Christmas tree worms and other inhabitants (pict. intensive)
- Thread starter dendro982
- Start date
I kept tank with Christmas tree worms in both condigurations: with refugium:
and without one, like here, only without fuge:
Had no influence on survival of the worms or porites. But water should be kept reasonably clean - not plagued by red slime, dinoflagellates, bacterial growth, clogging the LR pores and providing feeding ground for nuisance algae:
What influenced the survival (at least I believe that it did):
1. Few water changes with exposing worms to air. The worm, facing straight up, died. Maybe air was trapped inside the tube, can't say.
2. And another case, when two rocks were too close to each other, when one worm couldn't extend the crown to feed. I hadn't seen it dead, but tube is empty now.
3. Bristle worms are occupying the worms' tubes and tiny crab's hole.
4. Chemicals for eliminating aiptasia may kill worms, if come in direct contact with worms (flow into burrow).
And long-nosed predators, of course. As I had read, the biological means for keeping aiptasia in check, except, nudibranches, are potentially dangerous for feather dusters.
The oldest Christmas tree rock, brown, is a little more than 2 yrs old, lost 2 worms, as I described. Others 1.5 yrs and 1 yr old. Losses only in tank, plagued by bristle worms. What is interesting, they don't bother much young worms (1-2 mm, 1/16" diameter of tubes), only the big ones.
Otherwise, frequent feeding variety of food, what seems to by suitable for the size of worm, seems to be enough for their survival (in my time frame, of course). My personal assumption is 50 microns for young ones, 120 mk for Indo-Pacific, low crowns variety, and 200 mk (um, whatever) for the largest adult Caribbean ones. Both zoo and phytoplankton.
I can't say about died porites and live worms - will the worms die or not. I bought one such rock, but maybe half of year ago, not too much time passed.
Another possibility is the refugium type of the tank, like this with sea apples:
I would like to try this kind of tank for Christmas tree rocks too, but have no place for storing spare tanks with their stands.
Currently, for a month maybe, they are in shallow tank, because dropping them down every time during cleaning doesn't add health to the Xmas rocks:
The simple sump with ASM Mini skimmer (same, as on the photo above) and LR is below. Now tank has much more corals in it.
and without one, like here, only without fuge:
Had no influence on survival of the worms or porites. But water should be kept reasonably clean - not plagued by red slime, dinoflagellates, bacterial growth, clogging the LR pores and providing feeding ground for nuisance algae:
What influenced the survival (at least I believe that it did):
1. Few water changes with exposing worms to air. The worm, facing straight up, died. Maybe air was trapped inside the tube, can't say.
2. And another case, when two rocks were too close to each other, when one worm couldn't extend the crown to feed. I hadn't seen it dead, but tube is empty now.
3. Bristle worms are occupying the worms' tubes and tiny crab's hole.
4. Chemicals for eliminating aiptasia may kill worms, if come in direct contact with worms (flow into burrow).
And long-nosed predators, of course. As I had read, the biological means for keeping aiptasia in check, except, nudibranches, are potentially dangerous for feather dusters.
The oldest Christmas tree rock, brown, is a little more than 2 yrs old, lost 2 worms, as I described. Others 1.5 yrs and 1 yr old. Losses only in tank, plagued by bristle worms. What is interesting, they don't bother much young worms (1-2 mm, 1/16" diameter of tubes), only the big ones.
Otherwise, frequent feeding variety of food, what seems to by suitable for the size of worm, seems to be enough for their survival (in my time frame, of course). My personal assumption is 50 microns for young ones, 120 mk for Indo-Pacific, low crowns variety, and 200 mk (um, whatever) for the largest adult Caribbean ones. Both zoo and phytoplankton.
I can't say about died porites and live worms - will the worms die or not. I bought one such rock, but maybe half of year ago, not too much time passed.
Another possibility is the refugium type of the tank, like this with sea apples:
I would like to try this kind of tank for Christmas tree rocks too, but have no place for storing spare tanks with their stands.
Currently, for a month maybe, they are in shallow tank, because dropping them down every time during cleaning doesn't add health to the Xmas rocks:
The simple sump with ASM Mini skimmer (same, as on the photo above) and LR is below. Now tank has much more corals in it.
tikireefer
Member
Thank you guys for the update and for sharing some of the things you have learned along the way. This is good info for people that may consider keeping Christmas trees worms.
Are you using "Live Phyto" such as DT's or anything like that? And do you target feed these worms or just feed the whole system?
Are you using "Live Phyto" such as DT's or anything like that? And do you target feed these worms or just feed the whole system?
Dried food, and last months - frozen algae paste (Instant Algae TM) and live SS rotifers.
Keeping live food cultures takes time, space and salt. Phyto equipment, unlike rotifers, should be sterilized. Not an option for me. If even Melev's Reef had crashes of phyto culture, I most certainly will have.
But if I could afford it, I would. Live food have may have components, lost in process of preservation.
Don't forget Fauna Marin food, it can be blended in different recipes, targeting different organisms.
Keeping live food cultures takes time, space and salt. Phyto equipment, unlike rotifers, should be sterilized. Not an option for me. If even Melev's Reef had crashes of phyto culture, I most certainly will have.
But if I could afford it, I would. Live food have may have components, lost in process of preservation.
Don't forget Fauna Marin food, it can be blended in different recipes, targeting different organisms.
Crush Coral
New member
I put in a rock with porites and christmas tree worms about a year ago. Porites died a slow death in a cycled but new tank with PC lighting. The worms are still with me after all that.
