Help

[Rebecca77]

I found these pests in my tank, can they hurt my fish? What could I add to get rid of them I currently have a clownfish, hermit crabs and turbo snails.

 

[blaxsun]

Bristleworm. You'd need to add a fish or invert that likes bristleworms: arrow crabs, coral banded shrimp, six line wrasse, hawkfish, dottyback and some gobbies.

 

[Rebecca77]

We have a 13.5 fluval don’t want anything to kill my clownifish, turbo snails or hermit crabs which do you think would be best option? Which type of goby?

 

[EricR]

First, I'd say don't panic.
Common bristleworms are safe and won't hurt your fish.
Some (me included) consider them to be beneficial members of your clean-up crew.
Many just despise the way they look.

I'll leave it to the experts to comment on identifying less common varieties (like fireworm) that can be dangerous to your wildlife.

 

[Rebecca77]

I see the bristleworms but is this a firework?

 

[EricR]

Pic is blurry but if you're specifically worried about the one up against the glass, just scoop it out now while it's "cornered" (up against the glass).

Seems like it'd be easy enough to get with a net and something to scoop out that chunk of sand.

Then you could put it in water in a small container and get a better pic.

 

[Rebecca77]

Pic is blurry but if you're specifically worried about the one up against the glass, just scoop it out now while it's "cornered" (up against the glass).

Seems like it'd be easy enough to get with a net and something to scoop out that chunk of sand.

Then you could put it in water in a small container and get a better pic.

Thanks got him out and better pics

 

[Rebecca77]

Magnified pics

 

[EricR]

I'm no expert but think that's a spaghetti worm which is also safe.

 

[Rebecca77]

Thanks

 

[EricR]

Regarding your bristleworms, checkout this video someone took showing one of the "bad" fireworms (I think):

Fireworm or bristleworm?