I don’t have Bristle Worms, I have Bristle SNAKES

[Missinglink358]

Reportedly, 6 line wrasses will eat them but you never know if the one you get will eat them or not. I’m sure that other, larger wrasses would pick them off too. These guys could practically wrestle a wrasse lol

Try a Melanurus Wrasse, worked great for me and looks good to boot.

 

[king aiptasia]

This is the one I’m gunning for tonight. He’s too big to go down a straw into a trap. Mind you, just the part I can see is 5” long. Considering the grip he had on the rock, I’m betting there’s a lot more in there. Yuck.

believe it or not he is just the common Eurythoe worm, must have been around for a while to get to this size and boldness

 

[Viva'sReef]

I had one in my old display that was no doubt 12" long and 9/16" thick without the bristles

 

[king aiptasia]

I had one in my old display that was no doubt 12" long and 9/16" thick without the bristles

yeah I'm not actually sure of the upper threshold for these Eurythoe guys size, theres other close relatives who can get a bit bigger

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you! I’m going to try this tonight. They’re so gross... I know they’re good CUC but I’d rather stick to the little ones.

Here is a do it yourself with 2 litre bottle

 

[Cyclone-G]

Wilbur?

 

[PranK]

This is one of my bristle snakes. He's around 4ft long.

Video was taken 4+ years ago. Tank looks very different now (DSB is gone!)

 

[Hermie]

Can triggers eat bristleworms? I have a puffer and wonder if it can.

 

[Zoa_Fanatic]

I would trap those. No wrasse you’re gonna get is gonna be big enough in that small of a tank to eat those. An arrow crab will murder them or a smaller trigger fish.

 

[ewanho]

To each their own; i find the critters in my tank more interesting than the corals and fish; exciting to see a new kind if critter

 

[Kayvon]

I don't know why I read thru the whole thread. My skin is crawling ;Facepalm

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I’m not sure how I should go about handling these giant guys. I have Bristle SNAKES... I can’t even call these 6-7”+ guys worms. My tank is a 7 month old 13.5 gallon Fluval Evo. These guys only live in one of the 3 rocks (that I know of) because one is a CaribSea LifeRock arch that doesn’t have the kind of holes they like, the other is creating a sort of bridge & is way off the substrate. The substrate is crushed coral, so I’m sure they’re loving that.

They just live in this one large piece of purple live rock. The only corals actually attached to the rock are some GSP and Xenias, so I would not be sad about parting with them. The rock is full, I mean FULL, of anthropods and probably plenty of other types of pods that I see on my glass all the time. I’d miss them but they’ll regenerate from what’s left.

I’m sure you can guess where this is going... do I just throw this rock out? These guys are HUGE. I have seen as many as 4 of them, all about the same size out after the lights go out. I can’t catch them with tweezers because they’re surprisingly strong and fast. I have never seen a single baby bristle worm like I have in another tank. I think these guys are out-competing any competition they might have. One of them is cohabitating with my High Fin Goby and pistol shrimp. They don’t seem to bother each other except that my goby got “bristled” the other day and had a few of them in his face and on top of his head. They’re gone now & he’s fine.

What would you do if you were me?

Ha haha that's a healthy worm! My gf loves watching these come out at night. I don't have too many but they are cool to watch doing their thing. I've never had a problem with them to date.

 

[BighohoReef]

Surprising no one mentioned that you might have bearded fireworms, they get big they get nasty and they sting like heck. they look like bristleworms but a whole lot BIGGER!

 

[micahsoft]

I feel you here! I had a few “bristle pythons” in my tank that have either died off or are much less active now that I’ve backed off on my feeding. I never had any issues with the big guys... only had one bristle worm that I think was a fire worm munch on some zoas. I actually liked the little monsters...

;Vomit That thing looks nasty. Good for the tank or not, I don’t think I could keep it in the tank in my bedroom without nightmares of it escaping.

 

[McPuff]

Can triggers eat bristleworms? I have a puffer and wonder if it can.

They certainly can... whenever I've tried this the trigger goes after it instantly but after a few seconds realizes that it's getting stabbed all over. I'm not sure if they will continue to eat the worms much after that initial contact. They probably do, because they're triggers and triggers eat... everything. :0)

 

[TriggerFinger]

This is one of my bristle snakes. He's around 4ft long.

Video was taken 4+ years ago. Tank looks very different now (DSB is gone!)

Looks VERY similiar to the one I occasionally see in my tank...about as big around as a sharpie. Do you still have it??

 

[MartinWaite]

Here is a do it yourself with 2 litre bottle

That is missing some stocking crumpled up inside so the poor bristles worms get stuck in it and can't get out.

 

[king aiptasia]

Surprising no one mentioned that you might have bearded fireworms, they get big they get nasty and they sting like heck. they look like bristleworms but a whole lot BIGGER!

not every huge polychaete is bearded fireworm, theres quite a few that get much much bigger

 

[PranK]

Looks VERY similiar to the one I occasionally see in my tank...about as big around as a sharpie. Do you still have it??

That does look very similar. Mine is probably a bit thicker than a sharpie. I haven't seen it for a while but that doesn't mean much, I am pretty sure he's still in there.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

This is one of my bristle snakes. He's around 4ft long.

Video was taken 4+ years ago. Tank looks very different now (DSB is gone!)

That is amazing! I don’t think I’m going to wait until these guys get that big. My other option though is that I could move this rock to the 90 gallon I’m setting up and have an instant CUC.
I have 3 other tanks but one is completely bristle worm free and I want to keep it that way! Lol