What eats bristleworms?

[earthboy17]

I've got a ton of bristleworms in my tank. And I know they can be beneficial. I'd just like to have less of them.

I've set a trap of a 20oz soda bottle cut and inverted, and it caught a couple of tiny ones, but I think it'd be more fun to have a BWorm predator swimming around.

So what eats BWorms?


Thanks,
Tom

[tonggao]

Sixline wrasse

[Ebmorri]

http://melevsreef.com/id/ln_hawkfish.html

[delsol650]

most hallicoris type wrasse ( IE' yellow coris ), mystery's, (6line's and similar genus' like 4, 6, 8 and 12 lines, dissapearing wrasses ), arrow crabs, coral banded shrimp, most wrasses when big enough will probly peck at them.

[Sk8r]

Caution, Will Robinson... If you have way many, they're eating something---debris must be more than you'd like, if worms are more numerous than you like. Killing them off will leave the debris [and additional poo as killer purges them into water stream.] Translation: you could work yourself into a nitrate spike. Try just feeding less, or maybe getting a few burrowing Nassarius [not from Ebay] snails that will quietly outcompete the worms for that detritus, plus not multiply so fast.

[sfsuphysics]

^^ What he says.

I can understand not wanting as many, but there's something keeping them alive in the first place, that something is the "crap" (generic) that they eat (uneaten food, poo, dying animals)

[stubbsz]

cool, I don't have many. Must be a good sign !

[delsol650]

Me niether, I'll be lucky to find some that hasn't been taken out by the wrasses.

[earthboy17]

No, that's a great point.

I recently cut back on feeding, but that is a concern.

I just picked up an arrow crab from AAF, and may get another Nassarius or two.

Death to worms!

[drdoolittle]

Large brittle worms ate two of my clams this week.

At first, I thought something was wrong with my tank. But when I removed the half dead clams. I found tons of worms inside the clam shell. I lost a 6 inch clam and a 2 inch maxima.

I bought two coral banded shrimp to keep the worms I check. Hopefully it works.

[delsol650]

I just caught my large cleaner shrimp take out a 2" bristleworm and its still eating it right now in the dark.

[Vincerama2]

The early bristle-bird?



V

[corals b 4 bills]

Arrow crabs, one night I looked in my tank and I saw him double fisting two worms.

[spike78]

Originally posted by drdoolittle
Large brittle worms ate two of my clams this week.

At first, I thought something was wrong with my tank. But when I removed the half dead clams. I found tons of worms inside the clam shell. I lost a 6 inch clam and a 2 inch maxima.

I bought two coral banded shrimp to keep the worms I check. Hopefully it works.

I really doubt the Bristle worms were the cause of your Clams demise. I suspect the clams died and then the worms invaded the shell to eat the decaying tissue.

[3mm3]

I have seen my cleaner shrimp take out Bristle worms.. Very exciting to see.

[tizzy]

not sure why anyone thinks these things are "good" for any tank, other than providing a meal for a wrasse and turning some sand they are useless to me.

I just nabbed this one (4+ inches) that was trying to grab a piece of shrimp. I still have this "beneficial" creature it if anyone would like it!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37131934@N00/show/

[spike78]

Originally posted by tizzy
not sure why anyone thinks these things are "good" for any tank, other than providing a meal for a wrasse and turning some sand they are useless to me.

I just nabbed this one (4+ inches) that was trying to grab a piece of shrimp. I still have this "beneficial" creature it if anyone would like it!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37131934@N00/show/

Most bristleworms are strict detrivores and stir the sediments in a sand bed. Both extremely beneficial functions. This is why they are good for your tank...

[GreshamH]

Originally posted by spike78
Most bristleworms are strict detrivores and stir the sediments in a sand bed. Both extremely beneficial functions. This is why they are good for your tank...

Not to mention their spawn is great coral food