Bristle worm questions

This is a picture of one of them in my tank. I believe they are good to have from what I've read so far. The question is. How many of them should one have in a tank? Not an actual number but there seems to be a boat load in my tank some are getting pretty big. Is there a way to control the amount in the tank? or just let them be they are excellent to have?

 

Not all are good to have. Some species of bristle worm will eat corals.
If you have a large population, it is a sign of overfeeding.

 

I feed every three days

 

some crabs and shrimp will eat them

 

How much are you feeding?
Bristle worms live off detritus and left over food. The population will only sustain itself according to the amount of those in the system

 

Packleader really hit the nail on the head with that one. They feed on the detritus in the sand, being beneficial. But if you have to many they can eat corals and the like. They are also really CREEPY!

 

Personally, I don't like them because I bought a clean up crew to get rid of detritus and stuff. I don't want some ugly freeloader stealing their food. A few bristle worms are OK, but if you let the population get out of control, they can over run your tank.

My six line wrasse got rid of them like it was going out of style when we first got him. Haven't seen a bristle worm since then.

 

I used to see them rarely now they are all over it seems like. But I must be overfeeding then cause there is usually some left overs on the sand that the snails and crabs get on. If you say a six line wrasse will devour them I might consider getting one of them. I only have two fish in a 125 gallon tank. Recession taking a toll on the wallet you know.. I could also make a tube trap like I seen online and see how many I get in there. to get rid of them that way in the mean time right.

 

I always had trouble with the traps. What I did was purposely overfed, then went lights out. Leave just enough light for you to see what your doing. Then when they come out to feed, grab them with some needle nosed pliers.