Bristle worm CAUGHT eating green mandarin's tail

[spillindillon]

I picked up a mandarin last Sunday. On Tuesday I noticed some notches in its tail. On Wednesday it was worse, so I started searching for ideas.

I came across a single thread that mentioned someone seeing a bristle worm eating their mandarin's tail fin and the mandarin just kind of chillin for a little until it pulled away. That Thursday I was looking for the mandarin, saw him, and also SAW a bristle worm nibbling at its tail. The mandarin pulled away after a little.

I started baiting some traps for the past two night for worms, but it is definitely not enough and not fast enough. His tail is almost completely gone. I am warming up the hospital tank at the moment.

I have had bristle worms for years and mandarins for years, and have never seen this nor heard of it. I guess my question is, do you think this is a curious behavior on behalf of the mandarin or the bristle worms?

Tank is 50 gal, up 2 years, tankmates are two old clowns, banggai cardinal, and starry blenny who I bought along with the mandarin.

 

[spillindillon]

Here he is. Just sitting there while they nibble on what's left of his tail.

I can put him in the hospital tank while I pluck out the worms, but I'm never going to get them all.

 

[Idech]

Poor little guy. Besides the traps, can you get a wrasse ?

 

[exnisstech]

I wonder if something is wrong with the mandarin like fin rot and the worm is eating the dead tissue? I have hundreds of bristle worms but I don't keep slow moving fish like mandarins

 

[Idech]

I wonder if something is wrong with the mandarin like fin rot and the worm is eating the dead tissue? I have hundreds of bristle worms but I don't keep slow moving fish like mandarins

They move really fast, just not very often, lol !

 

[spillindillon]

I wonder if something is wrong with the mandarin like fin rot and the worm is eating the dead tissue? I have hundreds of bristle worms but I don't keep slow moving fish like mandarins

That makes sense, but it was a full and spectacular tail when I got him less than a week ago. Now he's pretty much down to the nub.

 

[Kzang]

That makes sense, but it was a full and spectacular tail when I got him less than a week ago. Now he's pretty much down to the nub.

What other fish are in the tank? Are you sure its not like a fireworm or something like that?

 

[Halal Hotdog]

Any updates on what happened

 

[spillindillon]

After a day or two, the mandarin was never seen again. Then I started catching the bigger bristle worms. I found the easiest way for this was just feed the fish, wait for the worm to come out, and grab em one by one with my fishing pliers. Worked greater. Much better and faster than the overnight traps.

 

[OrionN]

The bristle worms are not the problem in this case, but it is your tank condition. Bristle worm are just eating leftover food. Any fish that can't swim away from a slow worm nipping at the dead tissue on it's tail is a death/near death fish.
It is not the worm that kill the fish but the worm just doing the cleaning up.