What eats med-large bristtle worm?

[danmhippo]

I've been stung badly lately re-arranging my rocks, harvesting caulerpa etc. My right flick-finger is still all swelled up, red, and very itchy. I know it's non other the bristtle worm as I have to scrub off the bristtles from the finger and do a couple ammonia dips.

What predators do they have out there in the wild........yet reef safe? I think coral banded shrimp predate on the BW, but they are not what I would consider reef safe......

TIA

 

[Anonymous]

I believe a long nosed hawk will. But if the BW are good sized, it might skip those and go after the smaller ones you probably want to keep.

 

[EmilyB]

Rocky will:

OH, reefsafe..............never mind....

 

[monkeyboy]

I will Dan, 2 bucks a worm, pay me up front.

Finding that bristle worm eater is like trying to find an aiptasia eater, it will be hit or miss. Dottybacks will eat them to some extent, coral banded shrimp and arrow crabs will also help. Arrows get large quick and pretty obnoxious, coral banded shrimp will be fine though.

A non-bio way to do it would be to make a bristle worm trap out of PVC. Cap both sides of a piece of pvc and put several small holes roughly the size of the worms. Throw in some food, cap it up and throw it in at night. The worms will enter, eat, and be too fat to fit back out. It's worth a shot, and it's extremely cheap to do. HTH

 

[danmhippo]

HA.....LOL, I was teaching someone a couple of days ago building a PVC trap, right on this BB!

I guess I need to get my dremel tools out again......

 

[Anonymous]

danmhippo-
what about disposable gloves(may be your only practical solution)non-talc?

 

[DrDave88]

There is a good Q -

Will the Bristle Worms sting you through the gloves?

 

[IcantTHINKofONE]

I have those 24" Aquagloves. They seem really think and are safe to put in water. I think those would work.