To which forum belong the Christmas tree worms?

[dendro982RC]

Sorry, but to which forum belong the Christmas tree worms? Couldn't find the proper place.

Does anybody keep them, any experiences, observations or useful links?

Thanks.

[CHRIS D]

I believe, but am not certain, that they lack zooxanthellae, so you're probably in the right place.
I've never kept them, but again hearsay says they're not the easiest things to keep, they need regular additions of phytoplankton to survive.

HTH

Chris

[yipkm]

I think they are inverts like feather duster worms

[dendro982RC]

I have 6 Christmas tree rocks, the oldest - since Aug 2006. So far, so good, but trying to find the other keepers, willing to share experience. Not much luck yet :)

[suta42]

Hi dendro,

Is your host coral porites? And is the coral itself flourishing?

The reason I ask is that I've heard conflicting reports about the relationship between the worms and the rock. Some people insist that the worms will die if the coral dies. I know from personal experience this is - at the very least - unlikely as I bought the dead coral from a live rock bin. The worms flourished for two years until I stupidly put a copper banded in their tank. I have wanted to try again, but am worried about keeping the coral alive as I want the worms in a low light tank...

What do you think?

cheers:wave:

[dendro982RC]

What light at what distance from the planned coral place?

The lowest light, the usual brown porites Christmas tree rock survived, was for me 54W 6,500K over 10g/38L tank, close to the surface, plus direct sunlight from southern window (1 ft/30 cm from window).

72W PC (10,000K : actinic = 3:1) over the same tank in the same place was the usual, no decline of porites.

Brown porites with different color worms were most durable/hardy, IMHE, but brown porites with wine-red worms (all of the same color) are actually green porites, that changed color.
Still don't know particular requirements of the green porites - they become practically brown under PC in my tank, and in LFS under MH, next to other sps, that are still having original coloration.

I would vote for brown porites - they survived toxic tank crash, that killed other sps - birdsnest and elkhorn. This Christmas tree rock bleached, then recovered in a 2-3 months.
At arrival:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/2XJul18arrival.jpg

Has large worms, than a fine beige porites:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/2XmastreesSizeFeb5_07.jpg

Bleached:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/2XbleachedDec14.jpg

Restoring:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/2XJan17_07bleachrecover.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/2XFeb6_07a.jpg

This one is also brown, but low porites polyps, with green centers on a new growth, also very tolerant to the light and conditions, may be even more, than the brown:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/Xmas1Feb07greenish.jpg http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/Xmas1Feb07greenish2.jpg http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/Xmas1Feb07greenish3.jpg

Comparing to the brown:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/Xmas2Feb07vermetid_mollusc2.jpg
and beige porites:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/3XmastreeFeb5_07red.jpg

All 3 together:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/3XmastreesFeb6_07closeup.jpg

Others are: left to the right - green porites, pavona, beige porites:
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Christmas%20tree%20rock/7.jpg
This 3 did much worse, than browns, especially after prolonged high magnesium treatment from bryopsis and few monthes under same wattage MH, in the same time. Returned to PC.

The last of mine is also brown, but with very young worms - doing good in the same conditions (incliding Mg and MH). Young worms grow in size visibly with a good feeding. No such noticeable changes for an adult worms.

If your light is at least as mine, and your tank is able to process 2-3 feedings daily (is it norm or not, but I'm feeding at least so many times daily), and you don't have peppermit shrimp, copperband and other long-nosed fish, including toby puffers, and you can risk the cost of the rock - I would go for it.
Make sure, that the rock has alive Christmas tree worms, showing their crowns, and not a big vermetide snail.

The main problem for me was the size of rock (and next, and next one) - need for a bigger tank, and upgrading the light. And fighting algae (bryopsis) growth on the dead parts of skeleton (beige one, bought it with exposed skeleton parts).

HTH, good luck!

[suta42]

Thaks for the info - will keep it in mind. Now something that may / may not be of use to you about your bryopsis.

Australian hobbyists have had great success with some species of our local trochus. But they need to be reasonably large to begin with and the biggest problem for us has been correct labelling at the LFS. They will however eat your bryopsis.:)

About the worms - have you thought of breeding them? Do you have a dedicated tank available just for them? If so the larvae would have a reasonable chance of settling on an appropriate host without too much threat from other organisms. If you don't mind culturing isocrysis etc it may be worth a try. I don't think you could ever have too many Xmas tree worms;)

cheers

[dendro982RC]

Thanks for the trochus tip, but most of our LFS supplies comes from Indo-Pacific, northerner, than Australia, and Atlantic near US. Currently trying remote deep sand bed (as denitrator) and shading from low Kelvin light - in one tank, darkness and starvation - in another. So far works, but it may return - too early to say.

Young Christmas tree worms:
I'm not breeding them, alas, sun coral only. Although the tank has more, than one colony (but they could be different species), has surfaces to settle, that sun coral larvae favored (the main sun colony is in another tank), but so far - nothing. 4 cm sized feather duster only.

Was lucky for find the small rock with very young worms (smallest - 3 mm wide both crowns, maybe 0.8mm thick tube, total length around 1.2 cm), most of them ~1.5 tube opening. They are very close to each other and there will be a problem, as they grow.

Care for young - safe place, dropping sideways breaks the tubes, and feeding by rotifer sized food (zooplankton and small particles of seafood, 200 micron and less).
Have them few months only, but crowns become slightly larger during this time.