Is this a good or bad worm? (1 Viewer)

[SnMan]

Can someone tell me what these are and if they are good or bad in general? Sorry if this is something that I already should know. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[landfish]

it is a bristle worm and most are good. Unless you see it eating a coral I would not worry about it. Plus you should avoid touching it as the spines on it will sting you and it does not feel good

 

[SnMan]

Okay, thanks for the information. Is there a limit on the population that I should impose or is there an animal that I should have in the tank to control the population? In my 75g I can see several per square inch and I can see them 24/7 there are so many. Some are several inches long.

 

[AquaNerd]

if you have that many and they are coming out during the day, they're probably looking for food and will probably starve themselves out. starvation is what usually controls their population numbers. a six-line wrasse, and most other reef safe wrasses, might eat them. but since bristleworms are really good at hiding out in rock crevices, the wrasses probably won't be effective.

what you can do is make a little trap for them. just make a little trap with a small water bottle and cut the lid off and invert it. put a little piece of krill or something in there and let it set overnight. worms will crawl in, but hard for them to crawl out. then just flush the worms or give them away.

 

[SnMan]

Cool! I might try the trap idea and see if anybody wants some. Thanks again.