New tank (w/o fish) & micro feather duster bloom

[Rechelle Fleck]

I recently purchased a BioCube tank from my neighbor. She did not have fish in the tank but did have live rock and kept the lunar light on most of the time due to the due to the fact that she didn't have anything in the tank. She had previously just kept only crabs, shrimp and snails in the tank.

When I got the tank home I did a 75% water change, added live sand, and beneficial bacteria. The salinity is optimal level right now and I have recently noticed an explosion of micro feather dusters. I also saw a clear tube worm of sorts feeding from the rocks as well. My question is will these "micro" feather dusters get bigger and should I keep them under control? I have heard that the Wrasse can help clean them up but I don't want to completely eliminate all of them as they are filter feeders.

 

[PDR]

I recently purchased a BioCube tank from my neighbor. She did not have fish in the tank but did have live rock and kept the lunar light on most of the time due to the due to the fact that she didn't have anything in the tank. She had previously just kept only crabs, shrimp and snails in the tank.

When I got the tank home I did a 75% water change, added live sand, and beneficial bacteria. The salinity is optimal level right now and I have recently noticed an explosion of micro feather dusters. I also saw a clear tube worm of sorts feeding from the rocks as well. My question is will these "micro" feather dusters get bigger and should I keep them under control? I have heard that the Wrasse can help clean them up but I don't want to completely eliminate all of them as they are filter feeders.

They are most likely spirorbid worms and will not get bigger. They usually disappear later on. A picture would help determine for sure.

 

[Rechelle Fleck]

They are not curled like the spirorbid but have a straight tube (that is brownish in color not white) like a feather duster would.

 

[James M]

Pictures

 

[Rechelle Fleck]

They are super tiny but here is my best attempt at a pic .

 

[Ron Reefman]

My old 120g tank had hundreds of them. But my rock was up off the sand on an egg crate platform and 95% of these little feather dusters were in the shadows under the rock (growing upside down off the rock or egg crate and out of the sand growing up). They never got bigger and they are filter feeders, so they help keep your water clean. I even pulled some out of the sand when I shut down that tank and moved them to my current 40g cube. Six months later they are still alive, but they have not increased in population (yet). I consider them beneficial and useful part of the Clean up crew.

Congratulations!