Feather duster care

[BristleWormHater]

Earlier today I dosed bacteria and noticed 17 tiny feather dusters emerge. They are hitchhikers from the live rock I bought. The tank is brand new (set up Tuesday this week) How can I make sure they survive the cycle, they are still extremely small. I will get pictures on this thread as soon as possible. Thank you in advance!

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

They won't survive the cycle unless they're taken out of the tank. They're sensitive inverts. The hitchhiker ones (at least IME) don't get large like the ones you buy.

 

[BristleWormHater]

They won't survive the cycle unless they're taken out of the tank. They're sensitive inverts. The hitchhiker ones (at least IME) don't get large like the ones you buy.

How should I remove them and where should I keep them?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Earlier today I dosed bacteria and noticed 17 tiny feather dusters emerge. They are hitchhikers from the live rock I bought. The tank is brand new (set up Tuesday this week) How can I make sure they survive the cycle, they are still extremely small. I will get pictures on this thread as soon as possible. Thank you in advance!

What bacteria are you dosing?

For feeding, generally feather dusters want phyto - I haven't looked into the smaller species specifically, but I'd guess they feed on phyto/bacteria like the larger ones (though I may be wrong); I'd recommend specifically Isochrysis galbana [T-Iso], Chaetoceros sp. [and/or Thalassiosira sp.], and Tetraselmis sp. or a blend involving multiple of these. Skeletonema species would be another good choice.

Isochrysis galbana/T-iso and Chaetoceros muelleri have been used in the aquaculture of larger feather duster species, so those would be my first thought to feed.

 

[PotatoPig]

Why you adding bacteria to live rock?

If you have live rock it already has all the bacteria you’ll ever need on it. All you need to do with live rock is let it sit until it processes any ammonia from any die-off during transit. Depending on how you procured and had it transported the die off could be virtually zero.

Are you adding ammonia also?

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

How should I remove them and where should I keep them?

You likely can't, and you shouldn't. Some may survive depending on how far you are in the cycle. If you are dosing ammonia or going too, then they won't survive. If you're done with your cycle and ammonia levels are zero, then they will survive.

 

[BristleWormHater]

What bacteria are you dosing?

For feeding, generally feather dusters want phyto - I haven't looked into the smaller species specifically, but I'd guess they feed on phyto/bacteria like the larger ones (though I may be wrong); I'd recommend specifically Isochrysis galbana [T-Iso], Chaetoceros sp. [and/or Thalassiosira sp.], and Tetraselmis sp. or a blend involving multiple of these. Skeletonema species would be another good choice.

Isochrysis galbana/T-iso and Chaetoceros muelleri have been used in the aquaculture of larger feather duster species, so those would be my first thought to feed.

I didn't dose specifically for them I didn't know they were there. I was dosing Dr. Tim's one and only live nitrifying bacteria and they popped up after about a minute.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Why you adding bacteria to live rock?

If you have live rock it already has all the bacteria you’ll ever need on it. All you need to do with live rock is let it sit until it processes any ammonia from any die-off during transit. Depending on how you procured and had it transported the die off could be virtually zero.

Are you adding ammonia also?

The live rock was never transported it was bought straight from a lfs and put in the tank, does that help? And yes I plan on dosing ammonia but I have not yet.

 

[PotatoPig]

So it came out of a big tank in the LFS where’s it’s been kept wet, and then went straight into your tank?

If so it’s already cycled and there should be no die-off. You do not need to add ammonia to this tank. You’re good to go reefing.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Why you adding bacteria to live rock?

If you have live rock it already has all the bacteria you’ll ever need on it. All you need to do with live rock is let it sit until it processes any ammonia from any die-off during transit. Depending on how you procured and had it transported the die off could be virtually zero.

Are you adding ammonia also?

Also Ive been told you can never have enough bacteria that's why I added more

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

If you're not going to dose ammonia, then they're going to survive. Like @ISpeakForTheSeas said, dose phyto. You can also try taking a turkey baster to the rocks and blowing off detritus (though there my not be much since your tank is new), which they'll likely feed off of too. Good luck.

 

[PotatoPig]

Also Ive been told you can never have enough bacteria that's why I added more

Ah - it won’t hurt, but for a real live rock setup you’re mostly adding glorified food for the system.

IME these little feather dusters are also somewhat resilient and will reproduce and find their niches in your tank. Chances are they’ll take care of themselves once you add livestock.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Ah - it won’t hurt, but for a real live rock setup you’re mostly adding glorified food for the system.

IME these little feather dusters are also somewhat resilient and will reproduce and find their niches in your tank. Chances are they’ll take care of themselves once you add livestock.

Ok thanks!

 

[BristleWormHater]

What bacteria are you dosing?

For feeding, generally feather dusters want phyto - I haven't looked into the smaller species specifically, but I'd guess they feed on phyto/bacteria like the larger ones (though I may be wrong); I'd recommend specifically Isochrysis galbana [T-Iso], Chaetoceros sp. [and/or Thalassiosira sp.], and Tetraselmis sp. or a blend involving multiple of these. Skeletonema species would be another good choice.

Isochrysis galbana/T-iso and Chaetoceros muelleri have been used in the aquaculture of larger feather duster species, so those would be my first thought to feed.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Here’s some photos if they help you identify them. @ISpeakForTheSeas

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Here’s some photos if they help you identify them. @ISpeakForTheSeas

I've still got a lot to learn about feather duster ID, but I don't see an operculum/pseudoperculum, so that narrows it down to Sabellidae species - as mentioned in the quote below, some more info could be useful for an ID:

Sorry, been having to read up on these guys (I don't usually bother trying to ID beyond just recognizing them as feather dusters) - this indicates they don't have a true operculum, and I don't see a pseudoperculum in your pic, so that narrows it down to the taxonomic family Sabellidae.

Does the worm have any eyes on the tentacles there? I don't see any compound eyes, but does it have any eyespots? (They'd look like little, dark dots/tiny balls on the tentacles themselves; they can be hard to see when they're on the dark colored portions of the tentacles - for examples, Figures 2B, 2M, 3B, 13F, 16E, 16I, 21F, and 22F; you can see them in others as well, but they're harder to pick out).

View of <strong>A taxonomic guide to the fanworms (Sabellidae, Annelida) of Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, including new species and new records</strong>

If your worm has eyespots, note as much info as you can about them (things like, do they come in groups, pairs, rows, singularly, etc.; where they're found on the tentacles; how close they are to worm's mouth/body on the tentacle; etc.).

 

[BristleWormHater]

I've still got a lot to learn about feather duster ID, but I don't see an operculum/pseudoperculum, so that narrows it down to Sabellidae species - as mentioned in the quote below, some more info could be useful for an ID:

Thank you! I will try to get some more info for you.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Hey I wanted to come back to this thread and ask a few general questions about feather duster care. What flow level is optimal for feather dusters? @ISpeakForTheSeas @PotatoPig @WalkerLovesTheOcean Also wondering if they will get any bigger?

 

[PotatoPig]

They’re filter feeders so do well when there’s particulate nutrients in the water they can filter out, these can be phyto, tiny pieces of food/fish poop that’s degrading, or even bacteria. If your tank is “alive” - ie you have fish, inverts, etc in there they’ll probably be fine.

I have a bunch of tiny feathers in my sump; where the flow is low and they seem to spread just fine, some have ended up in the DT, also seem to do OK in higher flow.

Some species are overly hardy and can become pests, not a problem I’ve had, but one others have experienced.

 

[BristleWormHater]

They’re filter feeders so do well when there’s particulate nutrients in the water they can filter out, these can be phyto, tiny pieces of food/fish poop that’s degrading, or even bacteria. If your tank is “alive” - ie you have fish, inverts, etc in there they’ll probably be fine.

I have a bunch of tiny feathers in my sump; where the flow is low and they seem to spread just fine, some have ended up in the DT, also seem to do OK in higher flow.

Some species are overly hardy and can become pests, not a problem I’ve had, but one others have experienced.

Thanks again man!