is there such a thing as too many bristle worms?

Barlan

Barlan

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Hi guys

need some advice... i recently noticed that i have quite a few bristle worms in my tank, they like to congregate around the base of my LR , some are long and skinny and some are short and fat.

during one of our infamous eskom load sheds, i shone a light around to see whats happening and i noticed this colony in a hollow under my rocks.

the image is only one colony, they range from about 1cm lengthX3mm width to i dont really know,cause they're always bunched up. but these are the fatties.

then along my other rock, i get the skinny ones, generally long and thin like 2mm width, if even. didnt take a pic of those as they move around the base of the LR a lot. i'll take some pics tonight of the other colonies.

so, i know some bristleworms are good to have, but is there such a thing as too many? and if so, how could i remove some?

to be honest, the skinnies are the ones that move around in/on the sand, but the fatties are the ones that stay under the rock.

what do i do?

Kr

B

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if you do a bit of research on the topic you'll find there is a lot of opposing views on these little guys, many guys with clams have said that their clams have been attacked by bristle worms, many have said that bristle worms stay away from their clams and only unhealthy livestock fall prey to these very opportunistic cuc.

In my opinion, if they get larger than 5cm sump them, make sure they have sufficient food to munch on and they will leave your livestock alone.

They are nocturnal and you'll only really see them at night, watch them and remove the big ones to sump.
 
More likely you are overfeeding... :whistling:

Their numbers will automatically be regulated by the waste in your system. More waste, more worms. For me, they are very important part of the clean up crew. The normal pinkish bristle worms are all OK. And the big ones will be out competed for food by multiple small ones. That's what I found on my system.

They will go for anything that is dead. And if you find them in your half dead clam, its because they are vultures and they are already assisting you in removing dead and decaying matter. There is another reason the clam died, not due to the worms.
 
over feeding.... hmmm... :whistling:

thankfully my clam is doing fine. but i'll definitely look into the feeding.

if it bothers me too much, i'll consider trying to get some out and into the sump, got a few pieces of LR in there, just gotta trap them and get them out.

cool, thanks guys
 
The worst thing about Bristle worms is they are gross and it sucks when you working in your tank.....I hate touching big bristle worms....

They are simply a product of your feeding regime, and have taken up the slack from where your fish cant eat all the food. They are an exteamely efficient clean up crew.

You just need to look into reducing uneaten food in your tank and their numbers will start to drop to acceptable (less gross levels)
 
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