Bristle Worms Spawning (Gross)

Aquaman said:
i heard they can eat clams which worries the hell out of me .. but also i heard if you take a nylon stocking and put food in it over night the will eat the food and get stuck in the stocking easy way to rid of them
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Absolutely they're very hard on Clams & snails and bore right thru the shells
 
Just curious Bob, you have actually witnessed a bristleworm boring through a live, healthy clam shell ? I personally have not, so I am just trying to draw a conclusion of myth or fact. The point of my post was to see reactions such as yours, where folks read one post and go holy **** I need to get these worms out NOW! Such as Dave did with an immediate reaction to your post. The more I read through forums you can almost watch the fear in people from one single post, whether it is true or not. I'm not a marine biologist, but have been around bristleworms for 30 years and can honestly say I have never seen them kill a clam, so either I'm lucky or others are very unlucky. If you do a search on bristleworms with clams, you get such a wide range of answers. Most lead back to the fact that the clam may have not been healthy to begin with and the opportunistic worms finished off a dying specimen.

I mean no offense whatsoever! I just wanted to see if anyone had personal, (with their own eyes) proof of a negative impact on a reef tank. Just like any opportunistic organism on this planet, I'm sure if they were hungry enough, a clam resting in sand could become lunch. But at the end of the day, I'd fear crypto or coral munching nudi's before I would a bristleworm. Just my 2 cents though!
 
actually t575 told me he seen it ( actually a coincidence we actually talked for the first time and in the process of b.s.ing he told me the clam story is why I mentiond it ( he said he seen it 5 on his clam) and bob confirmed it so is why im kinda worried
 
Wow, well that is what I was after. I just wonder if something else played a role. Clams can mysteriously die literally overnight, some say due to starving and / or from bacterial infections and then the unlucky owner finds bristles cleaning out the carcass. Maybe they will chime in with more evidence of the actual killing of the clams. Thanks for the response Dave!
 
your so welcome bro .. im worried too I luve my lil clam I want the best for it I had it for 2 years now I will keep an eye on this thread .. hopfully we can decide what best
 
I find it hard to believe that a bristleworm would attack a perfectly healthy clam. The clam must have been already on its way out for the bristleworm to eat it.
 
I have no idea .. I hope your right .. according to t575 he said the clam war good .. he woke up to get water and glanced at the tank(after turning on the lights) and noticed 5 worms munching away ,, he pulled them off and tried to dip the clam but it was too late .. said he had it for 5 years
 
Reeflogic said:
Just curious Bob, you have actually witnessed a bristleworm boring through a live, healthy clam shell ? I personally have not, so I am just trying to draw a conclusion of myth or fact. The point of my post was to see reactions such as yours, where folks read one post and go holy **** I need to get these worms out NOW! Such as Dave did with an immediate reaction to your post. The more I read through forums you can almost watch the fear in people from one single post, whether it is true or not. I'm not a marine biologist, but have been around bristleworms for 30 years and can honestly say I have never seen them kill a clam, so either I'm lucky or others are very unlucky. If you do a search on bristleworms with clams, you get such a wide range of answers. Most lead back to the fact that the clam may have not been healthy to begin with and the opportunistic worms finished off a dying specimen.

I mean no offense whatsoever! I just wanted to see if anyone had personal, (with their own eyes) proof of a negative impact on a reef tank. Just like any opportunistic organism on this planet, I'm sure if they were hungry enough, a clam resting in sand could become lunch. But at the end of the day, I'd fear crypto or coral munching nudi's before I would a bristleworm. Just my 2 cents though!
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YES I have witnessed it with my own eyes and the Clam was a young one about 1.5 -2" poor lil fella
 
I'd like to echo the earlier sentiment that I don't believe that your typical bristleworm will go after a healthy clam.

Small clams have an extremely poor survival rate according to one of my clam books. Survival and growth rates vary a lot from individual to individual, but are impossible to determine by looking at them. Croceas and Maximas are the most sensitive when small. You can have a seemingly healthy clam dead 12 hours later with no warning. Older clams take a little longer to self destruct.

Regardless, bristleworms have a great sense of smell and can detect a dying clam before we can. They are just getting a head start on the inevitable.

- Bryman
 
i feel my self being split in half even as we speak... ) should i remove worms.. or let it ride ... hummmm i dunno yes... no......no..yes... no ahh fuk no comment
 
I know i have hundreds of bristle worms maybe thousands most likely hundreds . They never bothered any of my clams i had five at one time sold all now fish got hungry but i wouldnt worry about bristle worms
 
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