- Location
- Highland lakes, Nj
anyone on here had any dealing with xmas tree worms? i heard that there very hard to keep, and when they die they create a crazy amonia spike.
any info would be great
any info would be great
Xmas tree worms
- Thread starter BILBO913
- Start date
I would suggest taking ALOT of pics, when you first get it...to remember them by!
I haven't tried them, in years, but previously, had no luck with them.
.
I haven't tried them, in years, but previously, had no luck with them.
.
- Location
- Highland lakes, Nj
yeah thats what i thought not that im in the market for them just thought they were really pretty
I have had mine for 6 months. I have not noticed any change int the worms, but the coral has died off, and then regrown(was in my fuge for 4 months, with weak lighting, then moved to display, under MH).
As I said, I have not noticed any change, but often it is hard to notice change when observed everyday.
As I said, I have not noticed any change, but often it is hard to notice change when observed everyday.
I've had them as well and they did pretty well for a couple of months. I believe the downfall with them is that once their host coral begins to die the kinda go along with them, at least that's what happened to me. Beautiful piece though, it's my mom's favorite LOL
- Location
- Wheatley Heights, NY (long island)
They usually does not live long, but when they did the water quality does not change. I been lucky, I been feeding the worms a lot and give the coral a lot of light.
Chris Jury
Experienced Reefer
- Location
- Kaneohe, HI
They're very challenging to keep because they need plenty of relatively small plankton. They probably eat some phytoplankton, but probably also need a fair amount of somewhat larger (but still microscopic) plankton/pseudoplankton. I wouldn't consider them at all if there aren't a lot of suspension feeders (feather duster worms, sponges, forams, etc.) that have already sprung up and are growing well in the tank. If these sorts of live rock hitchhikers are doing well, chances are better that Christmas tree worms might have a shot. Hence, only an established tank that gets fed well with planktonic foods would have a shot of keeping them alive.
To date I've tried my hand at keeping Christmas tree worms exactly once. I decided to give it a go by buying a Porites with many worms in it almost two years ago. Out of maybe a dozen or so starting out two years ago a couple have died, but most of them seem to be doing very well still (they have clearly grown). The Porites that they came in is doing great and has grown a lot. This coral has been in my girlfriend's care for a while now. The tanks where they've been housed have always been fed well, including with phytoplankton and other planktonic foods (while maintaining good water quality though!). The worms don't actually gain any particular benefit from the coral besides a place to live. However, the coral is pretty easy to keep and grow relative to the Christmas tree worms, IME, so if conditions in the tank aren't sufficient to keep the coral happy, they may not work well for worms either.
So, I think it is possible to keep these animals happy and healthy in captivity, but it isn't easy and requires a mature, established system that 1) can tolerate significant food inputs and 2) generates some of it's own plankton that they can eat, IME. Simply put, they aren't going to survive in most tanks. It will take them a few months to starve to death, whereas in nature most species live on the order of 10-40 yrs.
To date I've tried my hand at keeping Christmas tree worms exactly once. I decided to give it a go by buying a Porites with many worms in it almost two years ago. Out of maybe a dozen or so starting out two years ago a couple have died, but most of them seem to be doing very well still (they have clearly grown). The Porites that they came in is doing great and has grown a lot. This coral has been in my girlfriend's care for a while now. The tanks where they've been housed have always been fed well, including with phytoplankton and other planktonic foods (while maintaining good water quality though!). The worms don't actually gain any particular benefit from the coral besides a place to live. However, the coral is pretty easy to keep and grow relative to the Christmas tree worms, IME, so if conditions in the tank aren't sufficient to keep the coral happy, they may not work well for worms either.
So, I think it is possible to keep these animals happy and healthy in captivity, but it isn't easy and requires a mature, established system that 1) can tolerate significant food inputs and 2) generates some of it's own plankton that they can eat, IME. Simply put, they aren't going to survive in most tanks. It will take them a few months to starve to death, whereas in nature most species live on the order of 10-40 yrs.
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