# Bristle Worms



## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

The more and more im reading about saltwater setups, the more and more im hearing about Bristle worms. These things are f'n ugly, i know they come out only at night but just the high possibility of bringing them into the tank with any live rock is kind of steering me away from even starting this tank.

Is there any way to get rid of them? Or do u not need to and am i being paranoid!


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I wouldnt worry about it. When I broke down my 72 gallon before moving from Wisconsin...there were a few in the filter. So I know there were some in the tank....and I never saw one until I was taking the tank down.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

I hope the mantis goes around and kills them


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## titan505 (Jun 5, 2007)

o fuckin nasty i just looked it up on youtube wow would it bite you


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Dawgz said:


> I hope the mantis goes around and kills them


It probably will...I wouldn't worry too much about them as they are a sign of a healthy tank. You could always do a freshwater or super saline dip on the rock to scare out unwanted critters before adding it to your tank. I'd be more worried about a mantis shrimp in my saltwater tank than anything else.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

BioTeAcH said:


> I hope the mantis goes around and kills them


It probably will...I wouldn't worry too much about them as they are a sign of a healthy tank. You could always do a freshwater or super saline dip on the rock to scare out unwanted critters before adding it to your tank. I'd be more worried about a mantis shrimp in my saltwater tank than anything else.








[/quote]

yea tru, but the only reason im getting into salt water tanks is because of the mantis...Its going to be a Mantis Only tank...with a few exceptions of hermies (tiny ones). The mantis im getting is 1" rite now, and this species gets to 3" max. So it shouldnt be "too" bad on the hermies...unless theres something better that shifts thru the sand? I heard starfish are bad to keep as sand shifters since 1) they can easily die and mess up the tank or 2) eat benificial stuff in the sand, etc.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Neresis snails I believe are good sand sifters and may have a better chance of not being killed if they stay in the sand. The right species of sand sifting seas star would be fine (micro brittle stars I believe max out around 1"). The problem is what will the mantis allow to live. You may have to try all 3 and see which ones don't get killed.

What type of mantis are you getting...is it club clawed or spear clawed?


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

i dont have the exact ID of him, but after looking thru...

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/cr...?name=g_viridis

I think he might be a Neogonodactylus wennerae or Gonodactylellus viridis which are both "smashers" so i guess its "clubed"


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Dawgz said:


> i dont have the exact ID of him, but after looking thru...
> 
> http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/cr...?name=g_viridis
> 
> I think he might be a Neogonodactylus wennerae or Gonodactylellus viridis which are both "smashers" so i guess its "clubed"


It appears they eat small crustaceans = your hermit crabs, and gastropods = snails. Those micro stars may be your best bet for keeping the sand and rock clean.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

i saw one of those stars ur talkn about...forgot to ask how much it was, it was SUPER tiny.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Dawgz said:


> i saw one of those stars ur talkn about...forgot to ask how much it was, it was SUPER tiny.


They supposedly reproduce and maintain a nice population in your tank. I never found any to put in mine, but was always looking. Check this link out!


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

but what if it just dies, behind some live rock or something, wouldnt the tank go to sh*t real fast with a dead creature in there?


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Dawgz said:


> but what if it just dies, behind some live rock or something, wouldnt the tank go to sh*t real fast with a dead creature in there?


Not that small...as long as you have enough live rock and do your water changes you should be fine. There isn't a whole lot to a starfish other than skin, stomach, and water vascular system...the rest is calcium carbonate. Now if all or a lot of them start dying, then you will have problems, but that would most likely indicate a tank problem.

If you're worried, just do the live rock and dip it before you add it to the tank. You'll have to do all the cleaning work though and worry about nitrate build up in the substrate over time. Those little critters will do a better job than you ever could.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

those little critters meaning the worms?


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Dawgz said:


> those little critters meaning the worms?


worms, snails, starfish, etc...


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

It seems to me that a saltwater tank is much more of an balanced echo-system then a freshwater tank. I have never found anything rotting in my tank...it seems there is always something that will consume it. There are organisms living in the rock and sand that will handle almost anything that dies in the tank....and those micro stars that BT is talking about are fricken tiny dude...their arms are like a piece of hair. I have some in my rock that live in little holes....and all you see is this tiny arm come out to grab something floating bye.

Just roll with it Dawgz....If you get a decent set-up....live sand and some good live rock....you wont have near the problems you are imagining. I am certainly no pro....but I have not found salt any harder then fresh. Of course I do not deal with the more delicate fish or corals....I go with mainly the hardy stuff....and from my understanding....a Mantis shrimp are pretty hard to kill when you want too...let alone when you are trying to care for them.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

alright, will do.

So i went to a LFS today, and asked if they had any Mantis Shrimp in, they did...like 3 of them. 1 was a peacock mantis for 40 bux and the other was a really TINY...maybe smaller than an inch for 10 bux. and the other one, had no price on him but was maybe 1.5" I asked how much that was and he said 5.99!!!!!

I would have gotten him but i have the other LFS holding the one i wanted from them...so i cant go against my word.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

most worms are good to have, just watch the tank at night to get an idea of what is creeping around, bot for 99 percent of the time the worms are doing far more harm then good. actualy this is what makes it harder to maintian preditor tanks, whne your fish or other aggresive creatures are killing off all the little parts of the eco system it makes it more difficult to keep it clean.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

nismo driver said:


> most worms are good to have, just watch the tank at night to get an idea of what is creeping around, bot for 99 percent of the time the worms are doing far more harm then good. actualy this is what makes it harder to maintian preditor tanks, whne your fish or other aggresive creatures are killing off all the little parts of the eco system it makes it more difficult to keep it clean.


You totally lost me there...the first run-on/contradictory sentence that is.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

^ lol, i think Nismo meant "the worms are doing far more good than harm"


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## Wide_Eyed_Wanderer (Aug 22, 2006)

I got stung by a bristle worm and got some sort of a rash on my hand, be careful when moving around the rocks you don't want to get attacked by any disgustabugs that might have hitchhiked.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

Dawgz said:


> ^ lol, i think Nismo meant "the worms are doing far more good than harm"


LOL i am an ass


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