Bristle Worms attacking my Brittle stars?

[sjw87]

Hey everyone,

I have seen a bunch of bristle worms in my system and tonight I noticed 2 of my brittle starfish were missing a few limbs and it looked like someone bit them off. I have a firefish, purple firefish, Clown tang, strawberry pseudo, flame angel, yellow damsel and a few clowns. For cleaners I have 5 peppermint shrimp, blue hermits, asst. snails. Has anyone had this problem before? Let me know if anyone has any info because I'd like to figure out who is attacking the stars.

Let me know.

Thanks,

Steven

 

[Krish]

Out of my league Steven, but I'm sure you'll find the help you need. Good luck.

 

[Slimmer]

Ooh Yeess!! The Feast!!!

Yup, it sounds like your pseudo is snacking. Mine does too, but on my electric blue hermits and it pisses me off. It ran out of stars so now it chomps on other stuff...Try feeding it salmon at night before lights out.. I keep a bag full of the crap in my freezer and I think it helps trim the craving. EXCEPT when the starfish go into the pseudo's terrritory by mistake, especially when the pseudo is trying to sleep. Slimmer

 

[clayswim]

Yeah, my guess would be one of the fish. Bristle worms are scavengers, if you see them eating something it's more than likely dead or dying. The bigger species would be the only exception; they have an appetite for corals.

Clayton

 

[s/w fishrcool]

im having a problme with bristleworms i ahve some that are red adn blue/purple and then i ahve 2 HUGE ones about 8 inches on it brownish and the other is transparent with red stripes any ideas on how to get rid of them i ahve tried stabing then and used a trap (didn't work) im afraid they are gonna hurt my anenome mushrooms or featherdusters any hep would be apperaited

 

[NaH2O]

The larger bristleworms (measured in feet) I think tend to be problematic, if they are the large Eunice worms: The Great Worm Incident - 7 feet long. Here are a couple of articles for you. What type of trap did you try? Do you know what rock it lives in? You might have to take the rock out to remove the large worm. For the most part, bristleworms are harmless scavengers, like Clayton posted. A Large Worm Turns..., Polychaete (aka "bristleworms") FAQ for Reefkeepers, and Phylum Annelida -- Polychaetes, the "Bristleworms"

 

[s/w fishrcool]

no thats the problem he doesn't live in the rock he lives in my sand ed wich is 3" of live sand and 2 inches of coral (crushed) so i don't ahve any idea also i tried some kind of green trap called "trapem"

 

[Pauls]

Bristle worms suck :evil: . The trapem didn't work for me either. Now i use a piece of tupperware, its about 3" round and 1" deep. I bury it in the coral rubble and fill it with rubble. My bristle worms really like these sinking shrimp pellets from iso(i think). I sink 1/2 dozen pieces into the "trap" just before lights out. 4-5 hours later i dig out the trap, Use gloves! them bristles hurt. If your cheap like me you can pour off the water and dig out all the worms with tweezers and then return the substrate to the tank. (that way you leave some for seed!) Any way works for me. I do this every couple of months or when i notice a good population of worms. Last time i caught 46 of these little pests.

 

[clayswim]

Why would you trap them? The only ones that harm anything are the larger Eunice worms, like Nikki pointed out. Even those worms rarely cause problems until they get huge. Keep in mind that "huge" means feet, not inches. These worms have been found in the wild measuring some 50 feet, and aren't found in aquariums all that often. The normal species that usually come in on live rock are extremely beneficial to our aquariums. They do the same kind of work pods and snails do. I've even had them clean the algae off the sides of my tank. I have hundreds of them without a single issue.

Clayton

 

[MCSInc]

If you have bristle type worms that are 8 inches and up look up carribian fireworms and see if this is what you have. The have a huge appetite and are really hard on softies and mushrooms and other fun stuff. I have pulled out a few with tongs but it is tough. If they have any tail left anchored in the rock you will be lucky to come out with a small piece or nothing much. Any way on carribian fireworms the bristles are down the side.