Coco Worm Emerging Feeding (protula bispiralis/magnifica)

[hollabacknow8557]

i have a question, just started my saltwater tank. I got live rock from a friend abut 80 pounds or more and i didnt notice anything until 2 months later i happened to look at the rock and saw all these colors of baby feathers sticking out of rocks all over my tank.I thank i got about 20 or more of these things all over my tank how in gods name do i feed them, without messing up the nutrients in my tank and causing slime or algae...I love those things but it's way to many im not sure how to feed

[YayHeaven]

@hollabacknow8557 The micro feather dusters will naturally feed on whatever nutrients go into the tank. You shouldn't need to feed them at all. You might have an initial die off and they will return when the conditions allow them to repopulate again after several months. They have a tendency to regulate their population in a closed environment. Hope that helps and best wishes on your tank!

[hollabacknow8557]

@YayHeaven so micro feather dusters stay micro? They dont grow bigger?

[dannyzheng08]

Very nice tank. I restarted my nano reef tank about 4 months ago, and I added a large Christmas trees rock and Coco feather duster, I love them a lot. But I heard Christmas Trees and Coco are not good fit for the long term survivability, say 2 years in tank. I feed them with marinesnow and phytoflex very sparely since I had the red-slime issue when I overfed them. My questions: 1. How long have you your Coco duster? 2. How you feed them? 3. Any long-term survivability issue you are aware of?

[YayHeaven]

@dannyzheng08 Thank you! Wow I have wanted a christmas tree rock! Those worms are so beautiful! The coco duster went I believe 3 years. I target-fed it using live phytoplankton and marine snow. Feed it underneath at the base and not at the tip so the food goes up towards the end of the gills. The food does foul up the tank params, so I know what you mean. (continued...) 

[YayHeaven]

@dannyzheng08 Mainly my issues were trying to find a spot in the tank with a current that it seemed to appreciate and where the lighting didn't cause the inhabiting fish to cast shadows and keep scaring/stressing it. Other than that you may need to keep a close eye on your Calcium/Magnesium supplements so the worms can properly build their tubes. Coralline algae started to encrust onto the tubes and it didn't seem to like to build around that. I think that's all I have. Other questions I'll try!

[wolf3047]

@stevethomas277 It's a Feather Duster Worm

[x2snap]

awesome*

[x2snap]

i like coco worms there awsome

[joeyazzz]

one hungry worm, 3 minutes of epic.

[DameSmiff]

I'll never be able to wash with a body sponge again.... o0

[franciscofagundez]

Beautiful worm. what are those live capepods swimming by? artemia, tigerpods, krill, rotifers. If so, why feed spot feed it.

[YayHeaven]

@franciscofagundez Hi, thank you! The worms require feeding on nutrients and phytoplankton sized about 2 microns. If it can't be seen with a microscope, the food is too big!

[badvegan]

Do you feed phyto? What are you dosing?

[ooLevityoo]

AWESOME!

[Timberwolfanimus]

I must say, that is absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of magma. Its so cool.

[erwannbd]

when I have kids I want them to come out lookin like that!!!

[odst93]

I have a few questions about keeping a coco tube worm.

How much water flow does yours like?

How often do you feed it?

Are they sensitive to strong lighting?

How tolerant are they to less than ideal water conditions?

[YayHeaven]

@odst93 Mine is in a spot that has low-to-moderate flow. I spot-feed it about twice a week. However, I think they do have a preference or at least a tolerance for moderate to strong flow. As long as they can detect and process food to keep them fed well enough I am not sure the flow matters so much.

[YayHeaven]

As for the lighting, it comes out and stays out during the full lighting. It actually does have a preference for lower lighted area. As long as the fish aren't casting shadows when they swim to startle it and the hole isn't facing directly up to the lights it does just fine. Tolerance to less than ideal water conditions...it depends what you mean by this. Having lots of nutrients in the water they'll do really well.

[MapleMahogany]

cool, what is a coco worm, an anenome?

[MLGKarma]

@MapleMahogany No, it's a worm encased in a hard tube. It uses the feather-like crown to catch food drifting in the water column.

[EastFiveCrew]

Cool. Btw what's the name of the song?

[LordoftheReef]

Requiem - Amadeus Mozart

[YayHeaven]

At the end of the video the music title is listed.

It is from Mozart's Requiem. The name of the piece is titled, "Lacrimosa".

[kourosh1234]

love the coco worm i have 1 also but 1 of its legs or tails fell off i think its because of my trigger. you any of you guyz know if itll grow back

[bstmummy]

yes, it will regenerate...had a puffer demolish my hawaiian feather duster and all feathers grew back quickly!

[ss4vegeta100]

wow, that is amazing. how much does a small frag cost ?

[omgtehcolors]

they're actually kinda cheap, i guess. I bought one today for $25..

[Katsafados1]

not a frag lol, its not a coral! Its a worm!

[charzarg]

i like them when they're out, but when they're pushing out of the cone part, it looks weird haha :D

[CunningStunt123]

Wow, beautiful. I went snorkeling over the weekend, and saw a forest of featherdusters ranging in size from golf ball to softball in size. They are stunning creatures. Yours looks very happy.

[garrettscull]

WOW! thats cool

[bstime32]

wow that is quite the specimen you have there.

[YayHeaven]

Thank you! :)

[Staceferg]

I love this! My Coco worm acts so much like yours!!

[YayHeaven]

thank you! I love them!