help worms eating my coral!!!!!

Prozium · 11/18/2009, 07:27 AM

OK so my favorite coral in dieing because it looks like it is being eaten by worms! I saw 1 red/orange bristle worm come out from inside the coral(I was in panic mode at this point) and a gray-ish looking worm pop up and what looks like its eating the coral. It all happened yesterday it went from healthy great looking coral to "please help me!!" some time from yesterday morning to the evening.

tank is a 29g nano cube with a 96w 50/50 bulb in it, hasn't been up for too long, only has 1 yellow bellied damsel in it.

pic's of before and after....

LeslieH · 11/18/2009, 10:42 AM

99% of the worms that pop up in tanks are detritivores, scavengers, filter-feeders, & micro-predators. They're not predators of live corals. If your coral is having problems the scavengers will be attracted to necrotic or injured tissue. It may look like they're the problem but they're not - it's something else. If you can get a decent pic of the worms I can confirm if they're harmless or not. Have you posted in the appropriate coral section? Someone there can help with parameters or other possibilities.

Sk8r · 11/18/2009, 10:43 AM

THe likelihood is that your coral is dying from some other cause (alkalinity, lighting, etc) and the worms are actually keeping it alive by cleaning up dead tissue. Check your chemistry. I very much doubt it's the worms fault.

Prozium · 11/20/2009, 10:59 PM

I think I found the problem the heater was turned down to almost the lowest setting.....(I don't know who did it but my whole house got a talking to) I turned it back up and the coral opened back up today.

here's 2 pics of the other worm (best I could get with my camera)

edit BTW what is the coral called (came on some live rock I bought, and I haven't been able to find it online yet)

Copperhead1 · 11/20/2009, 11:25 PM

Looks like GSP(green star polyps)

nvdiz · 11/20/2009, 11:32 PM

kinda hard to tell what worm it is in the pics, but i agree with the others. the worm isnt causing problems

11/18/2009, 10:42 AM	#2
LeslieH Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 3,178	99% of the worms that pop up in tanks are detritivores, scavengers, filter-feeders, & micro-predators. They're not predators of live corals. If your coral is having problems the scavengers will be attracted to necrotic or injured tissue. It may look like they're the problem but they're not - it's something else. If you can get a decent pic of the worms I can confirm if they're harmless or not. Have you posted in the appropriate coral section? Someone there can help with parameters or other possibilities. __________________ Cheers, Leslie So many worms, so little time... Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

11/18/2009, 10:43 AM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	THe likelihood is that your coral is dying from some other cause (alkalinity, lighting, etc) and the worms are actually keeping it alive by cleaning up dead tissue. Check your chemistry. I very much doubt it's the worms fault. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

11/20/2009, 11:25 PM	#5
Copperhead1 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: kearney Posts: 64	Looks like GSP(green star polyps)

11/20/2009, 11:32 PM	#6
nvdiz Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Skokie Posts: 1,345	kinda hard to tell what worm it is in the pics, but i agree with the others. the worm isnt causing problems