Feather Duster

[FishyReef]

I picked up a feather duster with my latest CUC order and am wondering where optimal placement is for it? Since I don't have a sand bed yet I placed its foot in a crevice in the rock towards the bottom center of my tank. Its an area that gets low to low-moderate flow. I have one of my powerheads on a wavemaker and the tube of the worm doesn't move at all when the wavemaker is off, then gently sways back and forth when the powerhead comes on. I haven't seen it come out of the tube yet since placing it in the tank a few hours ago, but did watch it come out repeatedly during acclimation in the bucket. Do I need to have it in a spot with no flow? Or will it be okay here?

Also, will it get enough food from the left over frozen meaty preparations that I feed my fish? Or do I need to go and pick up live plankton for it?

Thanks!! (pics coming soon :) )

 

[Nanna]

I suggest you do research to find out what you need for the feather duster and the rest of your clean up crew (especially since you don't have a sand bed). You know what you have/don't have in your tank. I would also suggest you do research prior to purchasing anything else for your tank. This will save you money in the long run plus hopefully prevent livestock death.

 

[FishyReef]

Hey Nanna

I actually am pretty good about doing my research before buying anything. My understanding of feather dusters when I purchased mine was that they are filter feeders and should be placed in rubble so that they can anchor themselves. Even if I had a sand bed, I would have still placed it in a crevice because I don't think it would be able to anchor itself in fine sand (hence the "rubble" requirement). My question had more to do with micro adjustments that I could make based on others experiences, not whether my tank could support this critter, which I fully believe it can (otherwise would not have purchased it). There's a lot one can read and information one can obtain online and in books, but also hearing others' personal experiences helps put this information in context and often offers nuggets of advice that a list of care requirements just doesn't provide.

 

[yote]

Placing the duster in a crevice should be fine.But they do need sand and rubble to build their tubes.
It's not so much that they actually have to be placed in rubble.But the sand has to be deep enough to support the weight of the worm and it's tube without putting too much pressure on it.

 

[Nanna]

The reason I suggested you do more research is the fact you are asking questions regarding flow and feeding requirements. I wasn't trying to be rude, if that's how it came across I'm sorry. So many people go out and buy livestock without a clue of how to take care of what they are buying and then wonder why it died. I also blame lfs because they give out so much false information. It is our responsibility to do research before we buy. These are God's creatures and we should do everything in our power to take care of them.

Here is information provided from LiveAquaria.com

QUICK STATS Care Level: Easy Temperament: Peaceful Reef Compatible: Yes Waterflow: Medium Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.023-1.025 Max. Size: 7" Color Form: Orange, Tan Diet: Omnivore Supplements: Calcium, Trace Elements Origin: Hawaii, Indo-Pacific Family: Sabellidae
What do these Quick Stats mean? Click here
overview
The Feather Duster, also known as Giant Feather Duster, has a fan-shaped crown (radiole) that is tan or orange with brown band colorations. The radiole of some species from certain locales may be up to 7 inches in diameter, or of brighter colors. The Feather Duster uses the radiole to filter out small floating organisms, which it directs toward its mouth, located at the center of the crown. It protects its segmented body by secreting a parchment-like tube to cover itself. When it is disturbed, it can quickly pull in its radiole into the tube. If it is severely stressed, it will discard its crown, growing it back later.
The Feather Duster is usually found in the coral rubble at the base of the reef aquarium, with some of the rubble being incorporated into its parchment-like tube. It needs to be housed in a well-established reef system as it is dependent upon plankton for its diet. It is very intolerant of copper-based medications.
Supplemental feeding of phytoplankton and liquid organic foods should be provided.
Looking for the best food to feed your Fan Worms and Feather Dusters? We recommend AlgaGen Acartia tonsa, AlgaGen Pseudodiaptomus pelagicus, AlgaGen Parvocalanus crassirostris, AlgaGen Tangerine Pod, AlgaGen Moina salina, AlgaGen PhycoPure™ Reef Blend, AlgaGen Decap'd Brine™, and AlgaGen Rotifers.

You are right about sharing information with other reefers. It is a great place to gain additional info and clarification of topics. I love this site and come here often. I wish you well with your tank. I do occasionally feed my feather dusters individually with foods designed for filter feeders just to make sure they are getting everything they need to flourish.

 

[FishyReef]

QUICK STATS Care Level: Easy Temperament: Peaceful Reef Compatible: Yes Waterflow: Medium Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.023-1.025 Max. Size: 7" Color Form: Orange, Tan Diet: Omnivore Supplements: Calcium, Trace Elements Origin: Hawaii, Indo-Pacific Family: Sabellidae
What do these Quick Stats mean? Click here
overview
The Feather Duster, also known as Giant Feather Duster, has a fan-shaped crown (radiole) that is tan or orange with brown band colorations. The radiole of some species from certain locales may be up to 7 inches in diameter, or of brighter colors. The Feather Duster uses the radiole to filter out small floating organisms, which it directs toward its mouth, located at the center of the crown. It protects its segmented body by secreting a parchment-like tube to cover itself. When it is disturbed, it can quickly pull in its radiole into the tube. If it is severely stressed, it will discard its crown, growing it back later.
The Feather Duster is usually found in the coral rubble at the base of the reef aquarium, with some of the rubble being incorporated into its parchment-like tube. It needs to be housed in a well-established reef system as it is dependent upon plankton for its diet. It is very intolerant of copper-based medications.
Supplemental feeding of phytoplankton and liquid organic foods should be provided.
Looking for the best food to feed your Fan Worms and Feather Dusters? We recommend AlgaGen Acartia tonsa, AlgaGen Pseudodiaptomus pelagicus, AlgaGen Parvocalanus crassirostris, AlgaGen Tangerine Pod, AlgaGen Moina salina, AlgaGen PhycoPure™ Reef Blend, AlgaGen Decap'd Brine™, and AlgaGen Rotifers.

You are right about sharing information with other reefers. It is a great place to gain additional info and clarification of topics. I love this site and come here often. I wish you well with your tank. I do occasionally feed my feather dusters individually with foods designed for filter feeders just to make sure they are getting everything they need to flourish.

I actually bought my feather duster from live aquaria and was going off of this information provided.

And this is why I get frustrated with the lists of requirements! I know a lot of this is because I'm new, but some things need to be better clarified (which is why I asked here). It says to place it in rubble - okay, what is considered rubble? I don't have crushed coral in my tank (and won't), but I presume "rubble" would be about the same size as crushed coral (which we all know isn't good for reef tanks). So how do I provide it rubble without adding crushed coral? Or is rubble actually smaller than crushed coral, or larger pieces of broken off rock? Need some clarification here! I'm placing sand in my tank soon (had another thread on this) and was planning to go with a fine aragonite - but if I need something more rubbly, then I want to know that now before I buy the wrong thing. And it's an omnivore but needs supplemental feeding - okay, I can do that, no problem - they recommend live brine, but can frozen brine or mysid be used also? If so, then I'm good what what I already have, but if I need to buy live that isn't a problem at all, I just need some clarification! And medium flow - okay, but what does that look like? Gently waving in the wind, flapping in the wind? And does it have to be constant, or is medium flow on a wavemaker where the pump is on for a bit then off for a bit okay? I read it needed medium flow and placed it in an area where it would get what I think is medium flow, but when it wouldn't open I began to wonder if the flow was too high or if it didn't like the variable flow - again, why I came here for clarification. As of now it is getting indirect flow from 2 1250gph powerheads that send water across the top of the tank and the water then flows around the arch and down towards the bottom of the tank where the feather duster is placed, and it will also be getting direct flow from 750gph that is about halfway across the tank towards the top but pointed downwards in the general direction of the feather duster (I didn't have this powerhead on last night because I wanted to give my feather duster time to acclimate to its new surroundings and since I was thinking it was already getting too much flow because it wasn't opening. Saying moderate flow, target feeding with plankton, and rubble is one thing - actually knowing that looks like is another! And yeah, maybe I'm a complete idiot and simply shouldn't buy things for my tank, but its not like I bought a coco worm. The feather duster is an "easy" creature to take care of, I wasn't concerned that I couldn't provide for it, I just want to make sure I'm providing optimally for its needs. I probably should have asked these questions over the weekend while I was waiting for it to be delivered, but honestly I was out of town and didn't think a few days in my tank without rubble would kill it, since my undestanding is they are pretty hardy creatures. But again, maybe I'm just an idiot and shouldn't have got it. I'll think long and hard before posting questions about a new tank inhabitant next time.

 

[FishyReef]

I posted wrong before - the 2 powerheads that I said were 1250gph's are actually 1400gph's - sorry about that!

Sitting and watching my tank now - interestion observation - feather duster comes out of its tube when the powerhead is off, and immediately pulls back in tight when the powerhead comes on (one the 2 1400gph's is on a 6min on/off cycle). I'm going to try putting that powerhead on a consistently on cycle and see if it comes out to determine whether its amount of flow, or variable flow that is causing it to retract into its tube.

I also wonder if 2 1400 gphs is generally too strong for my tank. Thinking I should downgrade at least one of them to something much slower.

 

[FishyReef]

Well, I think my feather duster is just fine - I've watched it come out a few times today. I think its just acclimating still to its surroundings. The hole that I placed it in has quite a bit of rubble at the bottom of it, and I'll just add a few more pieces of broken off rock in there and hope that's good enough.