Bristleworms - Friend or Foe?

Good or Bad?

I found 4 about 2 inches each living in one piece of live rock I've had since the beginning of the tank...

 

This is a very common topic here. They are a benificial part of the cuc. Many people think that they are hamful but I have never one time had and issus with any. I have not seen any in forever in my tank and its a sps dominate tank with no bristle worm problems.

 

In moderation they are good, especially little ones, but ones over 1.5" are bad. They used to live in my rock and tried to kill my ]mandarin multiple times. My mandarin would go hide in a cave then a bristle worm came out and took a small chunk out of it.

 

Then it was not a bristle worm. I have one that is an 1 inch wide and almost three feet long that lives in the same burrow with my YWG. Images can be provided.

 

I saw it happen!

 

There are a bunch of worms commonly reffered to as bristleworms...

The true bristleworm is a 'fireworm' that you don't want to mess with unless wearing thick rubber gloves. These usually have brite white 'bristles' on a firey red body and are from the Hawaiian south Pacific.

'bristleworms' in the aquarium trade refers to any of the similiar shaped red 'bristly' worms...

Some grow large and pester fish, others stay (comparatively) smaller and tend to do okay in aquariums that are well enough fed.

Without trying to identify every single bristleworm you guys have out there, I just wanted to take a broad spectrum poll.

 

Well if you knew the basics of bristleworm/fire worm, than you know that vast majority are completely harmless to fish/corals and inverts. Point?????

 

They do a great job at keeping ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates down! no problems with mine yet.

 

Corailline - Point was just to start conversation and get a general feel for the types of worms are experienced in the aquarium trade by people here.

This is a forum, a place meant for people to discuss.

When 'everything's been discussed' before...

It leads to a stale environment with few new threads... which leads to fewer newcomers becoming interested in the forum itself, and a slow death of a forum.

I've seen it before on many forums (paintball, computer, motorcycle)...

I like talking Aquarium stuff, even if I already know some of it.

Figured this might be the place to share that knowledge and learn from others...

 

I love discussion and input by all, and I am usually on board with anyone beginning the discussion.

The title nor the original post, in my eyes does not imply to me this was about discussing the pros and cons of bristle worms. But rather seeking assistance or additional information.

One of the major myths in this hobby that gets repeated and repeated....... is that bristle are bad, in IME this is not true. I would not posted had I know this was going to be another thread addressing the pros and cons of bristle worms.

There is nothing stale about this forum or it's topics and I see a lot of SW forums. I find something of interest in almost every new thread and learn something new everyday here. I just wish the pretext of the thread would have been more obvious, it just was not to me.