Algae growing on my worm, is it killing it?

terahz · 11/17/2009, 05:42 PM

Hi,

My 10G is in the second week of its cycle and my pretty unknown worm is starting to grow hair and I didn't see him out today, so I'm a bit concerned:

At first I thought it is part of the worm, but now it looks too much like the rest of the algae on the rocks.

This is what it looked like about a week ago:

Also, some of the red/orange feathers are turning black...

Do you have any advise for me?

bertoni · 11/17/2009, 07:57 PM

The hair alga won't hurt the animal in the short term, although the cycling process might. In the long term, I'd just prune the alga back so that it doesn't bury the animal.

LeslieH · 11/18/2009, 10:51 AM

Your pretty worm is a polychaete in the family serpulidae. They build calcareous tubes (which is evident in your pic) and some of them have operculums. An operculum is a highly modified branch of the feathery crown which has become plate like or plug like. It's used to block the tube opening when the worm has retracted. Algae commonly grows on these structures. Either the algae will die out at some point or you may get some herbivores to control it and that will take care of the problem.

joeychitwood · 11/18/2009, 11:05 AM

A bigger problem is the proliferation of hair algae in your tank. i have battled it on and off over the years. Do some searching for methods of control, especially the increased magnesium mode.

ANC · 11/18/2009, 11:35 AM

I had a bunch of feather duster worms that came on my LR when I bought it which was nice because as the cylce went along I atleast had something to look at. At the peak of the cycle when I started getting the Hair algae i noticed the worms seemed to disappear. Although I was bummed because i no longer had anything to look at I wasn't to concerned and might I say rightfully so. About a month after the cylce I purchased my first fish and guess what...I can't count how many of those feather duster worms I have in the tank. I asked around on why they seemed to disappear and the best answer I recieved was that some/a majority of the worms probably died but the ones that did survive the cycle reproduced after the fish was added and because of the food that is constantly supplied they thrive. I hope your worm turns around looks really cool.

11/17/2009, 05:42 PM	#1
terahz 1x10^12 Hz Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 1,185	Algae growing on my worm, is it killing it? Hi, My 10G is in the second week of its cycle and my pretty unknown worm is starting to grow hair and I didn't see him out today, so I'm a bit concerned: At first I thought it is part of the worm, but now it looks too much like the rest of the algae on the rocks. This is what it looked like about a week ago: Also, some of the red/orange feathers are turning black... Do you have any advise for me?

11/17/2009, 07:57 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	The hair alga won't hurt the animal in the short term, although the cycling process might. In the long term, I'd just prune the alga back so that it doesn't bury the animal. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/18/2009, 10:51 AM	#3
LeslieH Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 3,178	Your pretty worm is a polychaete in the family serpulidae. They build calcareous tubes (which is evident in your pic) and some of them have operculums. An operculum is a highly modified branch of the feathery crown which has become plate like or plug like. It's used to block the tube opening when the worm has retracted. Algae commonly grows on these structures. Either the algae will die out at some point or you may get some herbivores to control it and that will take care of the problem. __________________ Cheers, Leslie So many worms, so little time... Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

11/18/2009, 11:05 AM	#4
joeychitwood Schrödinger's Mod Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 3,488	A bigger problem is the proliferation of hair algae in your tank. i have battled it on and off over the years. Do some searching for methods of control, especially the increased magnesium mode.

11/18/2009, 11:35 AM	#5
ANC Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Wintersville, OH Posts: 183	I had a bunch of feather duster worms that came on my LR when I bought it which was nice because as the cylce went along I atleast had something to look at. At the peak of the cycle when I started getting the Hair algae i noticed the worms seemed to disappear. Although I was bummed because i no longer had anything to look at I wasn't to concerned and might I say rightfully so. About a month after the cylce I purchased my first fish and guess what...I can't count how many of those feather duster worms I have in the tank. I asked around on why they seemed to disappear and the best answer I recieved was that some/a majority of the worms probably died but the ones that did survive the cycle reproduced after the fish was added and because of the food that is constantly supplied they thrive. I hope your worm turns around looks really cool.