Regulating worm numbers

[pebbles]

Hi Leslie,

Let me start by saying I actually enjoy all the various critters in a reef tank. We're lucky to be able to access high quality LR with very little die off and so end up with a diverse population of worms and other critters in our tanks. Generally speaking, worms are seldom a problem for me. Or at least until recently.

Unfortunately I also have a Tubastrea dominated tank thats heavily fed daily, so much so that the worm population is really out of control. The worms just repeatedly crawl into the closed polyps to extract the food. It has gotten to a point where all these corals are affected, but to varying degrees. Its my own doing as the amount & type of food going into the tank has favoured this population explosion.

So I am looking for a natural predator, preferably another invertebrate, to reduce the numbers of juvenile worms. Fishwise, I keep very placid gentle species so am not keen on a large wrasse etc... I realise its unlikely but I'd prefer a selective predator that leaves mini brittle stars and similar stuff alone. I guess a nocturnal fish would also be okay if it does the job without annoying other tank inhabitants.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your time,
angie

 

[LeslieH]

I usually don't worry about getting rids of worms so I checked with some veteran reef keepers & went through a number of old threads for non-wrasse choices. The filefish Acreichthys tomentosus was highly recommended. In their experience it's a voracious eater of bristle worms. As an added bonus many of them will go after aiptasia and majano either naturally or with a little training. No one mentioned predation on mini stars so maybe they're okay in that regard. They will occasionally taste corals but it's rare that one goes rogue & starts seriously chowing down on them. Top invert predators were coral banded shrimp & arrow crabs but both are known to attack other inverts. Several people mentioned that having Nassarius snails will reduce the food available for bristleworms & help keep the worm population down.

Have you tried baiting them out? Put a good sized piece of fish into a deep glass or bowl. The decaying flesh will entice lots of bristles then you pick up the glass & empty it. Doing that with a temporary reduction in food - so they're hungry - should help.

 

[LeslieH]

double post