Christmas Tree Worm Feeding

Christmas tree worms are ciliary feeders which means they use cilia tiny hair like bristles on their appendages to catch food as it passes by.

Christmas tree worm feeding. Their body is usually hidden inside its tube until the spiral christmas tree shaped crown projects from the burrow to feed. The christmas tree worm feeds by trapping plankton and other small particles on their plumes. The food then passes down a groove pushed by their ciliary tracts which are lines of tiny hair like extensions on the sources of cells that create water currents to direct digestion.

As sedentary inhabitants of coral reefs christmas tree worms feed primarily by filter feeding. Cylindrica limited edition mike paletta s purple porites and amethyst porites p. Christmas tree worms are typical sedentary filter feeders which strain food out of the water column by circulating it through its system.

Christmas tree worm reproduction although it might be hard to tell by just looking at them there are actually male and female christmas tree worms. The christmas tree worm is purely a filter feeding species whose diet should consist of plankton foods in the currents and should be supplemented with liquid plankton based foods. Giganteus is no exception.

Cilia then pass the food to the worm s mouth. They use their brightly colored radioles to filter microorganisms from the water which are then deposited straight into the worm s digestive tract. Just in time for the season the christmas tree worm aquarium is our version of a xmas tree but instead of having one tree there s about a hundred colorful worms.

What to feed tropical fish fry livebearers and egglayers. Christmas tree worm rock boulder coral plating jewel coral jeweled finger coral and porites coral. Since it is purely a filter feeder the diet of the christmas tree worm should be supplemented with liquid plankton based foods.

The christmas tree worm is normally shipped with several individuals attached to a small peice of live rock or rubble. The crown contains multiple radioles which have fan like cilia branches. Few organisms are known to feed on tube borne polychaetes and s.