Tiny Tube worms

[Paul B]

I just noticed something in my tank that is never discussed. No one thinks of the benefits, or detriments. No one has used these things for any reason that I know of and if your tank is a new one of only a few years you probably don't have any.
What am I talking about? I better write it before I forget as my mind often wanders into the realm of Supermodels, inventions or Jello.
I am talking about tiny tube worms. For some silly reason that is foreign to me, my tank seems very stable. I think a fully grown moose could stumble into my tank after passing out from doing the Macarana and rot in there without having a mini cycle (whatever that is) I am not sure if that is because the bacteria in my tank is so good or that mooses just rot very quickly but I do know that a few years ago, maybe 5 or 10, I forget, I installed an algae trough to control algae cycles in my tank. It worked better than my wildest dreams. Well not all my dreams but you get the picture. That algae trough stopped growing algae a few years ago and now just grows tube worms. The water in it is about 3/4" deep and it is fully covered all the way out of the water with tube worms. Tube worms, brittle stars and amphipods. A tiny tube worm is basically an Electro Lux vacuum cleaner and I am sure they are cleaning the water in some way that it is not just as clean as a "Sham Wow" cloth would clean, but very clean. Could they also possibly be adding something beneficial to the water? I have no idea and I don't have another Moose to test my idea. But as I look at that trough which is fed from my skimmer, the left side is where the water feeds into it. The left side is fully packed with tiny tube worms
(and pieces of Moose) but as I look to the right to where the water exits the through, the tube worms get less to where the water goes back into the tank and there are hardly any tube worms. Like everything else, this is just a theory and also like everything else, the theory is probably wrong or just fantasy. Like the idea that Christie Brinkley is about to come knocking at my door. When I get time I will try to get a picture but in the meantime just picture a trough filled with tube worms (and moose hair) :willis:

 

[Snid]

Paul, you are certainly on to something that I have also thought of frequently and hinted at from time to time. I don't scrub my Live Rock because I don't want to lose the worms, Algae be dammed. Not just because I like the worms and life, but also because they are doing something, something beneficial. They are filter feeders and help purify the water. The fact that they are stronger and more abundant at the beginning part of flow in the trough only proves that they are consuming something and there is more of it at the start of the line. It also proves that a Protein Skimmer is only so effective. Skimming is great, so don't assume it isn't doing something too, it just can't do it all. Partly why I'm working on my DIY Canister Filter, and an Algae Scrubber after that.

I'm working on water cleanliness and purification through as many different approaches as possible (including water changes) so that my system mimics the ocean as much as possible. Water changes = fresh water coming in and out. Skimming = the tide washing to shore. Algae Scrubber = natural algae growth. GFO Canister Filtration = much of what natural reefs have in their massiveness that we can't replicate. Live Rock and the DSB = the biological filtration available in a more natural way, but is limited due to size as well. Power heads = water flow and turbulence like ocean currents and tides that improve gas exchange and move nutrients/waste to where they need to go.

I for one welcome our Tube Worm Overlords for when they take over the Earth.

 

[Paul B]

Hard to get a picture of the trough because there is a light right over it. This is from the side of the algae trough. The hard bodied tube worms are all over the place and I thinned them out yesterday

 

[SnoopNL]

I have a lot of them.
Even in the sump and in the housing of the skimmer they seem to grow.

I leave them in as well.

 

[Paul B]

They are a good sign of health IMO.

 

[DrugMonkeyRX]

I have a ton of these as well...every time i feed the tank theres webs everywhere..then it clears up in about 20 minutes.

 

[frisbee]

I have a ton of these as well...every time i feed the tank theres webs everywhere..then it clears up in about 20 minutes.

These sound more like Vermetid snails, as opposed to your common tube worms.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rs/index.php

 

[DrugMonkeyRX]

These sound more like Vermetid snails, as opposed to your common tube worms.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rs/index.php

i thought it was a worm ..lol whatever you want to call them i have plenty throughout my tank..lol

 

[StirCrayzy]

I like my mini tube worms, they're filter feeders and can only benefit the system. When I ran a canister, I would leave the sponge in it, because it was fully encrusted with the little buggers, and I could hear their tubes breaking if I tried.
But there was no detrital buildup in there either so a quick rinse with WC water was all I gave that area.

Now mine don't look anything like yours, mine are curly and grow wherever the flow will allow.
Your pic is a bit hard on the eyes I can't make out a lot of detail, but I'll try later on a PC.
I'll also try to get a good pic of mine now, they only grow in my sock chamber of the sump, and under the overflow box in the display.
I guess I never really gave them much thought , just some of the critters whose population maintains itself, and I don't bother them for it.

 

[StirCrayzy]

These showed up on my heaters since dec

 

[Snid]

I have many similar ones like that StirCrayzy. They aren't on my heater, but they are on the glass, in my sump, on some of my snails, and on my rocks; except most of mine have red fans.

 

[david42]

These tube worms live around the space my PistolShrimp has dug out.

 

[Paul B]

1:30 this morning I got up and had a thought. Maybe these tube worms also eat paracites. I have no idea, but my tank is never bothered by paracites even if I put ich infested fish in. I also don't have the equipment to see if this is true but it would be a great boon to this hobby if we could find a natural way of eradicating those little pests while accidently making the water healthier. My tank uses a reverse under gravel filter (yes there are such things) and the gravel is loaded with tiny tube worms. The algae trough is also filled with them so the water doesn't have a choice and must flow past millions of these feathery tentacles every day. I would imagine they would be able to remove paracites from the water. It is just a thought so don't hit me with all sorts of scientific theories from scientists who have never owned a fish tank or gone swimming.
I feed clams every day along with some of their associated clam juice and I am sure this helps promote the lives of these worms. They also act to clean the water of any particles. Every day I stir up the substrait a little with a baster looking thing which I am sure also feeds these guys (or girls).
These tube worms are never discussed but may be why older tanks don't have any problems with diseases, mini cycles, algae or bacterial blooms.
Maybe we don't give tube worms enough credit. It's just a thought.
References:
Me

 

[Creekview]

I have zillions of these guys. Have a half dollar sized patch that are bright red. Most of mine came in as hitch hikers on uncured ocean cultured live rock. They have multiplied like crazy. Must have 4-5 different ones of various sizes and colors, including some that are jet black.