Bristleworm ID?

[mharmon]

I've seen a couple of half-inch sized worms that appear to my novice eyes to be bristleworms. After some web research, there seems to be dissenting options on these critters. Some say they are beneficial and some say they are seriously bad news. So when I saw one recently, I siphoned him up and took a couple of photos (excuse the quality). Should I do my best to eradicate these as vermin or view them as more biodiversity? :huh

[Ed]

I usually leave them alone until they get big. They are good detrivores and only cause a problem when you grab a piece of liverock without seeing that a bristleworm is on the bottom side and get a handful of those bristles stuck in your hand. :sick

Not that I would know how that feels.... :innocent

[mharmon]

I usually leave them alone until they get big. They are good detrivores and only cause a problem when you grab a piece of liverock without seeing that a bristleworm is on the bottom side and get a handful of those bristles stuck in your hand. :sick

Not that I would know how that feels.... :innocent

Thanks Ed!

[Thunderkat]

I keep one of the "bad" crabs in my fuge just in case I get large bristle worms. The "bad" crabs view large bristle worms as tasty treats :lol