A bit of backstory for frame of reference, I started a mixed reef 20g cube 10 months ago and it has actually been going very smoothly. Never had any major issues like pests or bacteria or algae.
A few months ago though, during my normal feeding schedule, I noticed a hairy tentacle extending out from a rock on the sandbed and grabbing small piece of shrimp.
My first major pest I thought! I was actually excited to deal with it! I put some tweezers in to grab him and he immediately retreated to his cave.
Dang, looks like he’ll be harder to deal with than I thought. Time to figure out exactly what I’m dealing with! I came to R2R for an ID and as always you guys never fail to deliver.
Turns out it was a bristle worm! After doing some more research I decided it would be more trouble to try and get him out than it was worth. He became a part of my CUC for better or for worse.
Fast forward to last week, I’m hanging out by the tank around 11pm. The tank lights have been off for a couple of hours by now and what do i notice in the corner of my eye? The Bristle Worm had completely left his cave and was exploring the edge of the glass. I knew I had to act fast! I jumped for my long tweezers and attacked the water like an Osprey.
Got him… I had him clasped in a death grip between the tweezers! I slowly pull him out and put him on the kitchen table to inspect this baby sea monster and see what he looks like up close.
He was ugly, nasty spines and a mouth that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. As tried to figure out how to dispatch him, I watched as he withered and gasped for life desperately opening and closing its mouth hoping for relief. Trying to wiggle is way to safety. The safety he knew in the habitat I provided.
I started to feel pity.
My pity quickly turned into empathy. He wasn’t hurting anything. I realized the only reason I wanted him out was because the world deemed him a pest. I began thinking about my love for this hobby and the responsibility that comes with creating and sustaining a reef, my passion for conservation and taking the good with the bad.
I couldn’t let this sea monster die. As long as his presence is not harming any of his tank mates, he’s just as deserving of a happy life as my most prized corals.
At this point he is still on my kitchen table, slowly dying. Not moving much anymore. I picked him up and he’s barely able to hold himself up. I walked him back to the tank took one last look and put him back next to a rock. It took him a second to recover but he eventually went under the rock.
This whole thing gave me a new respect and love for creatures that may be deemed pests. Obviously not all are equal but maybe we should think about what conservation and reef husbandry means next time we’re about to deal with a pest. Aesthetic perfection should not be paramount to a living creature that is considered undesirable. At the end of the day, our oceans are filled with pests that all have their place in the ecosystem and food chain.
Believe it or not, this experience has made that little Bristle Worm my favorite tank tenant and I’m always excited when he decides to come out and say hello. I have noticed a bunch of other Bristle worms since seeing him and I’m just happy he has friends. If they start to be a problem and harm other tenants, I’ll have to do something, but for now I’m just enjoying their presence.
A few months ago though, during my normal feeding schedule, I noticed a hairy tentacle extending out from a rock on the sandbed and grabbing small piece of shrimp.
My first major pest I thought! I was actually excited to deal with it! I put some tweezers in to grab him and he immediately retreated to his cave.
Dang, looks like he’ll be harder to deal with than I thought. Time to figure out exactly what I’m dealing with! I came to R2R for an ID and as always you guys never fail to deliver.
Turns out it was a bristle worm! After doing some more research I decided it would be more trouble to try and get him out than it was worth. He became a part of my CUC for better or for worse.
Fast forward to last week, I’m hanging out by the tank around 11pm. The tank lights have been off for a couple of hours by now and what do i notice in the corner of my eye? The Bristle Worm had completely left his cave and was exploring the edge of the glass. I knew I had to act fast! I jumped for my long tweezers and attacked the water like an Osprey.
Got him… I had him clasped in a death grip between the tweezers! I slowly pull him out and put him on the kitchen table to inspect this baby sea monster and see what he looks like up close.
He was ugly, nasty spines and a mouth that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. As tried to figure out how to dispatch him, I watched as he withered and gasped for life desperately opening and closing its mouth hoping for relief. Trying to wiggle is way to safety. The safety he knew in the habitat I provided.
I started to feel pity.
My pity quickly turned into empathy. He wasn’t hurting anything. I realized the only reason I wanted him out was because the world deemed him a pest. I began thinking about my love for this hobby and the responsibility that comes with creating and sustaining a reef, my passion for conservation and taking the good with the bad.
I couldn’t let this sea monster die. As long as his presence is not harming any of his tank mates, he’s just as deserving of a happy life as my most prized corals.
At this point he is still on my kitchen table, slowly dying. Not moving much anymore. I picked him up and he’s barely able to hold himself up. I walked him back to the tank took one last look and put him back next to a rock. It took him a second to recover but he eventually went under the rock.
This whole thing gave me a new respect and love for creatures that may be deemed pests. Obviously not all are equal but maybe we should think about what conservation and reef husbandry means next time we’re about to deal with a pest. Aesthetic perfection should not be paramount to a living creature that is considered undesirable. At the end of the day, our oceans are filled with pests that all have their place in the ecosystem and food chain.
Believe it or not, this experience has made that little Bristle Worm my favorite tank tenant and I’m always excited when he decides to come out and say hello. I have noticed a bunch of other Bristle worms since seeing him and I’m just happy he has friends. If they start to be a problem and harm other tenants, I’ll have to do something, but for now I’m just enjoying their presence.
