Do feather dusters release floating babies?

[SuperNerd]

If they do then why and when do they do it?

 

[SuperNerd]

Le bump.

 

[graveyardworm]

I was under the impression that most feather dusters need to release male /female spawn which are fertilized in the water column. Its is possible that some reproduction my occur through fission though, but I dont think this would result in multiple babies.

 

[SuperNerd]

I could have sworn that I've seen a giant hawaiian release what looked like tiny little sausages into the water. When they made contact with a hard surface they would then wiggle around a little bit and then eventually a little crown would pop out and the tube would develop.

 

[graveyardworm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10690605#post10690605 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SuperNerd
I could have sworn that I've seen a giant hawaiian release what looked like tiny little sausages into the water. When they made contact with a hard surface they would then wiggle around a little bit and then eventually a little crown would pop out and the tube would develop.

This happened in your tank? Cause that would be pretty awesome.

 

[SuperNerd]

Yeah. But the little worms never developed past what looked to be dwarf feather dusters. They never got to be very big.

 

[SuperNerd]

bump

 

[Grins]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10690605#post10690605 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SuperNerd
I could have sworn that I've seen a giant hawaiian release what looked like tiny little sausages into the water. When they made contact with a hard surface they would then wiggle around a little bit and then eventually a little crown would pop out and the tube would develop.

Mine does this all the time, and I'm thinking it is poop.

 

[SuperNerd]

Does your poop wiggle and then develop a crown of feathers once it attaches to something?

 

[SuperNerd]

bump

 

[Pea-brain]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10697036#post10697036 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SuperNerd
Does your poop wiggle and then develop a crown of feathers once it attaches to something?

Yes, yes it does:smokin:

 

[laszlo]

I've never witnessed this, but I have hundreds of little red feather dusters that have developed in my fuge. They attached to the glass and have grown bigger over time, so I've guessing that they do release something into the water column for them to get down there.

 

[SuperNerd]

Are they the little ones with the hard tubes?

 

[laszlo]

Yea, most are pretty small, with little bright red feathers. They are covering the walls of the sump. Kinda cool to look at the bigger ones because you can see inside the tubes, since they grew on the side of the glass, kinda like a cutaway of the tubes.

 

[LeslieH]

The little spiral ones with hard tubes & red branchiae (= gills) are spirorbins which are in the polychaete family Serpulidae. The big hawaiian dusters have soft tubes & are in the family Sabellidae.

Some dusters do brood their young until the juveniles reach a certain size.

 

[laszlo]

Thanks Leslie. That's actually pretty interesting, considering all most people see them do is....well......sit there with their pretty feathers on display.