Can I get confirmation this is a feather duster

[Karen00]

Hello fellow saltines,

After having this frag for about five months I'm just discovering this guy today. The tube is under the frag and wrapped around the frag stem. The tube was there when I got the frag but it was really small and thin and I kept breaking it off. After all this time I'm only seeing what looks like a feather duster now. Actually a double headed feather duster. There is one coming out of both ends (seen on the left and right of the pic). It seems like the same tube. Is that normal?

Can I get confirmation this is a feather duster and not a vermetid snail? It looks like a Sabella pavonina from pics I've seen. If this is a feather duster can they become a plague that I have to be concerned about?

 

[AFHokie]

Feather duster. Definitely not a vermetid.

 

[BranchingHammer]

yep, definitely a feather duster.

 

[Dreminon]

yep feather duster

 

[mdb_talon]

yes it is and common. They do spread and in some scenarios can get a whole lot of them, but in my experience they normally stay in areas of lower light. They also in my experience rarely grow in coral themselves (unlike vermiteds) and also dont release the "web" crap that irritates coral like vermiteds. I never consider them an issue and leave them be personally.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like a tube worm with fan used for feeding. Can you post pic under wite lighting? It is quite blue to confirm

 

[Karen00]

Thank you so much! Admittedly I kind of freaked at first thinking it was a vermetid but then I really looked at it and from pics I've seen on here I was fairly certain it was a feather duster but definitely wanted confirmation from folks with experience. I'm quite excited to have this doubled headed little guy. They definitely don't like the light. This frag isn't attached yet and when I turned it over so it was in direct light they darted back into their tube. I had to put it back in the shade to snap that pic.

I will be keeping him.

 

[Karen00]

Looks like a tube worm with fan used for feeding. Can you post pic under wite lighting? It is quite blue to confirm

Sure. I can do that. My whites are going down which is why it's bluer. I will post a pic momentarily. They are seriously sensitive to movement. I just moved in front of the tank and one of the heads darted back into the tube. Holy cow, that was crazy to watch.

 

[Karen00]

@vetteguy53081 is this white enough? Is a tube worm different from a feather duster?

 

[vetteguy53081]

@vetteguy53081 is this white enough? Is a tube worm different from a feather duster?

Yes- Looks like tube worm with fan used to capture food

 

[Karen00]

Yes- Looks like tube worm with fan used to capture food

Are they good to keep? They're not touching the coral. Ironically it's the first "wildlife" in my tank that hasn't been introduced. LOL

 

[vetteguy53081]

Are they good to keep? They're not touching the coral. Ironically it's the first "wildlife" in my tank that hasn't been introduced. LOL

Not bad until in numbers. They just steal food from coral

 

[AFHokie]

Are they good to keep? They're not touching the coral. Ironically it's the first "wildlife" in my tank that hasn't been introduced. LOL

Perfectly fine to keep, harmless unless somehow you had a radioactive population explosion and they covered all your coral, preventing them from getting light.

Even vermetids happen and should not cause you to freak out. They can definitely be a nuisance and can sting some coral but others will have zero reaction. They are also pretty easy to get rid of as long as you don’t let them go out of control.

 

[mdb_talon]

@vetteguy53081 is this white enough? Is a tube worm different from a feather duster?

It is a hobbyist name and just semantics. Call them tube worms or feather dusters what you have is a relatively harmless filter feeder that would only rarely be a problem to any coral. Again usually popup in lower light areas. Can rapidly reproduce if tank heavily overfed, but again still rarely an issue.

 

[Karen00]

Whew. Thanks all! I feel much better now. It's exciting to find things that were not purposely introduced (as long as they're not a nasty hitchhiker of course). I feel like I'm enjoying the wilds of the ocean in my 5g little box. LOL

 

[KStatefan]

The ones in my tank have spread to be everywhere. Them and aiptasia are the only things i seem to be good at growing.

 

[Karen00]

The ones in my tank have spread to be everywhere. Them and aiptasia are the only things i seem to be good at growing.

Oh geez. I'm sorry to hear this. :-( Thanks for posting about it. I will keep an eye on these guys to see whether they start to get out of control. Aiptasia is one of those nasty ones that would give me sleepless nights if I discovered them in my tank. I will only go so far in enjoying the diversity of my tank.