What's up with feather dusters?

[oli5]

Hi everyone, my LFS is having this great deal on feather dusters. My problem, I don't know much about them. Are they related to cucumbers so that if they die or if they're stressed they will release a toxin in my tank? Do you need an established tank? Are they hard to take care of? What do they do? Thanks everyone.

 

[LeslieH]

Cucumbers are holothuroids in the phylum Echinodermata. Feather dusters are sabellids or serpulids, class Annelida, phylum Annelida. They're not toxic if they die or get stressed. An established tank would be a very good thing as they eat very fine particulates, dissolved organics, micro-plankton, etc. Dendro982 has a good post with lots of information & links on how to care for them: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1049641&highlight=christmas+tree+worms

 

[AnimaliA]

I do not believe they release any toxins. Feather dusters are actually very easy to keep in an established aquarium as they are filter feeders and require a stable environment. There are some fish that do prey on these delicate creatures, many types of butterflies, for example.

Actually, it is quite normal for several types of smaller feather duster worms to thrive in reef aquariums as they mature. In nature, they help filter plankton and certain types of organics from the water column. In a reef tank, the amount of material they consume is ultimately trivial and their purpose is mostly ornamental.

Hope this helps