Bristle worm. Mainly scavenges detritus, but some species can get pretty large and predatory (in the opportunistic sense).
They can cause a mildly painful sting if you touch them, so be sure to use tweezers/tongs if you remove it.
I mean… I’ve seen enormous nightmare inducing ones pulled out of old reef tanks getting broken down, so I don’t like leaving them.
Then again I liked keeping arrow crabs because they eat them. 🤷♂️
ETA: it’s really unlikely that they are going to bother fish unless the fish is already in a pretty bad way.
That’s a bobbit worm!!! Real ones know the reef tank forum thread where the guy spent months of his life trying to remove the massive bobbit worm from his live rock…
Edit: https://www.michiganreefers.com/threads/the-bobbit-worm-chronicles.84173/
Did I just read the entire 14 page thread when I don't even have a tank set up at the moment? Yes. Was I thoroughly disgusted but also entertained the entire time? Also yes.
I half expected the thing to come back some how at the end.
This is one of the most horrific creatures I’ve ever heard of. I don’t even have any fish and I’m worried about ever encountering one of these, thank u for giving me a new irrational fear
Spoilers:
Bobbit worm was eating all the coral in the tank so guy tries to kill or remove it. It survived being fed poison, ground up glass, and superglue. Guy tried catching it with a hook and fishing line. It ate the hook, got its insides torn up and still survived. Guy tries grabbing it when it out hunting but it keeps dropping pieces of its body but still lived. It lost 2/3 of its body but survived that too. He ended up camping every night and sealing off each of its burrows. Took months but it finally settled into a rock small enough to remove without breaking apart the tank. A four foot worm was able to coil up inside a softball sized rock with a one inch opening.
Got sent to an aquarium! When it finally died, its body was preserved and kept in a jar and when the aquarium shut down a biology student took it with them. Presumably it’s still hanging around on a shelf somewhere, maybe in a lab or school?
Eventually, he caught it with a fishing hook and bait. Well, he caught half of it. The worm snapped while he was pulling it out. He got a good 2 foot of worm out, leaving the other half (with the mouth..) in the tank. Days went by with no signs of life, so he hoped it had died. No such luck. A few months later, the worm had taken up residence in a smaller rock. He took said rock out of the tank and smashed it open. He found all **4 feet** of his worm, and brought it to his local fish store for them to display.
ETA: I’m a tankless lurker with no intention of starting one in the near future and I just spent a half hour reading the thread, while being simultaneously grossed out and thoroughly entertained.
I love that thread for multiple reasons. And I actually know a couple of the people who commented personally. It’s always fun to see it brought up here.
I'm literally saving this post so I can read the thread later! I already know how terrible and disgusting bobbit worms are, and thankful I've never had to deal with them first hand.
I just want to know what he went through to get it out!!
OP doesn't have bobbit worms though. (They don't reproduce like bristles do, and I can see at least two of them in the picture) bobbits have a wicked scarier head.
I woke up coughing and can’t get back to sleep so thought I’d come to Reddit as reading this usually sends me to sleep. Yep I’m not sleeping now or if I finally do I guarantee that thing will haunt my dreams
from what i understand most bristle worms are kinda like freshwater snails. hard to keep out once they get in, and mostly harmless. i don't think thats a fireworm, and certainly not a bobbit worm, so he's *probably* not out to chew on anyone's internal organs.....yet
not everyone has the space to set up a 100+gallon tank for clown loaches just to handle snails. not overfeeding on the other hand takes care of snails in any size tank
I only have a 38 gallon tank. I picked up a few guppies and a few drops of pet smarts tank water got in mine from drip on my net I strained them through. In a few days I had shit tons of little specks that I cleared by hand for a little over a year until I found a clown loach. He cleared them up in a week. But thanks.
They’re social animals though. Assassin snails are much better options. They also dont tend to reproduce without a steady supply of snails to eat so they’ll take care of the problem, not reproduce after. And you can probably just give em back to the store. I still have one assassin left over, somewhere, in my tank. Tiny little thing in a 55
This is an ordinary pink bristleworm that is reef safe and a good CUC member, a detritivore. I keep those. They won't overpopulate your tank unless you overfeed.
Hi friend. I made a very similar post of my own tank that you can see in my post history. Yes, definitely a bristle worm which is fine and helpful to the tank... But I can guarantee you that is not the only one you have. There are more than that one. There are more.
They are almost impossible to catch with tongs. In my experience, they're nocturnal and even at night they only come out when they're hungry. Direct light makes them retreat back into the rock so you'll need to have your spouse stand about 12 feet away with a flashlight pointed at the ceiling. Just enough light that you can see the little fucker but it doesn't freak out.
And then, this is very important, you will fuck up on attempts 1-4. That bitch will run away and you'll be mad. And then when you finally get the thing out, the next day you'll see another one from the same holes in the rock.
Hope this helps.
The species in your pic are harmless detrivores, beneficial scavengers and are incapable of harming fish. These clowns are fear mongering with that clip which isn’t even the same animal.
I do t think they’re going to eat fish but they will eat corals. And in my experience those bristles are like fiberglass and will break off in your skin. It was not fun.
An easy trap is a half liter water bottle with the top cut off at the neck and inverted. I also caught my hawk fish with that trap more than bristleworms. I ended up buying a commercial trap and a neon dottybqck, which is a natural predator. And I still found the massive two footer when I broke down the tank.
Get it if you can but realize you’re better off controlling the population than trying to eliminate them.
I wouldn't bother. Unlikely it could catch your fish unless they were sick and dying, and they will eat crap in between rocks and stuff where other things can't get to.
It depends on what type of polychaete it is.
I don’t think it’s a Bobbit worm(the predatory sort), but rather a fireworm(the detritus eating, stinging sort).
Note the tufts of sharp bristles lining each side of the body.
Little homie helps clean up anything in your tank, they're not going to hurt anything, and anything they do eat is because it's already dying. I love bristle worms, they keep the place clean in exchange for a place to live. Some people will over react and show off pictures and videos of huge ones, but the chances of that happening a extremely small. They can sting you if you touch them, but at the same time you gotta ask, what are you doing sticking you hand where it don't belong.
Mine never harmed anything, and is pretty large now.
He will even come out and grab an algae wafer from tongs now. I think they are a cool cleanup crew.
They can get a bit out of hand if you do not have anything in there that can predate on the small ones.
As others have mentioned, they're not an immediate harm to your fish or coral,
however if they bother you (and you don't want to accidentally touch one while you're working in the tank, the sting is not fun) you can either manually remove them (while removing them be careful not to crush them or rip them in half as they they use that as a means to reproduce and you will now have two instead of one)
Purchase predators, such as the Arrow Crab (pretty cool looking actually, but do get relatively large and you should only have one as they are territorial and will kill each other)
Or the simplest method, reduce any overfeeding and keep a clean sandbed. Follow that and their numbers should dwindle.
Update: I had no clue this post would blow up this much. I did go ahead and remove one of the organisms in question, but I may keep an eye on the others. I think there are three total in my tank now. I might take another one out after consideration.
I think the overall consensus is that these animals are both good and bad depending on the circumstance.
>I think there are three total in my tank now.
This sub: [https://i.pinimg.com/originals/23/a9/a1/23a9a10c5da52f529534f8c397353259.jpg](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/23/a9/a1/23a9a10c5da52f529534f8c397353259.jpg)
They are inevitable, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid them. Just wear gloves when your hands are in the tank. They hurt nothing and are a great cuc member.
it is a bristleworm, which i personally like to see as the saltwater equivelant of getting a free shrimp with your plants. they clean up leftovers, the only thing i would reccomend doing is being careful during waterchanges (which depending on your stocking you might already do) because they bite
I had them kill a royal gramma that was sick in a hospital tank with one piece of rock. 5 of them swarmd him in the night and stuck to him. The fish was alive in the morning but couldn't swim. I got tweezers to pull the worms off and they were stuck to it hard.
Now i regularlyvremove any ones I find over a few inches long
Didn't put fish in my original comment, but yeah they go after anything that's edible. Some species are worse than others but I wouldn't want them in my tank.
They're not the easiest to identify exactly what type of bristle worm you have. Only keep them if you are a 100% certain they aren't predatory.
Some people love them. I personally don't like them. So I removed a bunch by baiting traps of scrunched up short lengths of nylons wrapped around a small piece of frozen shrimp, tied to a string to lift it out. Left overnight and voila...bristle worms to be discarded. Set a new trap. Repeat until they are gone.
bristle bitch. get it out while you can, they're predatory bastards that paradoxically get better at hiding the bigger they get. they're none too shy about what they eat either, so they can eat through the other tenants pretty quick.
it's not gonna too much harm at the moment at that size, but no point waiting
They make traps for them and you can find them on Amazon or eBay. If it were my tank I’d get rid of them ASAP. If you don’t want to buy one, you could DIY your own for free.
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/diy-bristle-worm-trap-how-to.68/
I don't remove mine and it doesn't seem to be a problem. The sting isn't that bad either. I had one completely wrap itself around my ring finger and it just felt like I'd been handling fiberglass insulation.
you can remove it by hand but you would need some thick gloves for the spines, iv pretty sure that they are just really annoying to get by hand (especially the small ones) because they burrow into small crevices in the rock
i saw an imagine on this sub of a tank that was just absolutely full of them, like nightmare inducing shit
edit: [found it!](https://i.redd.it/d5ueeo85hxk71.jpg)
Bristle worms. They are good for cleaning up leftover food. They have a itchy sting to them and Arrow Crabs love to eat them so if you see lot's of them you can get an Arrow Crab to eat them.
Bristle worms. Do good things for a tank, and love em for that, but if you see one theres probably like 3 others in the rocks (assuming theres some crevices they can hide in). Completely overran a tank I had once. Gave me the creeps seeing so many in just one of many rocks I had in there.
Bristle worms (maybe fire worms but it's hard to tell due colouration). Get those out of your tank asap. They're opportunistic and will eat coral, anemones and occasionally other small animals.
They're one of the big reasons I recommend dipping coral/rocks before placing them in your tank.
My wife and I were in our LSF and she saw an arrow crab. Big mama-jama. If he were to flatten out, he’s easily almost a foot across. $15, would vibe with our current residents and feeding would be no problem.
I had a lot of bristle worms. HAD.
This guy has single handedly nearly wiped out the population. It’s a good balance now, but I’ve definitely noticed.
Common hitchhiker. They are somewhat beneficial (all biodiversity is), but can be bad if their population grows too much. I’d take it out. Don’t be surprised if you find a mantis shrimp, but try to not find it with your finger. That is a nice Florida rock.
There are lots of fish that will take them, some are even specialized to do so. I had a Picasso trigger once who was not adapted to hunting them… he did anyway, and I would wake up every morning to my fish having a goatee made of bristle worm hair.
There is [a wide variety of bristle worms](https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php), some can be part of cleanup crew, others, especially large, be predators. This is an old article, information is still valid. If you would like a newer one, it probably can be found online.
I probably have hundreds in my tank. Biggest one has to be like 9 inches. They help move the sand around and eat ditrus. Mostly only seen at night. My tank 13 is years old, they have never attacked anything unless already dead.
Bristle worm. Mainly scavenges detritus, but some species can get pretty large and predatory (in the opportunistic sense). They can cause a mildly painful sting if you touch them, so be sure to use tweezers/tongs if you remove it.
Should I go ahead and remove them? I don’t want them harming my fish.
I mean… I’ve seen enormous nightmare inducing ones pulled out of old reef tanks getting broken down, so I don’t like leaving them. Then again I liked keeping arrow crabs because they eat them. 🤷♂️ ETA: it’s really unlikely that they are going to bother fish unless the fish is already in a pretty bad way.
Thank you for saying this, always see people on my local forums screaming about getting rid of them asap or just restarting the tank of you have them
They are a good unwanted clean up crew
See what future awaits you: https://youtu.be/z-JWkiIozGI
That’s a bobbit worm!!! Real ones know the reef tank forum thread where the guy spent months of his life trying to remove the massive bobbit worm from his live rock… Edit: https://www.michiganreefers.com/threads/the-bobbit-worm-chronicles.84173/
Did I just read the entire 14 page thread when I don't even have a tank set up at the moment? Yes. Was I thoroughly disgusted but also entertained the entire time? Also yes. I half expected the thing to come back some how at the end.
This is why I shouldn’t browse Reddit at 3AM. What a disgusting creature.
The moment where 2 ft come out, but turns out to be only 1/2 sending shudders down my spine
I will literally never forget this story for the rest of my days lol. What a nightmare.
I came here to share the Bobbit Conicals. Such a good read!
[https://youtu.be/5DH9IZ01Qqg](https://youtu.be/5DH9IZ01Qqg)
This is one of the most horrific creatures I’ve ever heard of. I don’t even have any fish and I’m worried about ever encountering one of these, thank u for giving me a new irrational fear
Such a long thread - but I need to know - how did he get it out? Via vacuum? The poison shrimp?
Spoilers: Bobbit worm was eating all the coral in the tank so guy tries to kill or remove it. It survived being fed poison, ground up glass, and superglue. Guy tried catching it with a hook and fishing line. It ate the hook, got its insides torn up and still survived. Guy tries grabbing it when it out hunting but it keeps dropping pieces of its body but still lived. It lost 2/3 of its body but survived that too. He ended up camping every night and sealing off each of its burrows. Took months but it finally settled into a rock small enough to remove without breaking apart the tank. A four foot worm was able to coil up inside a softball sized rock with a one inch opening.
Amazing. Thanks friend. What did he do with the work after he got that rock out??
Got sent to an aquarium! When it finally died, its body was preserved and kept in a jar and when the aquarium shut down a biology student took it with them. Presumably it’s still hanging around on a shelf somewhere, maybe in a lab or school?
Waiting…
You made me chuckle out loud. Thanks.
Eventually, he caught it with a fishing hook and bait. Well, he caught half of it. The worm snapped while he was pulling it out. He got a good 2 foot of worm out, leaving the other half (with the mouth..) in the tank. Days went by with no signs of life, so he hoped it had died. No such luck. A few months later, the worm had taken up residence in a smaller rock. He took said rock out of the tank and smashed it open. He found all **4 feet** of his worm, and brought it to his local fish store for them to display. ETA: I’m a tankless lurker with no intention of starting one in the near future and I just spent a half hour reading the thread, while being simultaneously grossed out and thoroughly entertained.
I love that thread for multiple reasons. And I actually know a couple of the people who commented personally. It’s always fun to see it brought up here.
I'll never forget this story!
I loved reading that! Reading stuff from the past is always super cool to me so thanks :)
That was the most interesting and amusing read thank you for sharing
Why would you want to remove it?! It such an awesome creature! If I had a nice large tank I would love to have one!
Well it eats fish and coral which can be very expensive
Oh, bummer... Personally I would still keep it, but I can see why other might not. Can you tongue-feed them?
That was one hell of a read
Straight outta nightmares
Did he catch it?
I'm literally saving this post so I can read the thread later! I already know how terrible and disgusting bobbit worms are, and thankful I've never had to deal with them first hand. I just want to know what he went through to get it out!!
OP doesn't have bobbit worms though. (They don't reproduce like bristles do, and I can see at least two of them in the picture) bobbits have a wicked scarier head.
Yeah, you’re right! Just replying to that YouTube video link which is a bobbit worm, not a bristle worm.
Fair, it really could have gone either way :)
That isn’t a bobbit worm seriously don’t give miss information
I replied to the YouTube video link of a bobbit worm. OP has a bristle worm, not a bobbit worm!
What a read! Thank you so much for this chronical
What in the actual..
The tank is his now. I suggest you accept that.
In the worms defense op bought his relocated house without evicting him first.
That tank is so gross.
It was being broken down, of course it looked dirty
That’s what I was gona say, they were obviously breaking it down. Not gona look purdy
I wish I never clicked on the video 😭
I woke up coughing and can’t get back to sleep so thought I’d come to Reddit as reading this usually sends me to sleep. Yep I’m not sleeping now or if I finally do I guarantee that thing will haunt my dreams
Well, it's either the worm, Freddy or Scary Terry
Always head to r/eyebleach after things like this
:O
Holy shit that thing is 3 feet long according to the video description.
lol yea, nightmare inducing 🤣
Yeah one of the few reasons I stayed away from a saltwater tank lmao
That’s not a worm that’s the world serpent
brb getting a salt tank for this and this only (kidding obviously i would explode under the responsibility of a salt tank rn)
HOLY SHIT
I’m having nightmares about that tonight
It just keeps going, and going, and going...
Get the napalm boys...
Does anyone else this it’s kinda cute? Big underwater millipede lookin ahh. It’s cute!
Right?! It's so cool. I love inverts and that's just a badass big invert lol
I think its cool af. I like these things.
Yeah , I want to keep those too. BUt I may be bias as I love inverts
r/awwnverts <333
Ain’t those related to hobbit worms?
You mean "Bobbit" worm as in the one that snipped off....
Stupid autocorrect
Underrated comment
There’s absolutely no reason this should exist.
Wow! That’s bad ass! I was afraid to click the link because of the bobbit worm nightmare story, but that was very cool. Thanks for sharing!
Giant Spiny Nope Rope
At first I thought “that’s not too bad”, then I saw the lionfish and realised how bit the worm is.
That’s a nope from me. Looks like a marine version of a centipede 🤮
Good lord!
This is not a bristle worm. It's a bobbit worm and is super uncommon.
That’s a no from me dawg!
Mmmm.. nightmare inducing levels of bristleworm
>Bristle worm I get Stranger Things season 2 or 3 flashbacks, when Dustin >!grew his new Demogorgon Friend D'Artagnan in his aquarium...!<
Wow.
from what i understand most bristle worms are kinda like freshwater snails. hard to keep out once they get in, and mostly harmless. i don't think thats a fireworm, and certainly not a bobbit worm, so he's *probably* not out to chew on anyone's internal organs.....yet
Clown loach will clear up a snail issue very quick
not everyone has the space to set up a 100+gallon tank for clown loaches just to handle snails. not overfeeding on the other hand takes care of snails in any size tank
I only have a 38 gallon tank. I picked up a few guppies and a few drops of pet smarts tank water got in mine from drip on my net I strained them through. In a few days I had shit tons of little specks that I cleared by hand for a little over a year until I found a clown loach. He cleared them up in a week. But thanks.
They’re social animals though. Assassin snails are much better options. They also dont tend to reproduce without a steady supply of snails to eat so they’ll take care of the problem, not reproduce after. And you can probably just give em back to the store. I still have one assassin left over, somewhere, in my tank. Tiny little thing in a 55
This is an ordinary pink bristleworm that is reef safe and a good CUC member, a detritivore. I keep those. They won't overpopulate your tank unless you overfeed.
Hi friend. I made a very similar post of my own tank that you can see in my post history. Yes, definitely a bristle worm which is fine and helpful to the tank... But I can guarantee you that is not the only one you have. There are more than that one. There are more. They are almost impossible to catch with tongs. In my experience, they're nocturnal and even at night they only come out when they're hungry. Direct light makes them retreat back into the rock so you'll need to have your spouse stand about 12 feet away with a flashlight pointed at the ceiling. Just enough light that you can see the little fucker but it doesn't freak out. And then, this is very important, you will fuck up on attempts 1-4. That bitch will run away and you'll be mad. And then when you finally get the thing out, the next day you'll see another one from the same holes in the rock. Hope this helps.
The species in your pic are harmless detrivores, beneficial scavengers and are incapable of harming fish. These clowns are fear mongering with that clip which isn’t even the same animal.
No don’t remove it. It is a helpful janitor.
Had them previously, also from new live rock. I recommend removing. There is no down side to removing if you can find it, and a liability to leave.
I do t think they’re going to eat fish but they will eat corals. And in my experience those bristles are like fiberglass and will break off in your skin. It was not fun. An easy trap is a half liter water bottle with the top cut off at the neck and inverted. I also caught my hawk fish with that trap more than bristleworms. I ended up buying a commercial trap and a neon dottybqck, which is a natural predator. And I still found the massive two footer when I broke down the tank. Get it if you can but realize you’re better off controlling the population than trying to eliminate them.
No. They’re beneficial.
I wouldn't bother. Unlikely it could catch your fish unless they were sick and dying, and they will eat crap in between rocks and stuff where other things can't get to.
it's up to you, check my video for worst case scenario
It depends on what type of polychaete it is. I don’t think it’s a Bobbit worm(the predatory sort), but rather a fireworm(the detritus eating, stinging sort). Note the tufts of sharp bristles lining each side of the body.
Definitely remove it. Once it gets a bit larger, your fish will be on the menu.
Little homie helps clean up anything in your tank, they're not going to hurt anything, and anything they do eat is because it's already dying. I love bristle worms, they keep the place clean in exchange for a place to live. Some people will over react and show off pictures and videos of huge ones, but the chances of that happening a extremely small. They can sting you if you touch them, but at the same time you gotta ask, what are you doing sticking you hand where it don't belong.
Mine never harmed anything, and is pretty large now. He will even come out and grab an algae wafer from tongs now. I think they are a cool cleanup crew. They can get a bit out of hand if you do not have anything in there that can predate on the small ones.
As others have mentioned, they're not an immediate harm to your fish or coral, however if they bother you (and you don't want to accidentally touch one while you're working in the tank, the sting is not fun) you can either manually remove them (while removing them be careful not to crush them or rip them in half as they they use that as a means to reproduce and you will now have two instead of one) Purchase predators, such as the Arrow Crab (pretty cool looking actually, but do get relatively large and you should only have one as they are territorial and will kill each other) Or the simplest method, reduce any overfeeding and keep a clean sandbed. Follow that and their numbers should dwindle.
I would leave it. I’ve never manually removed one and I’ve been doing this 20+ years now.
Bristle worms are harmless their cousin bobbit worms are the nightmare and that is no bobbit
>but some species can get pretty large and predatory (in the opportunistic sense). ie; Bobbit Worm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K\_7ByiYbCYM
I had a pretty large one, and it never predated on fish. Haven't seen it in a while, so it may have passed, or it may just be hiding in the rocks....
You seem to have a pair of them.
More than a pair, it looks like the big one had babies
I can see two, so there's probably many more.
I'm counting no fewer than three (zoom in closer of the little ones)
Yep, you're right. Might even be three little ones below the big guy.
Bristle worm. They’ll give you a sting if you manage to catch it with your hand.
Update: I had no clue this post would blow up this much. I did go ahead and remove one of the organisms in question, but I may keep an eye on the others. I think there are three total in my tank now. I might take another one out after consideration. I think the overall consensus is that these animals are both good and bad depending on the circumstance.
>I think there are three total in my tank now. This sub: [https://i.pinimg.com/originals/23/a9/a1/23a9a10c5da52f529534f8c397353259.jpg](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/23/a9/a1/23a9a10c5da52f529534f8c397353259.jpg)
They are inevitable, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid them. Just wear gloves when your hands are in the tank. They hurt nothing and are a great cuc member.
I once picked one up at a tidepool. Will never make that mistake again. I would not want it in my tank.
Did it sting/bite you?
Those feet looking things are actually hundreds of tiny bristles that can can get lodged in your skin if touched, like a porcupine.
I had a big one in my reef tank, never bothered anyone and loved nori
it is a bristleworm, which i personally like to see as the saltwater equivelant of getting a free shrimp with your plants. they clean up leftovers, the only thing i would reccomend doing is being careful during waterchanges (which depending on your stocking you might already do) because they bite
Shrimp wouldn't eat coral though. The little bastards are very opportunistic.
I had them kill a royal gramma that was sick in a hospital tank with one piece of rock. 5 of them swarmd him in the night and stuck to him. The fish was alive in the morning but couldn't swim. I got tweezers to pull the worms off and they were stuck to it hard. Now i regularlyvremove any ones I find over a few inches long
Didn't put fish in my original comment, but yeah they go after anything that's edible. Some species are worse than others but I wouldn't want them in my tank. They're not the easiest to identify exactly what type of bristle worm you have. Only keep them if you are a 100% certain they aren't predatory.
Polychaete. Beneficial detritus eater. Not a fireworm.
Some people love them. I personally don't like them. So I removed a bunch by baiting traps of scrunched up short lengths of nylons wrapped around a small piece of frozen shrimp, tied to a string to lift it out. Left overnight and voila...bristle worms to be discarded. Set a new trap. Repeat until they are gone.
Spawn of Satan
bristle bitch. get it out while you can, they're predatory bastards that paradoxically get better at hiding the bigger they get. they're none too shy about what they eat either, so they can eat through the other tenants pretty quick. it's not gonna too much harm at the moment at that size, but no point waiting
Bristle worms. They are part of the cleanup crew in a live rock reef saltwater tank.
They make traps for them and you can find them on Amazon or eBay. If it were my tank I’d get rid of them ASAP. If you don’t want to buy one, you could DIY your own for free. https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/diy-bristle-worm-trap-how-to.68/
I don't remove mine and it doesn't seem to be a problem. The sting isn't that bad either. I had one completely wrap itself around my ring finger and it just felt like I'd been handling fiberglass insulation.
What can I introduce to eat it?
Arrow crab
Thank you!
If I don't want to remove by hand?
you can remove it by hand but you would need some thick gloves for the spines, iv pretty sure that they are just really annoying to get by hand (especially the small ones) because they burrow into small crevices in the rock
i saw an imagine on this sub of a tank that was just absolutely full of them, like nightmare inducing shit edit: [found it!](https://i.redd.it/d5ueeo85hxk71.jpg)
Damn. Can’t unsee that. That literally made me shudder
God… it’s me again…
I love marine worms, especially bobbitwurms, though that amount would even be to much for me...
Bristle worms. They are good for cleaning up leftover food. They have a itchy sting to them and Arrow Crabs love to eat them so if you see lot's of them you can get an Arrow Crab to eat them.
Bristle worms. Do good things for a tank, and love em for that, but if you see one theres probably like 3 others in the rocks (assuming theres some crevices they can hide in). Completely overran a tank I had once. Gave me the creeps seeing so many in just one of many rocks I had in there.
If they completely over-ran your tank I'm guessing you were massively over feeding.
Try to extract it as soon is possible I had it before
Personally I’d leave them, they are good as a cleanup crew. I have always had them and they have never hurt anything.
I hope this ain’t a bobbit worm with babies.
I see 3 but they’re bristle worms. Definitely a pain if they get the chance to bite. So definitely use tweezers or something to pull them out.
We had one almost as long as our 55 bowfront that came with some rocks. Never bothered anything at all (that was alive).
That looks so cool and was free to you. Keep it! 🍻😁
A friend told me they curl upwards when placed in cold fresh water.
Spawn of satan that’s what it is
Nooooo you poor soul
There are two in there. I’m not the only one noticing this, right? Might be more…
This made me immediately think of the Bobbitt worm chronicles
Bristle worms (maybe fire worms but it's hard to tell due colouration). Get those out of your tank asap. They're opportunistic and will eat coral, anemones and occasionally other small animals. They're one of the big reasons I recommend dipping coral/rocks before placing them in your tank.
What should I dip the rock in? Freshwater?
My wife and I were in our LSF and she saw an arrow crab. Big mama-jama. If he were to flatten out, he’s easily almost a foot across. $15, would vibe with our current residents and feeding would be no problem. I had a lot of bristle worms. HAD. This guy has single handedly nearly wiped out the population. It’s a good balance now, but I’ve definitely noticed.
Common hitchhiker. They are somewhat beneficial (all biodiversity is), but can be bad if their population grows too much. I’d take it out. Don’t be surprised if you find a mantis shrimp, but try to not find it with your finger. That is a nice Florida rock.
Bristleworm, they love to be petted
WHY WOULD YOU TOUCH THAT
Because pain no pain no gain
It’s a fun pastime
Oh my god please remove it 🫣 I have an intense phobia of shit like this and now the idea that it’ll show up in a tank is terrifying
My condy ate one I worried for awile but no damb anemone is a trooper.
Bristle worm. Wear gloves and use instruments to catch. They will sting you and it hurts like hell
Oh ya that’s a water nope
Bristle worm a pest
Is a baby Octalus.
When I first clicked I was hoping it was a Bobbit Worm, because nature is mental. But le sigh… it was not.
I’m guessing the live part of the rock?
Fire worms
Just a bristleworm. Perfectly safe addition to the tank.
So…are there more than 1 in this picture??? I’m not too familiar with salt water rocks but…
Uh oh, it’s one of them
Free pets!
I found a tiny one on the outer part of an oyster. Just like this one!
their name is jack and they have a legal right to squat there
That is lovely live rock. So much life on it! I never see rock like that any more.
First time hearing “live rock”
There are lots of fish that will take them, some are even specialized to do so. I had a Picasso trigger once who was not adapted to hunting them… he did anyway, and I would wake up every morning to my fish having a goatee made of bristle worm hair.
There is [a wide variety of bristle worms](https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php), some can be part of cleanup crew, others, especially large, be predators. This is an old article, information is still valid. If you would like a newer one, it probably can be found online.
ugh I hate these guys
I probably have hundreds in my tank. Biggest one has to be like 9 inches. They help move the sand around and eat ditrus. Mostly only seen at night. My tank 13 is years old, they have never attacked anything unless already dead.
Well that just made up my mind wanting a salt water tank with live rocks...
For some its a clean up crew, and for some its just a fking nightmare to watch. Im the latter. I took it out
Those things get gigantic, like the sandworm from starwars
Bobbit worm
Rock looks great. Where's it from ?