i dont have any pics, but i seen this long orange-ish worm with white patches of hair-feelers/something all down it. anybody have idea what it is and if it's harmful? Once again no pic's and will not be able to post any.. Any help would be appreciated.
harry worm thing
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
Joined
·
296 Posts
Does it look like a centapeed (sp) orange and some brown on the main body? I think it is a bristle worm. Or at least thats what I was told.
Some say its not bab, others say it is. Some fish, crabs, etc.. eat them. I believe a yellow coris will. Or they sell traps to catch em. Not sure if these actually work or not though.
Some say its not bab, others say it is. Some fish, crabs, etc.. eat them. I believe a yellow coris will. Or they sell traps to catch em. Not sure if these actually work or not though.
Joined
·
1,276 Posts
Yup. Bristle worm. They are bad if you brush against them, the white hairy parts are stinging/irritating to the skin. No need to worry unless they are BIG. But I'm having problems right now with one of them making mince meat out of one of my clams.
Personally, I'd say get rid of it if you can if it's big. If it's small, less than 2 inches, leave it be.
Personally, I'd say get rid of it if you can if it's big. If it's small, less than 2 inches, leave it be.
I have a rather large bristle worm (over 6 inches) in a 5 gallon nano for over a year now and as far as I can tell its not doing much other than keeping the tank clean. There is good coral growth (all softies - mushrooms, zooanthids, leathers and the like) and no mysterious deaths. It doesn't harrass my gobie either.
Keep an eye out though - if there are strange unexplicable things happening (such as the clam attacker), the bristleworm may be detrimental and you may want to catch it using a trap.
Cheers!
Keep an eye out though - if there are strange unexplicable things happening (such as the clam attacker), the bristleworm may be detrimental and you may want to catch it using a trap.
Cheers!
Joined
·
1,139 Posts
So they will sting if you touch them? What about if you wear rubber gloves while working in your tank, can they piece them?
Joined
·
1,276 Posts
if you wear gloves, you will be fine. Makes it more difficult to feel if you are squishing corals though.
Also, be aware that there are numerous reports (both on the web and in various texts) of them being smart little buggers. If you try to use one of those bristle worm traps and you don't cath it the first time, they will know what the trap is and they won't go near it again.
Well, we had a bristle worm that was at least 8 inches. I wear the surgical gloves that don't have the powder in them, and I pulled it out with my fingers and flushed it. I have never seen them harm anything we have, and I know we have another that is at least 5 inches long. Our clove polyps had a bad few days and we saw the 5"+ bristleworm then but they perked back up and are fine now and that bristleworm is still in there.... I wouldn't be concerned about it unless you have problems because they do clean your sandbed. =)
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
