Bristle Worms

yup..self regulating...if over population does occur...would be due to overfeeding..etc....But if ya seen one, I'd say you have more...throw some food in there at night time..."the freaks come out at night" lol ; )
But no worries..just part of the cycle/circle.

WELCOME to 3 reef !! ; )

 

If it gets bigger and we wanted to remove it..how would one do that?

 

This is some good information on Bristleworms.

Worm Hitch Hikers

Short Take: Fireworm Husbandry?! — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

They can spawn but they usually reproduce via Epitoke, this may seem a little gruesome to a child so you might not want to share that part. But no they do not need a worm of the opposite sex to reproduce.

My tank is only 28 gallons with only 2 fish so I do not feed as much as most people do.

I have maybe 2-3 smaller bristle worms and then this large one.

I have never purposefully removed one from my tank. It's really pointless anyways, they are part of a healthy tank and will make it back into the tank via frags and rocks eventually.

 

Thank you for all the warm welcomes. I look forward to learning from you all. You mentioned throwing food in there at night. I thought I didn't want to feed them...? If there is already food on the bottom. My husband said he would try to get it out but I told him to wait and let me see what y'all said.

 

When I feed the bristleworms comes out and finish off any left over food.

It's the members of your clean up crew like bristleworms that consume decaying matter before it can cause issues with water quality. It may be a fish that has died by no fault of the bristleworm but, the bristleworms, hermits and some snails make short order of the remains.

 

If you try to get it out, don't reach in and grab it with a bare hand. Those spines will give you a nasty poke. There are a number of posts on trapping them at night if you want to try and remove it.

Welcome to 3reef!

 

..oh, I was just saying..if you want to see what happens at night..a little food in there a couple hours after lights out...wont hurt.

 

one question that I still have is I was told to feed a little bit more after the fish eat to feed the 3 little crabs and 2 peppermint shrimp. We were also told to buy at least 1 cleaner shrimp when we buy the clownfish and Goby. Will the crabs and shrimp help keep some of the food from the worm or will it be the other way around. Will the worm eat so much the shrimp and crabs dont get enough to eat?

 

Your crabs and shrimp will be fine. The worms get what's left over and generally only come out at night.

 

Thank you all so much for all of your help