Candy cane worms? Help?

[~RuSh~]

Saw some small white wormy looking things on my Candy cane this morning.... I don't know if they are harmful or not, but it looked as though they were going inside or coming out of the tissue of one of the heads..... I am definitely a bit worried about this and I'm wondering if anyone has seen something similar? I think I'm going to order some Coral Rx asap...... Ugh, just makes me sick thinking about a parasite on my CC.

 

[halcyonism]

Are you sure it wasn't the feeder tentacles?

 

[~RuSh~]

Yes. They were coming out from the side of the head. The feeder tentacles seem to come from the center and are more clear. These were more solid white and very thin, small, almost looked like a brittle star but was inside the tissue.

I'll try and get some pics tonight if I can.

 

[SUGO]

I have the same exact issue. I only notice it when I'm feeding the tank. It's really thin with a smooth body. It's made it's home just below the trumpet. I've yet to dip since I haven't noticed any harmful effects.

Hopefully someone can shed some light on this...

 

[ssavader]

My best guess based on your description would be some type of spaghetti worm that has attached itself to or burrowed into the skeleton of the coral. The white hair like waving tentacle is what the worm uses to collect food. They are considered to be harmless but if you want to remove it, inspect the coral skeleton carefully for a tube-like structure or a burrow (hole) in the skeleton. The tube can most likely be scraped off, a burrow can be plugged with epoxy.

 

[~RuSh~]

Just an update. This past weekend I saw the worms again and again. One of the heads on my colony is almost dead, and a few others are collapsed. I decided something needed to be done so Friday night I did a short fresh water dip. I didn't know what else to do. Since then, the heads have stayed pretty small, they are irritated I'm sure, but I haven't seen the worms since then.

This morning when I woke up, one of the heads that hasn't been infected had the molt of one of my peppermint shrimp in it. It's eating, which is a good sign I think.

I do have pictures... I snapped some of the worm, but it was at night and I had to use the flash so I'm not sure of the quality. At the least I'll post some pics up to show you how it looks now, and what it used to look like. Hopefully I've got it under control. If not, I have some Coral Rx on the way.

 

[SUGO]

Thanks for the update. Hope this works.

 

[~RuSh~]

PICS:

The first two are of the worm itself. It's hard to see, but you can sort of make out it's body in the first pic. It's on the head in the center. Three on the left, three on the right, and the one in the center at the bottom part of the tissue. It kind of just looks like part of the head because its white, but that is the worm.

The next few pics are after the dip. I took RODI water and dipped it into a bucket. I didn't see the worm come out of the heads, but I didn't know what else I could do and I didn't want to keep them in the fresh water too long either...

And these pics are from yesterday and today. As you can see, the heads that were not infected seem to be recovering. Some of the smaller heads are probably still feeling the effects of the dip a bit but I think they will come around. The smallest head that was bleached still hasn't come around. I think I may have lost that one.

Thanks for following along. Any tips, recommendations are certainly welcome.