Feather duster care

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

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?

Yeah, generally speaking, feather dusters tend to prefer low to moderate flow - they won't typically do well in high flow.

Specific optimal levels will vary from one species to another and are poorly studied at this point (I've really only seen it studied well with a couple of barnacles and, IIRC, to a lesser degree, a few sponges).

The feather dusters you have probably won't get larger, but the size is dependent on the species, food they get, and their environment (water quality, temperature, possibly even lighting, etc.).

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

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.

Not at all true. Corals consume ammonia.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Not at all true. Corals consume ammonia.

When your cycling a tank, ammonia levels are not trace. They're high, like 1-2ppm. All established tanks always have ammonia, but at very low levels. 1-2ppm is toxic. Say what you want.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

When your cycling a tank, ammonia levels are not trace. They're high, like 1-2ppm. All established tanks always have ammonia, but at very low levels. 1-2ppm is toxic. Say what you want.

Science would beg to differ.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Science would beg to differ.

Prove it then. I am curious and willing to be wrong.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Prove it then. I am curious and willing to be wrong.

Just one of many posts/threads here.

Post in thread 'Is it a myth that tanks need to be cycled for corals?' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...-to-be-cycled-for-corals.984107/post-11348381

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Prove it then. I am curious and willing to be wrong.

Or you can just take it from Jake...

"corals don’t have blood, or red blood cells, and they don’t use hemoglobin to carry oxygen. So the most dangerous mechanism whereby ammonia harms our fish and higher inverts is not one which exists for corals"

Ask Reef Builders #3: How Long Should I Cycle A Reef Tank Before Putting Corals In? | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

You don’t. The short answer is that technically, there is no evidence that you need to cycle an aquarium before putting corals in. Now before you start pulling out your proverbial pitchforks and burn…

reefbuilders.com

 

[BristleWormHater]

@EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal @WalkerLovesTheOcean was talking about feather duster worms

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Just one of many posts/threads here.

Post in thread 'Is it a myth that tanks need to be cycled for corals?' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...-to-be-cycled-for-corals.984107/post-11348381

Okay... but no where does that say that ammonia is toxic to feather dusters? I know that coral is a different animal from fish and dusters, so they can handle ammonia differently. Levels as high as 0.1ppm can damage the duster.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

@EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal @WalkerLovesTheOcean was talking about feather duster worms

Yup, you're right. I think this was all a misunderstanding. Or at least I hope it is.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

ammonia harms our fish and higher inverts

Just seeing this now, but you said it right here too. Feather dusters are a higher invertabrate. Still hoping this was a misunderstanding

 

[shcrimps]

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.

entirely depends on the type
i had a 99% taken down tank on my shelf for a couple months with barely any water no top off no flow no heat and the ones i had in there thrived, they were a soft tube kind
however the small red ones i get are hit or miss
the glowing ones i recently started having seem to be doing well with either invert liquid food or phyto but i don’t really go out of my way for them
love them all

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

entirely depends on the type
i had a 99% taken down tank on my shelf for a couple months with barely any water no top off no flow no heat and the ones i had in there thrived, they were a soft tube kind
however the small red ones i get are hit or miss
the glowing ones i recently started having seem to be doing well with either invert liquid food or phyto but i don’t really go out of my way for them
love them all

Yes, I completely agree that it depends on the type of feather duster worm. Some can definitely be more resilient than others. But, when cycling a tank, let's use Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride for example, it says to mix to 2ppm. That's highly toxic. But not all cycles are like this, and I understand that. Some do not dose that high, in which case the worms could likely survive. But, it won't be trace amounts, so their health will be effected severely, but it may not kill them.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Yes, I completely agree that it depends on the type of feather duster worm. Some can definitely be more resilient than others. But, when cycling a tank, let's use Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride for example, it says to mix to 2ppm. That's highly toxic. But not all cycles are like this, and I understand that. Some do not dose that high, in which case the worms could likely survive. But, it won't be trace amounts, so their health will be effected severely, but it may not kill them.

I have the same ammonia I've settled on dosing 8 drops per day until Saturday. The feather dusters don't seem to mind they all have remained open.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I have the same ammonia I've settled on dosing 8 drops per day until Saturday. The feather dusters don't seem to mind they all have remained open.

How big is your tank? Plus you usually only dose ammonia once when cycling your tank.

 

[BristleWormHater]

How big is your tank? Plus you usually only dose ammonia once when cycling your tank.

25 gallons

 

[BristleWormHater]

How big is your tank? Plus you usually only dose ammonia once when cycling your tank.

I also did a water test this morning the ammonia was back to 0 and nitrites and nitrates had increased

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

25 gallons

If you're using Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride, you're supposed to dose 100 drops for that tank, so what you're dosing is very low causing the ammonia levels to stay very low. If I did the math right, 0.16ppm. That's still negatively affecting them, but it certainly won't kill them like I have said before.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I also did a water test this morning the ammonia was back to 0 and nitrites and nitrates had increased

Then I would definitely stop dosing ammonia. Wait for nitrites to decrease, then get your first hardy fish.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Then I would definitely stop dosing ammonia. Wait for nitrites to decrease, then get your first hardy fish.

Ok the nitrites were 1.0 how long will that take to turn to nitrate?