Small Bristle Worm Trap

thingiverse

This is a "small" and "extra small" trap for catching bristle worms in nano tank saltwater home aquariums. If you do not know what a bristle worm is do not Google it unless you want nightmare fuel! All the traps I found online were too big for my nano saltwater tank so I experimented with how small I could make one and have it still be effective. If the inlet is too close to the bait the worms just stay outside while they eat. Too close to the walls and they will escape. The "Small" version was as compact as I could make it and still catch everything. The "extra small" version will better fit in small spaces between rocks but some of the larger worms may not be caught. To use: 1) Cut a chunk of raw shrimp that will fit inside the bait cell. (I buy two or three shirmp from the seafood counter at the grocery store and freeze them) 2) Put the shrimp in the cell. 3) Place the body and the lid separately into your aquarium and close the lid underwater so no air is trapped inside. 4) Place the trap on the floor of your aquarium with the entrance holes close to, or touching a rock. 5) When removing and emptying the trap I find opening it in a small bucket/bowl of fresh tap water to be easiest. The fresh water will kill the worms instantly and help wash them out of the trap. Be careful, even dead bristle worms can really hurt! Notes: Print with 100% infill to avoid trapping air inside the walls. It needs to be solid plastic to sink. Also, I think bristle worms are blind, so color shouldn't matter, but for some reason my white test traps always seemed to be more effective than the black ones. YMMV