worms and anemones

[grizzled wolf]

Greeting to all from Canada and a Happy New Year.

Although I am 74 years old I am very much a newbie at the hobby.

I have discovered a couple of worms in my reef (much to my wife's disgust) One is a grey colour about 5 inches long and one has sort of dark bars across the back and is around 4 inches long..question! Are these ok or should I be getting rid of?

The other question sounds so dumb I am afraid to print it out..I bought a small bubble anemone yesterday..this poor thing is attached weakly to some weed and not to a rock...I have temp stuck it to a rock by fastening elastic bands to the weed surrounding it..but I am scared to remove the bands in case it leaves the weed and floats away without fastening itself down. Ok! Ok! I said I was a newbie... :? All suggestions gratefully received...and thank you in advance!

 

[scuba_steve]

Although I am 74 years old I am very much a newbie at the hobby. and the internet to im guessing !!! hehehehe

good to see ya here !! most your age cant or dont even want to learn about the net lolool seee ya can teach old dogs new tricks heheh just kidding )))

as for worms a pic would be good ! or buy the natural reef invert book buy robert fenner

just watch the anemone to make sure it dont get stuck on a ph but if its healthy it will move to a spot it likes best and stay !!

 

[steve-s]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com

have discovered a couple of worms in my reef (much to my wife's disgust) One is a grey colour about 5 inches long and one has sort of dark bars across the back and is around 4 inches long..question! Are these ok or should I be getting rid of?

Sounds like a type of peanut worm. They are completely harmless detrivors and should be left alone. Most worms if not all that you will find will be of some benefit. There are rarely many destructive types save fireworms and the chances of getting those are slim to nil.
You can read more about them here...
Polychaete Annelid Identification, or “You Can Always Tell A Bristle Worm… by Ronald L. Shimek
The Large Worm Turns…by Ronald L. Shimek
The Worms Crawl In…by Ronald L. Shimek

The other question sounds so dumb I am afraid to print it out..I bought a small bubble anemone yesterday..this poor thing is attached weakly to some weed and not to a rock...I have temp stuck it to a rock by fastening elastic bands to the weed surrounding it..but I am scared to remove the bands in case it leaves the weed and floats away without fastening itself down. Ok! Ok! I said I was a newbie... :? All suggestions gratefully received...and thank you in advance!

No dumb questions just stubborn people that refuse to ask and make mistakes in spite of the tools available..

I hope you have temporarily stuck the macro algae to the rock and not the anemone itself. That will damage it for sure. It is quite normal for the anemone to move about once placed in a new setting and you should do nothing really t stop it. The only caustion would be if it is danger of intakes or PH's that could damage it. Make sure all of this type of apparatus is well protected with prefilter sponges. Make sure they aare aquarium safe and not purchased from the hardware store. Most will contain germicides/fungicides that will severly damage the tank.

Could you provide some addition info about the tank? Lights, tank size, age of set up and water parameters...

Cheers
Steve

 

[grizzled wolf]

Thank you for the replies...actually I kinda like the worms glad I don't have to kill them. I tried very hard to only fasten the bands around the algae, hopefully it worked. The anemone looks fine to me, fully open and waving it's hands about..should I turn it loose and hope it finds a place itself or leave it tethered where it is???

Tankwise...I kept a 10gall nano for 14 months and never had a single prob with it..then I inherited this 25gall and I put everything from the nano into the 25. I made sure I placed all the live sand and rock in it and I also introduced a couple more pieces of live rock. Don't ask me why..I just thought "fresh faces etc."

I have lots of light..about 55w the tank has been running for 2 months..all water parameters are go..except for a bit of green on the sides which I keep down by short feeding. I guess I am just lucky so far!!

 

[steve-s]

I tried very hard to only fasten the bands around the algae, hopefully it worked. The anemone looks fine to me, fully open and waving it's hands about..should I turn it loose and hope it finds a place itself or leave it tethered where it is???

As long as the rubberband is not in direct contact with the anemone, leave it be. If the anemone is unhappy, it will move on it's own.

I also introduced a couple more pieces of live rock. Don't ask me why..I just thought "fresh faces etc."

IME, the more the better. No worries there.

I have lots of light..about 55w the tank has been running for 2 months..all water parameters are go..except for a bit of green on the sides which I keep down by short feeding.

To be honest, this is not that much light and can be easily doubled for that size tank. Especially with the needs of a hosting anemone like a BTA (Entacmaea quadricolor). They require very intense lighting with very healthy and stable water parameters. I would suggest adding another 55w PC strip or upgrading to a 2x65w PC instead if affordable. The anemone will fair much better and will also allow you to add more varying types of corals if desired...

How's the salinity?

Cheers
Steve

 

[grizzled wolf]

Ok I can go for more light..I will see what they offer in the shop. I really like the corals and intend to add more so your advice will serve me well.

The salintity might be a just a tad high..but I usually change the water every week so I will just put RO plain in for a start and see if it comes down slowly.

Another thing I wanted to ask you if you don't mind all these questions..I am melting down some plankton into a sort of slurry..I was told that I could feed the anemone this if I syringed it over the top..what do you feel about this Steve?

Thanks a lot, Phil.

 

[jamal-188]

I belive most anemone's will feed on small pieces of meat and are not filter feeders that require plankton. I would try placing small pieces of various meaty food such as krill, shrimp, clams, etc into it's arms. If you do have corals plankton will be a good addition to you tank, just make sure you're not over dosing the tank with it.

 

[steve-s]

The salintity might be a just a tad high..but I usually change the water every week so I will just put RO plain in for a start and see if it comes down slowly.

Best salinity for reef animals is 35 ppt or 1.024-1.025 SG if using a swing arm hydrometer at 80°. Be careful whe adjusting salinity levels not excede more than 0.001/day either way.

Another thing I wanted to ask you if you don't mind all these questions..I am melting down some plankton into a sort of slurry..I was told that I could feed the anemone this if I syringed it over the top..what do you feel about this Steve?

Ask away

I keep several species of anemones and often hear people recommend they feed them. This is often times not good for the anemone and ill advised for most IME. It greatly depends on the circumstances for the feedings. If kept in a tank with "general" feedings for fish or other animals where foods are allowed to free float, the anemone will gain a fair amount of nutrition from the foods it will catch. In the absence of fish and these types of feedings, foods may be fed sparingly a few times a month and only very small (¼") pieces of meaty seafoods. Anemones gain over 80% of their nutritional requirements from the zooxanthellae in it's tissue and only requires a small augmentation of proteins once in a while to thrive and do well.

Feeding to often or too much will usually result in one of two things. A very large anemone or a dead one. Feeding the aemone solid foods actually puts a fair amount of stress on the animal when it needs to expell the wastes. It can quite often cause the anemone to utilize much of it's stored energies allowing them to become sickly and suceptible to ailments as time passes. If continually expelling waste materials, the stress can also lead the loss of mass.

Judge the circumstances of your tank and the possible importance of whether feedings will be a benifit or not. Most often extra targeted feedings will not be needed.

Cheers
Steve

 

[grizzled wolf]

Thank you one and all for the replies...I will follow your generous advice. I am sure my anenome thanks you too. Have a good New Year! Phil.