bristle worms

[Pickles]

I have read conflicting articles on the web about bristle worms. Some articles you REALLY need to get rid of them and others say they are beneficial. Does anyone have a good answer for this?

 

[ac7av]

I think the type of worm probably makes a difference. I have hundreds of them in my tank and they never seem to bother anything and some of them are as big around as a sharpie and over a foot long. I find them to be beneficial at removing leftover food. Nothing goes to waist at least in my tank. If a fish happens to die (just lost one the other day sad to see it got stuck behind some pvc pipe in the tank) it does not last long, 2-3 days and you would never knew it was there. The worms knew it was dead before I knew it was. They were coming out in the day (not normal).

 

[silverwolf]

Theres only a couple of species that are bad and are rarely seen in peoples tanks.

 

[returnofsid]

As silverwolf says, the majority of bristleworm species we find in our tanks are very beneficial detrivore cleaners. There are a few species that are harmful, but those are rarely found in the hobby. That being said, they're all harmful to us as people!! Don't touch them...lol. They're great to have in our tanks....not so great to have all those lil' hairy needles in our epidermas!!

 

[Pickles]

As silverwolf says, the majority of bristleworm species we find in our tanks are very beneficial detrivore cleaners. There are a few species that are harmful, but those are rarely found in the hobby. That being said, they're all harmful to us as people!! Don't touch them...lol. They're great to have in our tanks....not so great to have all those lil' hairy needles in our epidermas!!

Thanks For all the replies. I am feeling better now!