How do you get rid of bristle worms?

Can anyone tell me how to get rid of bristle worms? I have been using a trap and removing between two and eight per day for two weeks, but the wife just counted 14 on one rock alone last night. At this rate it will take a year to get all of the worms out. Is there an easier way? Please help. Thanks.

 

why are you removing them? just curious.

 

I was told they are bad for the tank

 

Most aren't bad. They'll just eat detritus, and are good as part of the CUC.

Then, there's the ones that get gigantic. The fireworms are pretty bad.

 

most people consider them a good part of the clean up crew. i wouldn't remove them. you probably couldn't get them all without taking everything out of the tank anyway. just keep an eye out for the monsters that blackraven mentioned and remove them if they scare you.

 

Thanks and Happy Fathers Day to all the dad's out there.

 

i saw a pretty big one in my tank the other night that had a dead dwarf hermit crab in its mouth. i'm not sure if it actually killed it or found a dead one. either way, i am considering hunting this one down and removing it. i did watch it come out of his hole last night though and it ignored and slithered around a nassarius snail and my manadarin dragonnette. my mandarin likes to sleep right next to where this worm lives so i was a little concerned. however, unless he proves to be a problem, i will probably let him be.......i could regret this decision.

 

What's your clean up crew like? My LFS told me that bristle worms are a sign of a "dirty" tank; lots of detritus. If you have that many, it's because there's lots of junk to eat and they are multiplying quickly. If you limit their available food (i.e. better clean up crew) the population of bristle worms will die out over time.