Found dead in tank

Well I am glad I have peeked your interest I have been searching everywhere for an ID here is a picture of a live one if that helps at all.

 

That is your common variety bristle worm. They get very large.


;D

 

Ok well I have about 1000 literally in my tank, how do I get rid of them? Thanks for the ID ;D

 

Why would you get rid of them? They are an integral part of your clean up crew. You can thin them out very easily though completely eradicating them would both be almost impossible and not very wise.

One of the easiest ways I have found to thin out the heard is to take a piece of filter pad. Put some kind of food, chopped up shrimp is what I use and roll up the filter pad kind of like a loose burrito and so the food ends up in the center.

Put a rubber band on each end and wedge it in a rock crevasse or use a small rock to weigh it down on the bottom for a day or two. on the second day before the lights come on and using a pair of latex gloves remove the burrito to a bowel and you will see that quite a few of the little buggers have taken up residence in the pad.

Toss that pad in the trash and start another one up and put it in the tank. this can also be done with a green scrubby pad but I have better luck with the blue/white filter pad. I also like the filter because you can see the little buggers better.

Do not forget to use the gloves to remove them, if you do not you will be very unhappy and will also find out why they call them BRISTLE worms in a real short hurry.

 

I don't really want to get rid of them I wanted to thin out the heard a little bit like 45% of them, but I will def give that a try and see how it works. I know they are a very integral part of my CUC they have gotten so bad they they are starting to eat the things I don't want them to eat lol. Thanks for the advice gazog!

 

I have taken a small piece of raw seafood and placed it in a knee high stocking. Placed that in the tank at night, waited a couple of hours and removed it. The bristle worms get their bristles caught in the mesh of the stocking and are then easily removed.

This should be done with some caution as the piece will decay and can contribute to water quality issues if left in the tank.

With that said the population will self regulate once available food sources decline.

 

Ok thanks guys you have been so helpful +1 to both of you!!