What do bristle worms look like? I have these really small looking feather duster things on my live rock, do i need to get rid of these? Also i have a question about a protein skimmer. I have bought a skimmer and put it on the aquarium sat. but it has not produced any foam (the skimmer is a skilter 250 filter with build in skimmer) any suggestions on what to do?
Bristle worms??
- Thread starter andrew5013
- Start date
Don't worry too much about bristleworms. As a whole they are a very beneficial thing to have in your system. When they are small, they just eat detritus and other leftovers. The only ones I've heard of being a problem are large FIREWORMS like the one pictured above. Careful if you try to remove it by hand cause they can pack a good sting. They are noted by their red/pink color. If you want to combat them and keep them in check you could try a sixline wrasse which stay fairly small (2.5-3"), or Coral banded shrimps may pick at them.
I have a lot of trouble distinguishing bristleworms and fireworms (which are a type of bristleworm). I do have a few like the example above, just about 10 cm long when stretched out, and some days I think they are one kind....next day, they look totally different. I have spent hours and hours trying to identify at least the family.
These guys will savage a (dead) cockell - just rip it apart. But I've dropped hermits, small snails and the like near their "cave" (actually, they live in the case of a powerhead....) and tho' the worms seem quite excited and swarm about, they never eat the live stuff. To be honest, I don't think that their senses nor their speed make them very good predators - I think they'd love to succeed but just can't raise their game.
A couple of these can easily eat a cockle between them....makes them wonderful scavengers IMO.
Ron Shimek says that fireworms are, like bristles, also good reef tank creatures, with the exception of one found in the Atlantic, Hermodice carunculata, which will eat corals.
Having said that, if I found a 30 cm worm in my tank I'd definitely be testing his hunting instincts and aptitude ! How did he get so big....
Once I get a digicam I'll post a pikkie and find out what I am feeding !
kim
These guys will savage a (dead) cockell - just rip it apart. But I've dropped hermits, small snails and the like near their "cave" (actually, they live in the case of a powerhead....) and tho' the worms seem quite excited and swarm about, they never eat the live stuff. To be honest, I don't think that their senses nor their speed make them very good predators - I think they'd love to succeed but just can't raise their game.
A couple of these can easily eat a cockle between them....makes them wonderful scavengers IMO.
Ron Shimek says that fireworms are, like bristles, also good reef tank creatures, with the exception of one found in the Atlantic, Hermodice carunculata, which will eat corals.
Having said that, if I found a 30 cm worm in my tank I'd definitely be testing his hunting instincts and aptitude ! How did he get so big....
Once I get a digicam I'll post a pikkie and find out what I am feeding !
kim
I had a skilter and now it lies in a landfill somewhere in New Jersey I suppose. They will skim, but IMO they do not skim WELL. Do a search here on skilters and I'm sure you will see that a majority of the folks here will reitterate what I have said here. The other bad thing about them is that they are extremely loud and that when you use the skim feature it dramatically reduces the 250 or 400 gallon per hour flow rate.
If you are to buy a new or first skimmer ask around here and you can get good,sound advice on a good quality skimmer before you waste money on inadequate skimmers(seaclones, skilters, etc).
Thank you for letting me know that I know nothing about skilters.
If you are to buy a new or first skimmer ask around here and you can get good,sound advice on a good quality skimmer before you waste money on inadequate skimmers(seaclones, skilters, etc).
Thank you for letting me know that I know nothing about skilters.
Yes, I agree they are loud, its one of the reasons I moved my tank from the Living Room to the Dining Room.
But they do skim, they skim well, I've had Tunze's, the Beast and several other skimmers on larger tanks when I lived in the UK. I moved to the US and immediately wanted a reef tank, but budget limited buying a big tank and 300 pound (sterling, not weight) versions of skimmers I previously had, so I bought a skilter. Now the more expensive ones admitted skim alot better, and if I had a tank bigger than 29 gal, I wouldn't dream of using a skilter on it. But for the 29 gal I have, the skilter performs superbly. I couldn't ask it to perform any better.
They aren't "terrible", you just have to know where their limits lie. And if you think its just a 5 gal, then again, I say, you don't know what your talking about.
But they do skim, they skim well, I've had Tunze's, the Beast and several other skimmers on larger tanks when I lived in the UK. I moved to the US and immediately wanted a reef tank, but budget limited buying a big tank and 300 pound (sterling, not weight) versions of skimmers I previously had, so I bought a skilter. Now the more expensive ones admitted skim alot better, and if I had a tank bigger than 29 gal, I wouldn't dream of using a skilter on it. But for the 29 gal I have, the skilter performs superbly. I couldn't ask it to perform any better.
They aren't "terrible", you just have to know where their limits lie. And if you think its just a 5 gal, then again, I say, you don't know what your talking about.
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