How big before bristleworms become a problem?

[JoJosReef]

I began my reefing journey a few years ago as many do: visions of a pristine reef with wavy corals and anemones hosting natural instinct-competent clownfish. Maintenance of a pest-free environment was, of course, a top priority, and among those critters categorized as pests was the unsightly bristleworm. As the story goes, the first tank was problematic, and I eventually came around to embrace full ocean live rock and sand and all the critters that don't spell imminent death. Curiously, I went bristleworm-free until my third and current tank. They are fine They do a great job. Acceptable tenants... until they're not.

My question is, do bristleworms become problematic once they are very large? I've read that they regulate their own population based on availability of food, but will a large hungry bristleworm just let itself starve or begin to experiment with living foods? At some point, simple biomass would become a problem, no?

I don't harbor ill feeling toward them, but I also don't have any ethical dilemma in culling the population. I see them like an algae scrubber--removing some of them and turning them into fertilizer is essentially nutrient export.

This is one of the yasha goby's back doors. When I feed corals at the end of the day and the lights are dimming, these guys start pouring out like they're crawling out of the pits of hell! Some are becoming quite large.

 

[littlefoxx]

I began my reefing journey a few years ago as many do: visions of a pristine reef with wavy corals and anemones hosting natural instinct-competent clownfish. Maintenance of a pest-free environment was, of course, a top priority, and among those critters categorized as pests was the unsightly bristleworm. As the story goes, the first tank was problematic, and I eventually came around to embrace full ocean live rock and sand and all the critters that don't spell imminent death. Curiously, I went bristleworm-free until my third and current tank. They are fine They do a great job. Acceptable tenants... until they're not.

My question is, do bristleworms become problematic once they are very large? I've read that they regulate their own population based on availability of food, but will a large hungry bristleworm just let itself starve or begin to experiment with living foods? At some point, simple biomass would become a problem, no?

I don't harbor ill feeling toward them, but I also don't have any ethical dilemma in culling the population. I see them like an algae scrubber--removing some of them and turning them into fertilizer is essentially nutrient export.

This is one of the yasha goby's back doors. When I feed corals at the end of the day and the lights are dimming, these guys start pouring out like they're crawling out of the pits of hell! Some are becoming quite large.

EW! I hate those so much. I got a predatory wrasse (rainbow) to eat these MFs. They creep me out. If I see one I grab pinchers and pull them

 

[VintageReefer]

Large is not the problem
Quantity is the problem.

I find they multiply very rapidly and almost any coral in my sandbed, has some under them. or worse…inside them. That’s right. Bristleworm babies are super tiny - smaller than grains of rice, and they climb in coral skeleton ridges seeking safe spots to rest

The big ones never really seem to cause an issue. It’s the tons of little ones that bother my corals.

Get a trap. I find everytime I put the trap near my known spots for them, I don’t catch the big ones I’m aware of. I catch 10-20 tiny ones I was completely unaware of

 

[JoJosReef]

Large is not the problem
Quantity is the problem.

I find they multiply very rapidly and almost any coral in my sandbed, has some under them. or worse…inside them. That’s right. Bristleworm babies are super tiny - smaller than grains of rice, and they climb in coral skeleton ridges seeking safe spots to rest

The big ones never really seem to cause an issue. It’s the tons of little ones that bother my corals.

Get a trap. I find everytime I put the trap near my known spots for them, I don’t catch the big ones I’m aware of. I catch 10-20 tiny ones I was completely unaware of

Trapping them isn't a problem. Piece of shrimp tied inside cut up panty hose, pull and toss. I haven't yet experienced any known coral problems. I also don't see a whole lot of small ones, perhaps because of the wrasses--and there will be more wrasses in the upgrade!

I'll probably end up culling about half the population anyways when I tank transfer, since I'm not transferring the sand bed at all. We'll see!

You answered the question, though. If the big ones aren't problematic, they can stay. If I see anything weird in my LPS, I will try netting them with the panty hose removal method.

 

[JoJosReef]

Server reboot duplicate post

 

[JoJosReef]

Server reboot duplicate post

 

[JoJosReef]

How many times did I hit reply while the server was rebooting!?

 

[JoJosReef]

EW! I hate those so much. I got a predatory wrasse (rainbow) to eat these MFs. They creep me out. If I see one I grab pinchers and pull them

Oh they're not all that bad! Ugly as sin, but don't deserve all the hate.

 

[steveschuerger]

I tried to remove them at first but got educated that their important cuc members, as long as they don’t multiply too much.

 

[Kmst80]

I began my reefing journey a few years ago as many do: visions of a pristine reef with wavy corals and anemones hosting natural instinct-competent clownfish. Maintenance of a pest-free environment was, of course, a top priority, and among those critters categorized as pests was the unsightly bristleworm. As the story goes, the first tank was problematic, and I eventually came around to embrace full ocean live rock and sand and all the critters that don't spell imminent death. Curiously, I went bristleworm-free until my third and current tank. They are fine They do a great job. Acceptable tenants... until they're not.

My question is, do bristleworms become problematic once they are very large? I've read that they regulate their own population based on availability of food, but will a large hungry bristleworm just let itself starve or begin to experiment with living foods? At some point, simple biomass would become a problem, no?

I don't harbor ill feeling toward them, but I also don't have any ethical dilemma in culling the population. I see them like an algae scrubber--removing some of them and turning them into fertilizer is essentially nutrient export.

This is one of the yasha goby's back doors. When I feed corals at the end of the day and the lights are dimming, these guys start pouring out like they're crawling out of the pits of hell! Some are becoming quite large.

Like that big?
I wouldn't worry about them to much, as someone said before they are beneficial clean up.
This one is about 20 cm long and I only see him every now and then.

 

[JoJosReef]

Like that big?
I wouldn't worry about them to much, as someone said before they are beneficial clean up.
This one is about 20 cm long and I only see him every now and then.

I have several probably in the 10-15cm range. I suppose having a bunch of large bristleworms just means they've got a lot to clean.

 

[littlefoxx]

Oh they're not all that bad! Ugly as sin, but don't deserve all the hate.

They creep me out! Look like centipedes!

 

[JoJosReef]

They creep me out! Look like centipedes!

 

[littlefoxx]

Yep!!! Me when I see them in my tank

 

[bobnicaragua]

My tank is absolutely infested to a point that I have to wear gloves when picking up any rock. The only problem I’ve ever had with them are the stings.

 

[timmyrules]

I let them get out of control in one of my tanks….to the point where I don’t even feel comfortable putting my hands in the tank!!!
The tank isn’t big enough for a wrasse, so I’ve been trying to trap them unsuccessfully...if I could have a do-over, I would’ve started chopping their numbers when I first started seeing them.

 

[backbayreef]

I had hundreds (potentially thousands) of them but somehow my damsels and other fish eradicated them! Such a shame since they can take care of all dead stuff. I might need to buy a few to seed the tank? lol

 

[Slocke]

Ironically I was just feeding my wrasses this special snack today. My dragon wrasse was too slow though

New video · Friday, Sep 27, 2024 🎬

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[JoJosReef]

Ironically I was just feeding my wrasses this special snack today. My dragon wrasse was too slow though

New video · Friday, Sep 27, 2024 🎬

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

Aw, he doesn't even know what happened! Was the tamarin the victor?

 

[Slocke]

Aw, he doesn't even know what happened! Was the tamarin the victor?

The Lunare was. No tamarins in there! The hogfish got the second.