feather duster overgrowth

[wfuavenger]

i had one or two featherdusters on a piece of liverock that hitchiked about 3 months ago. now they are trying to take over. I dont really feel like picking at the visible ones and removing them, so i bought a racoon butterfly (i know its risky in a reef tank) but all he has eaten is the tiny copepods and amphipods my manderine eats! he has not messed with any of my corals and is always fat. but the worms are still bad...I cannot starve them because it is a reef system and i dose with phytoplankton for my corals/clams. any ideas (besides getting wet pruny fingers)?

 

[Julio]

get a butterly fish and watch them take out in no time.

 

[wfuavenger]

obviously you didnt read my post.

 

[Julio]

I meant a Copper Band

 

[spoon671]

lol

 

[Reefcherie]

If your experience with your Raccoon Butterfly is anything like mine, be prepared for its tastes to change over time. Mine has always eaten prepared foods and has always been fat. He probably waited 2-4 months before it decided to even taste a feather duster - then they all disappeared in short order. The only way I can describe it is that the fish seems to get bored with the same thing after a while, tries something else and then adds that something to its diet. It worked its way through all the Aiptasia and mojano anemones, then moved on to mushrooms and zoanthids, then LPS corals (which I removed). At the one year point, clam mantles were suddenly "discovered" and he had to go. When I moved my clams to their own tank, he went back in to combat the returning Aiptasia. At the two year plus point - one day he sampled SPS coral polyps and literally bit off the tips of an entire colony almost overnight Now some portion of each night is spent trying to coax him into a trap. We've caught nearly every other fish in the tank but him! :hammer: :furious:

Your experience may vary of course....