Christmas worm extraction

[Ebn]

Let's preface with the fact that Christmas tree worms are some of the coolest around, but most colonies do not have a high count. Couple that with the fact that my tank is ultra small and you can kind of get an idea of what I'm trying to do.

 

I'm interested in extracting worms from the colonies by dremeling the area around them and maybe use a chisel to make a clean cut all the way through (most colonies are pretty thick). The SPS that they're associated with will then be pieced back together with the worms to form a smaller tighter colony and the other pieces of it which are leftover will be donated to others.

 

Now to the questions:

1) Has anyone tried this?

2) Feasible or not?

3) How deep are the holes used by Christmas tree worms?

[Rene]

It's funny you should mention that...I've wanted to do the same thing for a long time. An atlantic christmas tree worm growing on rubble fell into my lap recently, and looking at the tube growth, I'm sorta glad I didn't try it. The tube has a swirling growth pattern, I would be -very- concerned about accidentally cutting into a worm when trying to remove it. Not saying it can't be done, just that it'd take a braver person than I and with a better grasp of power tools to want to try it. This tube goes left, right, and curls like a spring. I think it would be almost impossible to tell from looking at the outside of the sps which way the tube is growing inside the coral. It could be growing straight down or at right angles to the surface.

 

FWIW, my worm is the larger atlantis subspecies and the crown is about an inch across. The tube for the worm is about as thick around as a pencil, and about 4" long. It swirls side to side over about 3". I know the indo ones are much smaller, but maybe that will give you an idea of scale.

 

HTH!

[travisurfer]

These guys are awesome. This may seem like a good idea but based on the tube size in rene's post and the sensitivity of porites in general, I wouldn't try it.

[dshnarw]

I have a bunch of the smaller ones, and their tubes are extremely long (completely through a 3'' thick rock). They also seem to "swirl" as they grow. About half the diameter of a pencil.

 

I wish there were a good technique to break them up a bit - the rock doesn't fit in well with my tank, but they're pretty cool little buggers.

[Isodore]

Quick question and sorry for my ignorance but I would really like to get a christmas tre rock and I saw someone mention sps. Are these animals worms or are they a sps type coral? Any information on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. (btw sorry for hijacking the thread)

[travisurfer]

They are worms like feather dusters but form a symbiotic pair with certain species of sps. In most cases this is porites. So, you have to be able to meet the demand of the sps and the worm. HTH.

[Isodore]

They are worms like feather dusters but form a symbiotic pair with certain species of sps. In most cases this is porites. So, you have to be able to meet the demand of the sps and the worm. HTH.

 

 

I have a biocube29 with the 4.36 upgrade would this be enough light?

[Ebn]

Good info guys/gals! I might have a rock land in my lap so I'll consider it when that happens.

[Isodore]

Good info guys/gals! I might have a rock land in my lap so I'll consider it when that happens.

 

Good luck Ebn I hope it happens for you!!!! Keep us updated on all the happenings.

[FUGU!!!]

my LFS did this.They let the coral die (portie's) and they used the rock underneath.

 

You could also let the coral grow out and let the CTW's breed and spread onto the new rock.They breed quite readily actually if you have a well established system.