Bristleworms

[arizonagrace]

I have a 24 gallon aquapod, and I just noticed last night that it is infested with bristleworms. I have never seen them in there before, but there are a couple of big ones, so I know they have been going awhile. My watchman goby is pale and not feeling well, and I wonder if he was stung by one.

I have a purple dottyback I would like to move over there in the hopes he cleans them up, but I think he will pick on the pajama cardinal and goby if I do.

Other then the store bought traps or a homemade trap, is there anything you can suggest for getting rid of these. I thought about buying an arrow crab, but the nitrates are always at 20 no matter how much water I change. And, they look like spiders :faint:

Any suggestions? :confused:

 

[OceanCrazy]

Are you using a canister filter? Cause that is the main cause of nitrates in a marine tank. If you are get rid of it.

 

[chichimom79]

I would bet that your nitrates is what is bothering your fish, not the bristleworms. Bristleworms can be a good member of your clean-up crew. Although there are some nastier ones, they are more rare. Find the source of your nitrate problem first. :)

 

[arizonagrace]

I am probably overfeeding the fish. I do water changes, about 1/3 of the tank) every 3 or 4 weeks. I try to do more, but water is expensive. I was making my own, but my bucket of salt is rock hard because someone left it open. I pay $2.11 for a gallon of water with the tax.

Should I be making water changes more? Perhaps I should stop feeding so much, maybe drop it back to 1/2 or every other day. I have 3 tanks and all the fish have been doing spectacular in the water so far.

I don't mind having a few bristleworms, but there are some in that tank the size of a cigarette. Should I remove the larger ones with a tong and leave the smaller ones until they grow?

 

[arizonagrace]

I am not using a canister filter. I use the blue sponge that came with the tank.

 

[OceanCrazy]

Feed every other day. But you should still find the source of the Nitrates. Crush the salt,you can still use it.

 

[yote]

Your dottyback shouldn't bother ( notice I said SHOULDN'T :D: ).Dottybacks are generally a fairly peaceful fish.

 

[Bifferwine]

I think we've all had to deal with a block of solid salt before. Breaking it up with a hammer and chisel does the trick. I would bump up the water changes to every week or every two weeks. I highly doubt the bristleworms are bothering the fish. They are beneficial members of the clean up crew, and I'd only consider them a pest once they get to be about a foot long. (Seriously. I've had bristleworms that size in my tank before. CREEPY.)

 

[little_fish]

I would also clean the sponge frequently, that is like the source of the nitrate issues

 

[arizonagrace]

Ok, I will try doing more frequent water changes. Food every other night (I hope they don't get too hungry).

I will have someone take a hammer and chisel to the salt. I won't be able to do it myself, but I have someone who can. If I buy just plain water, I can get it for 35 cents a gallon instead of $2, which will allow me to change more often. I can even buy it for one change, and then make my own for the next one.

As for the bristleworms, I guess I will manually remove the largest ones I can find and catch. They are hard buggers to catch. I tried getting the big one last night, but I missed.

 

[Bifferwine]

There's a trick that Yote came up with -- take a piece of panty hose and put some food inside of it. The bristleworms will try to get to the food, but will get stuck in the nylon.

 

[wontonflip]

+1 everyone, but I highly doubt 20ppm of nitrates will be detrimental to fish; just corals and inverts.

 

[yote]

There's a trick that Yote came up with -- take a piece of panty hose and put some food inside of it. The bristleworms will try to get to the food, but will get stuck in the nylon.

Had a lady bring some nylons to the store last week to show me her catch.:D
I knew it'd work,just didn't think it would work to the point that the worms would actually be hanging off the nylons.

Should have taken a picture,but didn't think about it at the time.