Jumbo Bristleworm

[Rambo]

hiya,

i have a massive bristleworm, about 12"+ when extended, and three days ago i had one of my juvnile clowns (about 1inch), go missing. It defo didn't jump out, and i couldn't find any trace of it anywhere, but while searchin i found a nig (2" across shell) crab, which i thought'd eaten it, so i removed it and took it to my LFS, although none of us could i dentify it, even with the aid of numerous reference books.

But then, last night, i noticed that my bristleworm was acting strange, it was far more active than normal, as normally i just crawls along the bottom, this time it was moving fast, climbing the side of the tank and going all over thew rocks, and it may well have been chasing the one remaining clown.

so, my question is, was the crab innocent and the bristleworm the culprit?

has anyone ever heard of large bristleworms eating small clowns?
and does anyone know the best way to remove them? i can get a trap from my LFS, but i'm not sure on how effective it'd be looking at the design, as its intended for much weaker animals. plus its £16, which is a lot lol

 

[tahneen]

Im nto sure on this and if Im wrong Im wrong but I believe that a 6 line wrasse will eat the worm right up

 

[dzsigmond217]

I don't know if this will help..but here are a few qoutes from some websites. I dont really know much about bristle worms but they fascinate me..good luck!

Historically, bristleworms were all considered to be bad. Most literature warns that they can attack and eat clams, anemones, corals and even fish.

How to build a worm trap

Next to commercially available worm traps, it is fairly easy to make one at home. All that is needed is a plastic container or jar with a lid.
Using a razor blade or sharp knife, the lid is cut in X shape. The corners are then pushed slightly inward to form an opening in the lid. The size of the opening varies, depending on the size of the creatures to be trapped.

For the trap to work properly it is important that the worms do not see the "bait" but rather smell it. The container should therefore not be transparent.
For bait, clam and shrimp meat can be used as well as any fish meat available. The bait should be prepared in a way that is small enough for the worms but just short of being mashed up totally.

The container is then placed in the area where the worms are suspected and kept there over night. Adjustments to the size of the lid opening and the bait source can be made for optimum results.

Capturing large bristleworms, if you desire to do so, can be difficult. They are secretive and primarily nocturnal. Large ones should not be captured by hand due to their sharp pincher teeth and setae which can puncture the skin. One way to capture large ones is to place a rock with a hollow on the bottom side onto the sand in the evening. A piece of shrimp or similar can be placed into the hollow to act as bait. The next day the rock can be removed and the worms will come out with the rock, or they can be captured using a net or tweezers and disposed of.

 

[Lynden]

Most literature warns that they can attack and eat clams, anemones, corals and even fish

"Most literature"?

Bristleworms are either
1) scavengers or predators of dying animals, and thus highly beneficial or even a "keystone" in the reef tank
2) corallivorous (just one genus, Hermodice, actually does this on a regular basis, and they are unmistakeably fiery red)

Very large bristleworms of any genus occasionally become corallivorous, because of a lack of food. NO bristleworms will attack living clams, anemones, or fish, or any other motile animal. The idea that they do is a myth as far as I'm concerned. They should be left alone unless one actually sees them munching corals.

Futhermore,

Large ones should not be captured by hand due to their sharp pincher teeth and setae which can puncture the skin.

Bristleworms are jawless animals. They are therefore incapable of biting. They physically cannot predate on a living fish.

 

[Donya]

They are therefore incapable of biting.

Mind citing the genera and/or species you're refering here? I have been bitten by the ones I keep. Not stung/poked (have had that happen too), but actually mouth-planted-on-my-wrist-and-jaws-dug-in bitten. I've only been bitten by the largest individuals I have (10-12"), but it was sure hard to miss when it happened. Left a raw patch on my wrist that wouldn't heal up for a few weeks and gave me some really fun allergic reactions. Every time I see mine feed, the big jawless mouth opens up and two prongs come out to grab food. Once they get a hold of something it's pretty impossible to pry them off unless they let go voluntarily.

EDIT: at some point in the distant past I IDed the genus of the worms I have but never the species, but I'm drawing a blank currently. That's part of why I'm asking about the genera referenced.

 

[Rambo]

Ok, my one remaining clown seems to have taken to swimming outside the bristleworm's burrow, but it doesn't seem to be a problem, so the bristleworm stays, for the moment at least. Its so bold that it comes out all the time now, only going into its burrow when the tank is disturbed, such as when i have to move some coral around or right a stuck snail (how dum can they get, must have been at least 5 this week?!)

and i think to get this bristlworm, a six line wrasse would defo not be big enough, i'd need a much bigger one lol, which i won't get, due to my tank only being a nano one, but thanx for the advice anyway

 

[littleme1969]

I had 2 that where over 12" in a 25g tank. they got this big as they where partial to my marine pellets and thats how a caught them in the end. I put just a few pellets out on the sand bed first at night so they could eat them in peace and get a taste for them. Then I would put them out in daylight hours and watched them scoff for another week so they got used to me being there and wouldnt hide a soon as I moved. Within 2 weeks they where out on the sand nibbling away so I got a pair of plastic crab tongs, carefully lowered them into the water and just grabbed them. They came without a fight and with no disruption to the tank what so ever. I only removed them as they where just so huge and was worried about getting stung evertime I moved a bit of rock , as at over 12" they could cover almost half of the rock surface at once..lol

 

[xxBarneyxx]

"Most literature"?

Actually when I first started reading up on marine tanks there was more then one book I read which stated that bristleworms would hunt healthy fish and inverts. I'm not saying it is actually true but there are quite a few "reliable" sources of informaiton (especially slightly older ones) which class bristleworms as "non-reef safe pests".

@Rambo, As already mentioned it is very unlikely that the bristleworm did get the clown if it was healthy and active so I wouldn't worry to much about it. I have never come across anyone that has said that even their very large bristleworms have attacked or eaten active fish. Just watch where you put your fingers in the tank though if you are moving rocks around.

 

[Lynden]

In "the olden days" most live rock came from the Keys and Florida, and among those areas are the corallivorous Hermodice. So, back then they would have been a pest.

 

[SkiFletch]

In "the olden days" most live rock came from the Keys and Florida, and among those areas are the corallivorous Hermodice. So, back then they would have been a pest.

Indeed, I miss those pre-CITES days...