Feather dusters getting out of control...

[iwishtofish]

Does anyone know who eats them? I was hoping my pair of coral banded shrimp would take a liking to them, but I guess they are finding enough to eat elsewhere.

My featherdusters are pretty, but they are starting to pop up everywhere now, and I'm afraid they will irritate the corals.

I am trying not to overfeed the tank, and have cut way back on phytoplankton as I know they munch that up.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Avi]

Don't worry about the fan worms (feather dusters are much larger and have a soft "body".) The small fan worms are filter feeders like the feather dusters and are beneficial to a reef. They'll do no harm to the coral in your reef.

 

[swjim]

I agree with Avi, they are great to have, I would be happy about it.

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks...I do like them, too, but I am afraid they will get overgrown and "tickle" the corals and cause the polyps to close.

Here's a couple months back:

And here's now:

 

[awestruck]

Aw heck, I think that's cool!

 

[mpty]

woah dude those pictures are crispy krunch! i totally love those feather duster thingies. are they like hard to keep? *droooooool*

*is so jealous*

xoxompty

 

[FragMan07]

No, I agree with "iwishtofish"............I myself have about 14 Feather Dusters irritating the tips of my zooanthids and they are rather pesky.

One trick I have tried is tweezing them. You may not get all of the tube as they run pretty deep in the rock, but I consider it like a "haircut" for the feather duster.

They really can be a pain.

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks

They are all over my tank and actually started like this (when my rock was brand new):

Now they are sprouting from the sand bed in colonies that catch the detritus in areas where my flow is less stellar. I have a love/hate relationship with them!

 

[FragMan07]

If I knew how to post pictures in here I would post what mine look like........

Basically they are all sprouting from under the sand bed/base of my rock pretty much the same area. I had to move several zooanthids as a result.

I only trimmed 1-2 that sprouted up in the middle of the rock where there was no chance of moving the zoo's. Trust me, they'll grow back. And yes, eventually when they tickle the edge of your corals, they will close.

 

[stingythingy45]

I have lots as well.
I have to take a picture as well.Some people just can't imagine what hundreds look like.They really don't bother anything,but when I try to vacuum the sandbad a little they clog the tub.I can tell you one thing,a CBS will not even bother with them.There's a big one in my tank and it never deminished my population.I have heard that a Copper Banded Butterfly will wipe out a population in no time.But that's all hear say

 

[Avi]

One more thing I can say, iwishtofish....there's no doubt that it's one healthy reef you have there...congrats!

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks to all who have replied! I guess I'll mostly let nature take its course, but I'll have to pull a few that start overtaking the corals.

FragMan07, get a PhotoBucket account. Upload your pictures to your album, where photobucket will resize them for you if you wish. Then just click on the "image" code below the picture, copy it, and paste it in your RC post where you want your picture to appear.

You can preview your post before sending it to see what it will look like on the forum. And it's free!

 

[hybridgenius]

I would be happy! Those things look NICE.

 

[Kreeger1]

copper banded butterfly will eat them within a day or 2

 

[Vinnie71975]

Be happy you have them they are AWESOME for helping keep water clean and my expert coral guy says NO worries they wont hurt your coral at all!

 

[steri]

Angels eat them. My angel fish only allow large feathers to remain in the tank. They eat any small feather duster they can find!

 

[steri]

I will admit though, if you have a lot of tube worms, that means you have a very good tank. They do well in stable tanks and are a great sign that you are doing everything you should be!

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks again, all. steri, I have a flame angel that doesn't bother them. Does yours?

 

[zotzer]

I have so many that some of my rocks actually look fuzzy. LOL

One of the rocks looks like a giant fuzzy sponge because it's so full of green sponge and tiny feather worms. It's in the back of the tank, out of view.

There is only one place in the tank where they have caused a problem...had to move a colony of zoas that wasn't happy with them. Otherwise, like others have said, I take it as a sign that my tank is happy and healthy.

tracy

 

[Eldouble]

I put a B&W butterfly fish in my tan and he ate almost all of them in a day or two.