A lot of "Good" Bristleworms!!

whoopper · #1 01/11/2008, 09:55 AM

Hi,

I have been notice that the population of bristleworms in my tank is increasing a lot. I know they are the harmless type but they are a lot small, medium and large.I was thinking of let my tank that way because nothing has been harm. But on the long run, Could this be a problem?

rbrusletto · #2 01/11/2008, 10:20 AM

the population will regulate itself. For instance, if you feed your tank well, and there is lots of leftover food, the fireworms will feed off it. If you feed sparingly, the numbers will go down, as there wont be enough extra food to go around. If you're worried about it you could try a sixline wrasse. They're hit or miss on whether they will in fact eat fireworms, but mine did, and loved em. Now, jafter theyve all dissappeared(took a few months) he decided to go carpet surfing in his spare time

Make sure if you get a sixline, your tank is covered.

reefworm · #3 01/11/2008, 10:29 AM

you could send some to me, if you've a mind

I'll happily pay your shipping.

steri · #4 01/11/2008, 11:22 AM

In my opinion, if you have a lot of worms, that tends to mean you are doing a lot of good things in your tank

Worms are more sensitive then other inverts, and as such, if they are not doing well, that tends to be a good indication that something is off in your tank. If they ARE doing well, that tends to be a good indication that all params are where they should be.

Some people like the worms, some don't, that's not a call I will make for you, but a general rule of thumb for salt water tanks that I think is good to live by is:

worms = good and stable tank

no worms = something may be off.

Hope that helps. You are doing somethng very very right in your tank!

whoopper · #5 01/11/2008, 12:52 PM

Thanks!! I'm a little bit more relieve now!!

whoopper · #6 01/11/2008, 12:54 PM

Reefworm,

I would love to! But from Puerto Rico I don't think they are gonna make it!!

reefnut2790 · #7 01/11/2008, 04:50 PM

I hate to be a bummer but I tend to disagree about the more fire worms = good tank health. I helped my friend save his 30 gallon that he let get all out of wack. he had left uneaten food in the tank over night and by the time i got there the following afternoon all his fish were in a sorry state. barely breathing, resting on bottom. after saving the fish ( he had a 90 that he had been cycling) I tore down the 30. The number of fire worms was astronomical. The bottom of his tank was a moving swarm of these things. So im not so sure water quality has much affect on them.

m2434 · #8 01/11/2008, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by steri
In my opinion, if you have a lot of worms, that tends to mean you are doing a lot of good things in your tank Worms are more sensitive then other inverts, and as such, if they are not doing well, that tends to be a good indication that something is off in your tank. If they ARE doing well, that tends to be a good indication that all params are where they should be.

Some people like the worms, some don't, that's not a call I will make for you, but a general rule of thumb for salt water tanks that I think is good to live by is:

worms = good and stable tank

no worms = something may be off.

Hope that helps. You are doing something very very right in your tank!

Worms are not even slightly sensitive.

I had some worms in a small Tupperware container sitting on top of my fridge. I forgot about them and left them sitting in that small container of stagnant water for 2 months. THEY WERE FINE!

Bristleworms are a sign of overfeeding - plain and simple.

reefworm · #9 01/11/2008, 07:59 PM

kind of agree with both m2434 and reefnut - they are indeed hardy creatures, but the population wouldn't grow to those proportions without a number of factors being in their favor - including the substrate. and I'll second the overfeeding input - I had swarms as well whenever I fed the tank. Cutting back on the food made it easier on the water quality and eased off the worm population. Cut back feeding by small increments over time and record results not only on worms, but fish and coral as well to make sure you're not cutting back too much. as far as hordes of worms, I've not known even large populations to be a problem - their numbers tend to balance out with what your system will support