Bristleworms ate my clam

Fishnewb1 · 08-10-2007, 08:36 PM

I have had a Derasa in my tank for about 6mo now and it was doing fine untill today it was all of the way inside of its shell. partly open and there were 3 bristleworms that I got out of the bypasal opening.

I would get a 6-line but i already have a mandarin in my 55 and i would prefer for them to not compete for pods.

what should i do about this problem?

Reefneck · 08-10-2007, 08:44 PM

Bristleworms did not kill your clam! The clam died for whatever reason and the bristleworms did their job and cleaned up. Bristleworms have never harmed other animals but they do get accused of it when found eating what is left of the dying animal.

flamingo · 08-10-2007, 09:02 PM

All you can do is possibly have a smaller predator such as arrow crabs, etc. if your tank can afford it, and manually remove them. I wouldn't solely count anything as a surefire way to rid your tank of them. Just make sure not to harm any while they're in the tank- as they can spread easily when stressed.

They aren't predatory, but an infestation can harm fish if they come in contact. On a few occasions, my seahorse went after a few- thankfully never snicking at it.

leveldrummer · 08-11-2007, 10:25 AM

bristleworms are harmless unless in plague proportions, leave them, they do a wonderful job of cleaning.

if they HAVE in fact reached plague proportions, you can get bristle worm traps in many stores or order them from many places online. and from what ive heard they work pretty good.

Fishnewb1 · 08-11-2007, 05:30 PM

well then i wonder how my clam died...

leveldrummer · 08-11-2007, 06:34 PM

did you notice anything strange before this happened? ever see pinched mantle? or check around the bottom for pyramid snails?

08-10-2007, 08:36 PM	#1
Fishnewb1 Future Marine Biologist Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 394	Bristleworms ate my clam I have had a Derasa in my tank for about 6mo now and it was doing fine untill today it was all of the way inside of its shell. partly open and there were 3 bristleworms that I got out of the bypasal opening. I would get a 6-line but i already have a mandarin in my 55 and i would prefer for them to not compete for pods. what should i do about this problem? __________________ 55g Reef 16g of water.

08-10-2007, 08:44 PM	#2
Reefneck Senior Aquarist Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Near a Coral Reef Age: 47 Posts: 1,351	Bristleworms did not kill your clam! The clam died for whatever reason and the bristleworms did their job and cleaned up. Bristleworms have never harmed other animals but they do get accused of it when found eating what is left of the dying animal. __________________ I wonder how much salt mix I would need to turn our in ground pool into a Reef.

08-10-2007, 09:02 PM	#3
flamingo One Word: Croutons. Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Wisconsin Age: 17 Posts: 1,878	All you can do is possibly have a smaller predator such as arrow crabs, etc. if your tank can afford it, and manually remove them. I wouldn't solely count anything as a surefire way to rid your tank of them. Just make sure not to harm any while they're in the tank- as they can spread easily when stressed. They aren't predatory, but an infestation can harm fish if they come in contact. On a few occasions, my seahorse went after a few- thankfully never snicking at it. __________________ I'm still around from time to time. If you'd like to chat, send me a pm and i'll tell you where to contact me

08-11-2007, 10:25 AM	#4
leveldrummer something like a pimp Join Date: May 2005 Location: atlanta Age: 29 Posts: 1,931	bristleworms are harmless unless in plague proportions, leave them, they do a wonderful job of cleaning. if they HAVE in fact reached plague proportions, you can get bristle worm traps in many stores or order them from many places online. and from what ive heard they work pretty good. __________________ The meek shall inherit the Earth. Big deal. By the time they get it the rest of us will have messed it all up.

08-11-2007, 05:30 PM	#5
Fishnewb1 Future Marine Biologist Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 394	well then i wonder how my clam died... __________________ 55g Reef 16g of water.

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08-11-2007, 06:34 PM	#6
leveldrummer something like a pimp Join Date: May 2005 Location: atlanta Age: 29 Posts: 1,931	did you notice anything strange before this happened? ever see pinched mantle? or check around the bottom for pyramid snails? __________________ The meek shall inherit the Earth. Big deal. By the time they get it the rest of us will have messed it all up.

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