spiny purple worms and hair algea...

[CLUELESSBIOCUBE29]

I have these long purple worms in my tank with spines (the look like pipe cleaners), I'm assuming these are tube worms. Should I take them out when I see them and is there any critters that are known to feed on them?

what causes hair algea and how can I get rid of it? I test for nitra/nitri/ammonia/ph every week and all levels are good, but I can't seem to get rid of the hair algea. any ideas?additives?

 

[KidNano]

I just started getting some hair algae as well. Don't have a ton of experience with it and don't want to but for now I've just been taking the rocks out and scrubbing them. It comes off pretty easily. Just don't scrub it in the tank. Don't use additives. I just got a phosban reactor as well to control phosphates. there are a ton of other factors that contribute to algae besides what you listed.

Good luck and I don't really know anything about those worms but they don't sound like they're any of the bad kinds I've heard of.

This is a good link for ID

http://melevsreef.com/id/
and here is another
http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm

 

[CLUELESSBIOCUBE29]

bristle worms.

I did a little research and it appears that the worms I have are actually beneficial as they will eat leftover foods much like snails/hermits. it seems that as long as they are the purple/pink kind (mine are almost neon purple when when the lights are off) and not red/black they are harmless to fish/corals and actually quite beneficial. Many people say that the spines can easily stick you like glass if you handle a rock with one of them on it so it looks like I need a good pair of gloves now for meessing with my tank.

 

[Torch Jockey]

If the worms are red and come out during the day they are the one type of coral eating bristle worm called FIRE WORMS!
Any other bristle worms that are to skiddish to come out during the day or hide when you turn on the lights are probably good. As far as hair algea goes cut down on feeding and make sure your not lighting more than 12 hours a day some would even say 10. Keep the water your food is frozen in out of the tank at all cost its full of phosphates.

 

[Torch Jockey]

test 4 phosphate

 

[CLUELESSBIOCUBE29]

bristleworms.

yes, they are purple and almost never come out during the day. they come out and about only when the main lights are off and only the purple led's are on in my cube. they are pretty skiddish and hide when they notice I'm looking at them. so far I only have mushrooms in my tank and they don't seem to bother them (my hermit crabs on the other try to walk on them and piss them off). I picked out a nice rock with three heads of zoas today at the lfs and plan to buy them in the next few days. hopefully these purple worms don't bother them.

it's like a whole new world in my tank when the lights go off. so far I've discovered a small starfish, this weird snail that has long antennas and drags a puddle of slime behind it among other things randomly popping in and out of rocks.