ghostface Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Anyone have any tricks for removing bristle worms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 how many do you have? i'll have some when you catch them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostface Posted August 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 saw one last night, about 4 inches long. i presume there are more in there. as soon as i have fashioned a working trap ill hook ya up =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 sweet Good or Bad?: This is a tough one. Historically, bristleworms were all considered to be bad. Most literature warns that they can attack and eat clams, anemones, corals and even fish. Recently, most hobbyists have come to the conclusion that small bristle worms pose no threat to other tank inhabitants and are in fact good scavengers and add to the biodiversity of the tank. You can even buy bristleworms from some sources. Even large bristleworms are starting to be better understood. Although it appears that some large bristleworms can be aggressive predators, these seem to be in the minority. Many large bristleworms seem to fall into the harmless scavenger category. The one in the picture above has been in one of my tanks for several years. It is about 1/3" across and at least 12" long although I have only seen about 6" of it. It lives next to a group of clams and has never shown any interest in bothering the other creatures in the tank. He is a very impressive looking specimen in his own right. REF: http://www.reefcorner.com/SpecimenSheets/bristleworm.htm Q: I've just noticed this ugly centipede-like worm crawling out of my sand/gravel/from under a rock -- is it dangerous?! A: Most likely not. As I mentioned above (several times) the vast majority of polychaetes are harmless, and many are beneficial to your tank. Unless the worm is more than ~6 inches in length OR approaching the diameter of a pencil, you shouldn't worry too much about having "bristleworms" in your tank. Remember that it is impossible to AVOID introducing some polychaete worms into a tank with live rock, and they're nearly always harmless. If the presence of the worms worries you, by all means keep an eye on them to see if they cause any real problems, but it is best to leave them alone until you see some evidence that they are causing trouble Bristleworm FAQ: http://www.reefs.org/library/article/r_toonen12.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 An infestation of bristle worms is a sign that your tank is dirty, same with excessive number of pods. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 I have a bristle worm trap u can borrow although a 4" one might not fit in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 you are generalising again layton and aren't making a point. a dirty tank does not mean a bad tank. if you are insinuating it is bad, explain to me how pies tank has a massive pod population yet he has near perfect water parameters and nice coloured acro's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 It's not a generalisation at all it's fact. What do bristleworms and pods feed on? Depending on what you are trying to keep, a dirty tank can cause problems. Of course pods and bristleworms are always going to exist in tanks, but they are not necessarily something to be encouraged. Pies tank? I don't want this to be taken the wrong way, but his tank is dirty, hence the large pod population. How can I tell it's dirty? Well the state of the rocks show it. The last pictures he posted show a lot of algae covering a lot of his rock. To me that is a big warning sign, i would be worried if my rock was in that state. Why would I worry, well sps corals are essentially live rock with a thin surface coating of tissue, if the crap which is in the rocks seeps into the coral skeleton, it can easily kill them. For soft corals, it's not an issue. As for water parameters and acro colours... it's phosphate remover. Just because water parameters look good, doesn't mean the system is clean at all. Again not to be taken the wrong way, it's not a dig a Pies, it is just that it is a good example of what I mean. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 i have aspirations of owning a dirty tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 hmmm my tank must be like a slime pond then i have hunderds only see them with the lights out eating left over mussel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 Think of it this way then. In your house, would you leave food all over the place, dishes unwashed, to attract flies, rats, mice, ants, and other insects? Then call it increasing the "biodiversity" in your home? I wouldn't. Why would you run a tank like that? Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 we'll get your tank cleaned up paul, what colour you going to paint the baclk of your new tank? and to stay on topic bristle worms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 i guess it depends on what your trying to acheive, a sterile environment or natural reef setting. i like abit of compromise, as long as there arent any cochroaches im sweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 A clean tank is not sterile, you just run into fewer problems / use fewer band-aids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 do you consider the reefs "dirty" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 What part of the reef are you talking about? There are a lot of different environments within a reef. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 well been like that for about 4 yrs. new tank coming so i will hire those little french maids and it one will be clean as (hes hoping) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 an sps dominated area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 The reef crest then. Is cleaned by wave action, and is away from sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 but the water?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 What about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 is the water "clean" at the end of the day its the water quality that counts not where the sand is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 My tank must be cleaner than Pies' then because I don't have a huge amount of pods and no algae except for coraline on the rocks. Nyah nyah, Pies, pbbpbpbttt! (As long as you ignore the algae on the back glass and the spraybar) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 That's not entirely true. You can have clean water, but dirty substrate which is absorbed up through rock and into coral skeletons where boring algaes can kill sps corals from the inside out. All the time the water may be pristine. That's why you shouldn't rely entirely on tests for phosphate and nitrate. The sate of live rock can tell you a lot about the overall tank conditions. With sand comes nutrients and dirt, gravity makes sure of that. Water on the reef crest is generally cleaner than that found in sandy lagoons. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 does the same apply to rock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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