caught me a bristleworm

[gobytron]

I sure hope bristleworms don't grow up to be eunicids....


Can anyone throw up a link to some discussion of how bristleworms can actually be detrimental?

I have a hard time buying that they are anything beyond benign at worst and beneficial at best.

[russp]

call me crazy but I put him back in my display tank , I have a hard time killing things for no reason & this guy has given me no reason . He comes out almost every time I feed & the way I see it he is a part of the reef system , besides if I caught him once I can probably get him twice.

[canadianbigkat]

From the reading I have done there are good and bad bristle worms with most being good scavengers, if he is doing no harm then it is one less maint crew member you had to buy.

[MrGoodbytes]

Originally Posted by gobytron

I sure hope bristleworms don't grow up to be eunicids....


Can anyone throw up a link to some discussion of how bristleworms can actually be detrimental?

I have a hard time buying that they are anything beyond benign at worst and beneficial at best.

Hey! I just joined here but thought I could offer some info. Most bristlworms/fireworms aren't detrimental (eg. feather dusters are a kind of bristleworm). The common orange and black one we see is supposedly Eurythroe complanata while the nasty one people occasionally find is Hermodice carunculata. Eunicids are a separate family from the ones people commonly think of as bristleworms.

Here are some useful links discussing and cataloguing some bristleworms:
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php

call me crazy but I put him back in my display tank , I have a hard time killing things for no reason & this guy has given me no reason . He comes out almost every time I feed & the way I see it he is a part of the reef system , besides if I caught him once I can probably get him twice.

Glad you decided to let it stay . I'll share the worm I found last week with you guys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yWx-GSU5j0