Are feather dusters worth it?

[Redneck19261]

I have a 13 g tank and was wanting a feather duster but don't know if my tank is big enough. And is it worth having? They look really cool and id love to have one but don't know if it the right choice for the tank

 

[kichimark]

The oldest specimen in my evo (13.5 G) is a feather duster that is about the size of a quarter and lime green in color. I have had him for about 14 years going from a 20G to a 100G then finally in his evo. I am assuming he filter feeds when I clean the glass, feed the tank (the liquid from thawing out frozen foods) and any bacteria in the water column. In your case if you want one I would wait till your tank is mature and probably start off with a smaller one.

 

[Redneck19261]

The oldest specimen in my evo (13.5 G) is a feather duster that is about the size of a quarter and lime green in color. I have had him for about 14 years going from a 20G to a 100G then finally in his evo. I am assuming he filter feeds when I clean the glass, feed the tank (the liquid from thawing out frozen foods) and any bacteria in the water column. In your case if you want one I would wait till your tank is mature and probably start off with a smaller one.

My my tank is about 4 months old and hase been running pretty smoothly so far

 

[SunshineNinja]

I think it also depends on what you already have in your tank... For example I have a file fish which has eaten all the feather dusters I had on my live rock as hitchhikers. So I probably won't be able to keep one with him around. But I agree, they are really cool.

 

[ca1ore]

Feather dusters require an adequate food source and the absence of finned pickers to thrive. If you have small ones in your system already, then the food source is adequate. If none of those are in the display then something is eating them.

 

[Redneck19261]

I think it also depends on what you already have in your tank... For example I have a file fish which has eaten all the feather dusters I had on my live rock as hitchhikers. So I probably won't be able to keep one with him around. But I agree, they are really cool.

I have 2 clowns a cleaner shrimp and a royal gramma

 

[AV8R]

The oldest specimen in my evo (13.5 G) is a feather duster that is about the size of a quarter and lime green in color. I have had him for about 14 years going from a 20G to a 100G then finally in his evo. I am assuming he filter feeds when I clean the glass, feed the tank (the liquid from thawing out frozen foods) and any bacteria in the water column. In your case if you want one I would wait till your tank is mature and probably start off with a smaller one.

You've had a feather duster for 14 years?! Thats amazing! I've been doing a lot of reading on their lifespan and it seems that nobody really knows much about them. The fact that yours is so old, gives me more inspiration that I can keep mine alive that long as well. They are really my favorite things in my tank. Do you have pictures of your feather duster? I would love to see it.