Arg u lil pest

Like has been mentioned before, it's very rare for these worms to become harmful unless they become very large. Every once in a while, you'll get one that can be destructive but I've only heard of that happening with other hitchhiking worms, not the common bristleworm. The only time I've ever heard of a common bristleworm eating a coral or other invert or fish, it was usually because the animal it was eating was already dead or in the process of dying and the worm was just doing its job. The common bristleworm is a benefit in that it keeps your sand stirred and eats leftover food and detritus. I would advise against removing all of the worms (not that you could anyway). If you have a lot of them and they are unsightly, then you are probably feeding too much so the population has exploded. If that's the case, then by all means, get yourself a trap and reduce your feedings. If that's not the case, leave it alone unless it's unusually large.

 

ba, i just went and got some twizzers, went int he sump, moved the calurpa around a lil and pulld out some. Look at the picture and you will see some of what i was talking about. these were hitchbacks that i tought were bad.



Everytime i look at these lil things i get the chills..

 

Hi,

OK, now that I see them better I may change my position. Those look like they could be Carribean fire worms. They are the only kind that I've heard bad things about. Even so, they are only known to rarely eat snails and other small critters. And, even then, they need to be much bigger that the ones you have. I'd say your problem is the number of them. Try getting some new gleaners like shrimp and crabs. They'll outcompete the worms for food. Also, as suggested, you may be over feeding your fish. You might try removing a few worms, as you have, and cut back on the feeding. Same result eaither way; take the food away from the worms.

 

These Bristle worms or Fire Worms what ever they are are in the Sump of my system. I have a couple in the main tank but I can never find them. I recieved these critters from the lfs when i bought some calurpa. Thanks for all the responses guys.