I'm not opposed to bristle worms. They serve a purpose in my aquarium. But there's a lot of them now. So maybe time to thin the herd? Does anyone else have experience with fuzzy chitons? Have you had issues with bristle worms talking then out?

Now to the urchins. I'm thinking about picking one up to help with the algae but I'm concerned about the bristle worms going after it. I think urchins would be pretty hard for a bristle worm to take out but I thought the same about the chitons. Any experiences good or bad with urchins and bristle worms? The tank has been running for over 13 years so it's nice and mature for an urchin. And I seem to be real good at growing algae! But I totally understand that feeding the urchin might be needed it the future. Anyone try feeding those algae wafers to an urchin? I know they're marketed for freshwater but I'm wondering if an urchin would also do well on them. I know nori sheets will work but my tang would likely steal the nori before the urchin got much. Maybe the wafers would be less appealing to the tang and the urchin could just park over it?

Thanks!
 

Bouncingsoul39

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I can assure you that the bristle worms of
did not kill your little creatures. did you acclimate them for your water and temp? either way, they died and the bristles did what they do to clean up the dead. if you feed the tank less, there will be less bristle worms. if you really want some gone you can make a trap.
banded coral shrimp will eat them. arrow crab will eat them. but if there’s other easier food for them to eat, they won’t do much. even if there isn’t, no creature are really great or fast at getting them. best bet is a trap and reduce how much you feed the tank. i personally love bristle worms and don’t see any reason to catch them but is up to you of course.
 
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ORReefer

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So no one has seen and/or had problems with bristle worms attacking urchins?
 

minus9

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So no one has seen and/or had problems with bristle worms attacking urchins?
Bristle worms will NEVER attack healthy living animals under any circumstance. Fuzzy chitons are notoriously poor shippers, so my guess is they were on their way out when acclimating them. The bristle worms were simply doing their job and "cleaning" up. Also, beware of coral banded shrimp, as most things they can catch will be a meal (slow, small fish), same with the arrow crab. I would call these inverts semi reef safe with caution. The blue banded coral shrimp may be a better fit, stays small and would possibly go after smaller worms.
In my 40+ years in this hobby (I started young) I've witnessed many things, but bristle worms attacking healthy animals was never one of them. Fireworms on the other hand are a different story, but since ocean rock is pretty much unavailable, the chances of them being introduced into our tanks is near zero. Also, if you had an actual fireworm in your tank, that's all you would have, trust me, I've seen the damage.
Urchins are great, but make sure you have algae for them to consume, otherwise, they'll starve. I love tuxedo urchins and they are being captive bred, which is great. Only downside, they like to take your frags for a ride.
Back to bristle worms, don't fear them, but learn to love them and their ability to do an amazing job at cleaning all the things you don't see. They are simply one of the best consumers of detritus out there and should always be considered a benefit to our tanks, not a detriment. If their numbers seem high, then consider your feeding habits or your (lack) of maintenance? I probably have thousands of bristle worms in my 90g (I feed a lot) and I love them. If you want an example of how safe they are, they coexist with my sleeping fish. Often I will look at my tank at night and see several big bristle worms coming out of borrows that my sleeping flasher wrasses are in (side by side) without any harm coming to the fish at all. Bristle worms are reef safe and are completely safe for all healthy animals in your tank.
Apologies for the long post, but this is probably the longest myth going in this hobby and really needs to be debunked forever.
Happy reefing! Cheers!
 

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