So tonight when I went to check on my clownfish (had just done so an hour before and they were fine) one of them went mysteriously missing. I looked everywhere, in the overflow in the return in the skimmer area, in the tank itself nowhere to be found. Has anyone ever had this before? Also, as I was looking in my tank at night I noticed a large bristleworm, probably atleast 1" in length... I hear mixed things about them being harmful to the tank, opinions?
2 questions... a clownfish and a bristleworm problem -_-
- Thread starter joker577
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NC2WA
Well-known member
personally preference..but I do not like them in my tank, so I tend to remove them when I see them..be careful as they do sting if touched by them.
Slate
Well-known member
I leave the worms in my tank and have had no ill effects. Most folks who remove them do it for their own safety rather than the tanks. I have never heard of one harming corals. As for the clown i would assume it is just hiding.
76Frags
Well-known member
I have promoted the reproduction of bristleworms for the 11+ years that I have had reef tanks. I have never had a bristleworm harm any of the corals I've had. On the flipside - if you aren't careful when you go digging through your rocks, and rearranging you'll end up with a finger full of tiny white "hairlike" spines. It's amazing how much they can hurt too! Clear packing tape will remove them quite well, but your fingers may burn for awhile after.
IMHO - they are detrivores that are beneficial in your tank. If you have a large system and a fish dies (ex: a damsel) they will probably remove the fish overnight before you even have a chance to find it. They are excellent scavengers.
Lastly - a bristleworm will not attack a fish that is healthy. Once the smell of "death" enters the water - that is when they come out.
IMHO - they are detrivores that are beneficial in your tank. If you have a large system and a fish dies (ex: a damsel) they will probably remove the fish overnight before you even have a chance to find it. They are excellent scavengers.
Lastly - a bristleworm will not attack a fish that is healthy. Once the smell of "death" enters the water - that is when they come out.
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As for the Bristle worm, 1" in length is not at all large. In fact, that's tiny. Wait until you find one 8-10" long and as big around as your thumb. They're in there.....lol.
Damsel13
Well-known member
Now THAT size would hurt!!! I too find bristle worms to be helpful detrivores in my tank. I have gotten the bristles in my fingers and 76Frags is right they hurt.
Well found the clownfish! hiding in the skimmer section, after i fully removed it lol, but yeah a 1" worm...probably more like 2" that just kept crawling and crawling out of the rocks was a little freaky haha. I'm glad to hear that they aren't harmful to the tank
