Q. I recently set up a marine aquarium. I bought some live rock from the local pet shop and put it into the tank, now I have some worm looking things that look like millipeds. What are they?
From your Guides, learn about what Bristleworms are, which types are beneficial to your tank as substrate cleaners, how to prevent unwanted infestations, and methods for removal.
A common segmented marine worm that is found in Hawaii as well as other tropical seas worldwide, a very nice close-up shot taken by Debbie of what is named an Orange Fireworm, which is one of many
Eurythoe species bristleworms that usually feeds on detritus and other organic matter, and therefore may be considered a beneficial tank janitor.
A very nice photo of an Hawaiian Lined Fireworm by Keoki and Yuko Stender displayed at About Saltwater Aquariums.
From your Guides, a very simple do-it-yourself aquarium trap design to help catch difficult to capture fish, but that can be easily modified to help remove Bristleworms and Mantis Shrimps as well.
From the Krib, email discussions in a forums format where you can read about Bristle and Fireworms, including how to handle and remove them from your aquarium.
From Rob Toonen's Article Archive at the reefs.org site, Rob profiles misunderstood Bristleworms in great detail, as well as oddities and other "wormy" things that are NOT polychaetes. He also includes a frequently posted questions about polychaetes Q & A section.
From WetWebMedia, Robert Fenners gives his answers to commonly asked questions about Bristle/Fireworms to learn more about them.
From the FINS Fish Photo Index, a snapshot of this worm that can be a real pest in a saltwater aquarium. Use caution with these, they can sting.
From Hawai'i Coral Reef Network's Marine Invertebrates Index, at the top of this Segmented Worms section there is a photo of the stinging Fireworm (
Eurythoe complanata).
From the Krib, email exchanges about using Arrow Crabs as natural predators in your aquarium for removing Bristleworms.
From Robert Metelsky's Simplified Reefkeeping FAQs, Robert replies to an aquarist's questions about how to remove Bristleworms, noting that aside from the bad stinging fireworms, there are benefical reef cleaner types as well.
From Robert Metelsky's Simplified Reef Keeping site, a list of suggested methods for how to remove Brislteworms from your tank.
From Robert Metelsky's Simplified Reef Keeping site, tips for removing crabs, bristleworms, and mantis shrimps from live rock, as well as notes about dealing with some other types of questionable reef life.
This page from Wildlife Safety covers Stone Fish stings, but the suggested hot water first aid method works very well for any type of marine animal stings.
