Help! Live Rock And Bristle Worms!!

So I purchased some live rock from someone online and one of the rocks is infested with bristle worms. I have pulled six worms out of the tank today and I finally decided to take out the piece of live rock that I found all of them on or around. The rock also smells pretty bad and has this purplish goo covering the back side of it. I'm wondering if this piece of rock is a lost cause and if not, can I rinse it off with regular water and put it back in the tank? Also, by removing this rock, which is probably 5-7 lbs, am I going to disrupt my new tank cycle?

 

Does the purple goo come off easy? If so, most likely cyanobacteria. Usually present in nutrient rich systems and something you don't want in your tank.

Bristleworms. Some people say they aren't a problem, some say they are. I kind of consider them part of my CUC.

 

In my opinion bristle worms are not all that bad, unless they reach plague proportions and if they do reach large proportions you likely have other more important underlying issues. Many tanks have them and the small worms are harmless, eating detritus mostly. If you start seeing negative effects then maybe get a natural predator like a small wrasse.

If you're not sure what the purple goo is then you can rinse the rock off with some water taken from the tank (in a 5 gallon bucket or similar) and then put the rock back in the tank.

 

Now the number is up to 11 and I have removed that one rock that is infested with them. Some of the worms were up to two inches long.The rock I purchased online came from an established aquarium over 5 years.... it has a lot of algae on it and it smells pretty bad today. Do I need to put it back in my tank? It was my largest rock and again I am week 2 into cyclcing.

 

I would put it back in. When your tank is done cycling you could get a six line wrasse or white belly wrasse to take care of those worms for you.

 

OK I put the rock back in I got out about 20 of them... I attached a picture

 

I bet there are quite a few more still in the rock. Today I saw 4 of them poking their heads out. I hope they are good for the cycle. I will get some wrasses once everything is in order.