Bristle Worms

[Baffels]

Hey folks,

There are a large amount of bristle worms that are springing up in Otto's tank. Is that an issue? Normally in my reef tanks I have wrasses that will eat them so don't really have to worry about it.

Thanks!

 

[Tomh]

Yes I would be concerned! They can pose a problem for octopus. Do you have a cleaner crew for leftover food and waste? Have you put in any new live rock. How big is he now? The bigger the worms the more of a problem.

 

[Baffels]

I do not have a clean up crew, Otto ate them. No new live rock, but I did seed the tank initially with some chunks from my reef tank sump, which is where I assume they came from. He is getting pretty big, 2" mantle (ish) and the worms are around 1.5in or less.

I have manually cleared out as many as I can and layed a trap as well. Otto is sluggish lately and not out nearly as much as he used to be.