Is this a type of feather duster?

[JAWSIII]

These have started popping up all over the DT in the last few weeks. I am pretty sure they are some type of filter feeder so probably overall ok for biodiversity and such. But they are starting to grow even between the Zoas

can someone give a positive ID and also are there natural predators for what ever they are ?
Thanks

 

[Bucs20fan]

Yep those are feather dusters. You have a ton of them, thats pretty cool actually.

 

[Bucs20fan]

Theres lots of fish that will eat them, all butterfly fish will go to town on them. Some angels will eat em. Arrow crabs will clear them out. Triggerfish make short work. Peppermint shrimp will also eat them. Wrasses have been known to eat them as well

 

[Waters]

Definitely fan worms/featherdusters. They will multiple like crazy. I have a couple of Bumblebee Snails that seem to eat them (I have hundreds).

 

[Bfragale]

Harmless filter feeders. I have a ton and I actually like them. I have a six line wrasse that never touches them lol- i even have some where the “fan” is bright Orange. I’ve always thought they were cool. They won’t harm anything, and people generally only get rid of them if they don’t like the way they look. Only ones I get rid of are when they grow inside a frag of zoas- I pluck them off just to make it look better. Some have hard shells/tubes, there are also some with soft shells/tubes. But it’s nothing to be concerned about

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not feather duster
It’s a tube worm which uses the fan to capture food
You want to remove these or end up with a colony of them

 

[JAWSIII]

Thanks for the replies. I have a yellow Corris wrasse and a 6-line wrasse neither of them touch the tube worms. I will try a butterfly fish or maybe an arrow crab Thanks for the input

 

[jabberwock]

Thanks for the replies. I have a yellow Corris wrasse and a 6-line wrasse neither of them touch the tube worms. I will try a butterfly fish or maybe an arrow crab Thanks for the input

Just to point out that the predatory remedies were made under the assumption that they were feather dusters. I don't know if the same recommendations apply to tube worms.

 

[Bfragale]

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

Feather dusters ARE tube worms sometimes called fan worms. Feather duster is the hobby name that usually refers to the larger ones but they are all tube worms technically. (And tube worm is not the scientific name either lol) There’s many different varieties - large and small, different colors, different tube structures. Some only grow in certain coral like “Christmas tree worms” some multiple faster then others.
I’ve heard people say they can bother near by corals but I have never experienced that. I’m my experience they won’t cause any issues but if you don’t like the way they look you can remove them. The soft tube ones are easily plucked off with tweezers. The hard tube one you will need to break it off whatever it’s attached to- you have to get the base to get the worm.
Good luck and happy reefing