can I see zooxanthellae?

[gerritmatton]

Hello,

I am new in the aquarium-world. Everybody speaks that lights are important for having "zooxanthellae" so that corals may live/grow. But how do you know if the zooxanthellae are there and if their are enough in the aquarium. And where do they come from?

And I have 1 tubeworm from the caribean and 1 christmas tubeworm, what do they eat? It seems they eat "small food particals" but how do I know their is enough food for them in the water?

GM

[IBMGeek]

Im pretty sure zooxanthellae is not something you have in your tank but rather built in to the coral. Just like plants.

[inwall75]

zooxanthellae is a microscopic dinoflagellate that lives in symbiosis within many of our marine invertebrates. Trust me, you never want so many that you can see them. They are called snot algae and for good reason.....it looks and feels like snot.

[Bruce]

Originally Posted by inwall75

zooxanthellae is a microscopic dinoflagellate that lives in symbiosis within many of our marine invertebrates. Trust me, you never want so many that you can see them. They are called snot algae and for good reason.....it looks and feels like snot.

beat me to it

2+

[coral reefer]

Zooxanthellae can actually be seen as it is what gives many corals their color along with accessory pigments that may be a precursor produced by zooxanthellae to protect the coral and its zooxanthellae from the harmful UV radiation of the sun.

[gerritmatton]

At night I see some transparent/grey "vingers" coming out of my brain-corals. Are those also zooxanthellae?

[IBMGeek]

Most likely feeding tentacle but can also be sweeper tentacles.