FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have had my 29 saltwater (with 20 gallon sump) up and running for about a year now. I have about 50 lbs of live rock total in the system. After having the live rock for about 6 months I noticed a single feather duster. I now have at least 7. How do feather dusters reproduce? I really just don't know much about them. Thanks

-Josh

I'll try to get a good picture later if I can...

-Josh

Nobody has answered you yet Josh, I'm kind of curious now too. If you find any info, please share.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

First thing to do is to try and identify your feather duster worms. There are two main Families of such worms, namely the Family Sabellidae (you'll find a list of Genera here]http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Sabellidae.html[/link]) and the Family Serpulidae (again a list of Genera [link=here).

Once you have some idea what kind of worms you have, then you can set about trying to find out howe they reproduce. I suspect that being polychaete worms, they reproduce sexually, and that you had more than one to start with.

The principal difference between them is that Sabellids have a radially symmetrical collection of branching tentacles to collect plankton, while those of the Serpulide are usually (though not always) arranged in a 3-D conical spiral.

Some nice pictures of a social species of Sabellid can be found here.

Most of the feather duster worms that are actually sold specifically for reef aquaria are members of the Genus Sabellastarte - here is a typical example]http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1633[/link]. The other kind, the Serpulid worms, are also sold under the name of "Christmas Tree Worms", and belong to the Genus Spirobranchus - [link=here is an example of one of these.

Incidentally, since Serpulid worms secrete calcareous tubes, they extract calcium from the surrounding seawater for the purpose, and so, you might need to consider topping up your calcium levels by some means if you wish them to continue growing nicely. That's of course if yours are Serpulids.

Serpulids will grow in coral heads and make their home there, while Sabellids will secrete proteinaceous tubes and attach themselves to just about any suitable substrate for the purpose. Some are solitary while others are social.

If your live rock was pre-cured and 'live' in a dealer aquarium before you purchased it, chances are your worms had already made their home in that. Actual reproduction in the aquarium isn't something I've seen documented thus far in any literature source, and so it's time to trawl around various academic institutions for information on their reproduction. Apparently Polychaete worms, unlike their Oligochaete cousins (i.e, the earthworms) have distinct genders (earthworms are hermaphrodites by comparison). The tube worms of the marine aquaria reproduce by teh simple expedient of unloading large quantities of gametes (sperm and egg cells) into the water and hoping that some of the eggs are fertilised. Needless to say, such a strategy is a tad inefficient, and to stand a chance of success, the worms have to spread a LOT of sperm and egg cells around. You would probably know if they did this because the aquarium would turn cloudy with their output!

Quite a few of these worms reproduce by producing special offshoots called Epitokes. These then rise in the water column, and upon arriving close to the water surface, quite literally explode and scatter millions of gametes around. Again, you'd know if this happened, because the Epitokes of some worms are huge - up to a metre long!

I think it's safe to say that your worms were tiny juveniles living in your rock and only made their appearance once they started growing and secreting tubes to live in.





Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Wow, that was a lot of information to digest. I definitely appreciate the knowledge. My feather dusters aren't as colorful as the pictures you have linked. I guess I've always assumed they are feather dusters but maybe they aren't. They create the characteristic parchment-like tube, so I've always just assumed.

Tonight when I get off work I'll post some pictures of the little guys. They are all still tiny (they haven't grown very much). Maybe that's due to the fact I haven't dosed any calcium in the tank, however. I mainly believe they are reproducing because I have ordered two different "lots" of live rock from two different companies.

I have since combined the two lots from the two tanks I had them in and there are feather dusters growing on all the main peices. I'll get some pictures tonight and maybe that'll lead to an answer.

Additionally, would keeping simple corals be harmful to the feather dusters? I might try to add a couple small corals if I get "crazy" in the next week. I've stayed pretty simple since I've started doing the saltwater thing seriously a year ago (I dabbled in it for about a year with just a FO tank).

-Josh

Keeping corals alongside feather duster worms is perfectly possible. The only thing you have to remember is that IF you happen to have one of the Serpulid "Christmas Tree Worms" that make a calcareous tube, you need to keep your calcium levels topped up regularly to satisfy both the worms and the corals. Basically, if your calcium levels are high enough to support coral growth, then they'll be more than adequate for Serpulid worms too. If youhave Sabellid worms that look more like the 'typical' feather duster worms that are sold as invertebrate inmates for the aquarium, then the corals are your only worry calcium wise.

If the tubes look like parchment, and feel relatively soft to the touch, then chances are you don't have Serpulids. As to what else you DO have, well, identifying these critters to species level, unless they're worms that have been bought specifically to add to the aquarium and have been pre-identified for you, is going to be a headache. Identifying polychaete worms to species level is a specialist task, and frequently involves dissection - a fact of invertebrate life that you will discover applies to quite a few reef invertebrates, not just worms. However, the lower Phyla, such as the Porifera (sponges), the Annelida (worms) and similar creatures, tend to require specialist identification if you want to be certain of their identity. That specialist identification, as just stated, tends to require dissection - which is something that is familiar to me from my pursuit of entomology. Quite a few insects also require dissection if determination to species level is required, but in the case of insects, entomologists are lucky in that this can be determined unambiguously by dissection of the genitalia (and examination of the chitinous parts associated with them). With creatures such as worms whose bodies are mostly soft tissue, disection involves looking at a whole host of characteristics including some intricate details of internal anatomy, and if you haven't had the requisite specialist training in doing this, then you'll probably be lucky if you can identify them merely to Family level, let alone Genus.

However, certain species have a habit of turning up fairly regularly. Even with these species, however, you might be well advised paging some of the serious reef keepers such as DarkRealm Overlord to come in and take a peek once you have pics.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

You probably have one of the smaller less colorful species of sabellidae. Large ones are often sold in stores. The way they reproduce depends on the exact species. They can reproduce asexually along with most serpulids or most that reproduce sexually can also use budding. You'll often notice some with 2 crowns sticking out of 1 tube or the bottom end of the worm will begin to seperate. Eventually that 2nd crown or end will split off from the original making either a new shell in the case of a 2nd crown or a new crown in the case of budding. That leads to some large colonies of feather dusters like you'll find sold on floridapets.com. Although those are serpulids with a hard calcerous tube instead of sabellids which have the tubes usually described as leathery or parchment like.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/featherreprofaqs.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/invert.htm

I must say once again, thanks for all the great information! I am a chemist so I'm a little lost with all of the biology talk but I'm following well enough

I have attempted to take some pics with my digital camera. Only two turned out "ok". I need to play a little more with my camera to get the best pictures. I think that'll be my project this weekend.

The article (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/invert.htm) states

Some (but not all) wrasses will make short work of feather dusters, eating them so quickly that the worm probably hardly realizes it is no longer safely in its tube.

It's a good thing I read this article because I was just about to order a Six Line Wrasse, Pseudocheilinus hexataenia. Or do you think my tiny feather dusters would be ok?

Additionally in this article, the picture captioned (This tiny feather duster with a calcareous tube commonly reproduces sexually in aquariums, settling all over the glass, rocks, pipes, and pumps. It is a Pileolaria sp. is what I experience every couple weeks. About every 2-4 week everything becomes covered in little white "discs." After looking closer at the "discs" they are little tubes! So perhaps I have Pileolaria sp.

Attached Image:


-Josh

Here is a second pic. It must be noted that there little creatures are small. The tube is about 3/4" long, 1/8" in diameter, with the "plume" of the feather duster being about 3/4"-1.25" wide.

Attached Image:


-Josh

Definitely looks like a Sabellid. I wasn't aware before that feather duster worms could also reproduce asexually, which complicates the picture considerably ...

This page on Pseudocheilinus Wrasses]http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/hcs3/index.php[/link], namely the Four Line, Six Line and Eight Line Wrasses, says that they eat Polychaete worms in the wild, so if you want to hang on to your little feather duster worms, it's probably a good idea to avoid this Genus of fishes. On the other hand, my suggestion of a Cirrhilabrus species (one of the Fairy Wrasses) would be safe with your worms, because they are zooplantkon feeders in the wild and prefer things like Mysis shrimp and live Brine Shrimp in the aquarium (though as [link=this article on the Fairy Wrasses states, they WILL make short work of small ornamental shrimps, especially those added AFTER the Wrasses have been acclimatised to the aquarium). Bigger shrimps, on the other hand, should be out of the 'danger zone' with Fairy Wrasses, which are small fishes in any case.

If you intend on keeping shrimps though, it might be wise to buy the shrimps and let them grow to a good size in your aquarium before introducing a juvenile Fairy Wrasse. That way, the Wrasse will become accustomed to their presence and hopefully regard them as companions and not as lunch, though as the Wrasse grows older, it's wise to keep a watch on it. The beauty of Fairy Wrasses, apart from their stunning colours, is that they stay small, and so will not impact your setup unduly. They will also live peaceably with your planned Goby and Blenny choices. However, there are two disadvantages to Fairy Wrasses - one is the price that some of them fetch at the dealers, with some species commanding truly astonishing prices because they're so sky-high desirable (a bit like Lamborghini sports cars!) and the other is that when the mood takes them, they are little ICBMs with fins that will fly an amazing distance through the air when they jump, so you have to keep them VERY well covered! Remember that part of their flight response in the wild is to launch vertically upwards like a rocket away from predators (which confuses quite a few of them because they're expecting the fish to dive for cover) but of course when the Fairy Wrasses do that in the wild, they usually have about 50 feet of seawater between them and the atmosphere! This, of course, they don't have in the aquarium, and so, if something spooks them and they decide to launch skywards, you're looking at some serious carpet surfing unless the aquarium is VERY well covered. Considering that, for example, the little beauty I first introduced to you, Cirrhilabrus rubriventralis, is only 7.5 cm long when fully grown, it gives you an insight into just how rocket propelled these fishes are when you realise that it's possible for one of these to fly between 6 and 12 feet across your living room when it chooses to perform a Space Shuttle impersonation!

Other than those two issues, though, Fairy Wrasses are wonderful little fishes. Stunning colouration, in the case of the males of several species, this colouration is also teamed with ornate finnage, reef safe except for the aforementioned small ornamental shrimp issue, and comnpatible with a wide range of other fishes. Oh, if you ever move up to a bigger system, do NOT mix Fairy Wrasses with Flasher Wrasses or Pseudochelinus species, because the poor Fairy Wrasses will be beaten up pretty badly ...

Your stratagem for stocking should be as follows:

[1] Cleaning crew in first - turbo snails and a couple of small Hermit Crabs;

[2] Goby and symbiotic shrimp in next;

[3] Blenny in next;

[4] Any ornamental shrimps that you want to keep next;

[5] Wait until the shrimps have grown a bit;

[6] Add the Fairy Wrasse.

Then, you'll have quite an entertaining setup.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

If you aren't set on a sixline, my flasher wrasse didn't bother my dusters.

Lots of good info guys. I was hoping my little bump would start the ball rolling.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Honestly, I just thought the sixline wrasse would be a good addition to the couple clowns, a goby, and some shrimp. I think I'm going to keep with that stocking and creep my way into some "easy corals."

Matt, would you suggest any "easy corals" to start out with? I have the Coralife 30 Inch Aqualight With 2-65W 50/50 Lamps.

All the information about the feather dusters are just facsinating. If this job didn't get in the way, I would spend a lot more time reading about them and other aspects of saltwater aquaria.

-Josh

If you're planning on coral type organisms, I'd start with Zoanthids. These polyps don't form stony masses, but do look very nice indeed. Zoanthus species are the ones to go for - you can get them in bright green and orange colour varieties (and possibly more that I haven't encountered yet). This page should give you some good starting information about soft corals, which are usually the ones to keep as 'first' corals before venturing into the world of stony corals.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Most softies fit into that lighting/ease category pretty well. I'd recommend some zoanthids(hold out for some decent looking ones with some color, they are just as hardy), or green star polyps, mushrooms, finger leather, sarcophyton leathers, and xenia would all be good choices as hardy first corals. Maybe just start with a frag of something and see how it does. If it does well then it's reasonable to assume similar corals would do alright too.

If you are going with a stony coral tank, you could do most lps as well with that lighting. They are a bit more fragile than the above mentioned corals generally. A bit less safe to start out with.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Yesterday I decided to get a little deeper into the darkside When I ordered a green star polyp with a couple more peppermint shrimp.

-Josh

Your Green Star Polyp - it is a Zoanthus species? Only some of those are positilvely luridly lime green! Others are pleasingly green, and some are brilliant orange.

Post a pic when it arrives.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Green star polyps are a pachyclavularia species. Very psychadelic green. Cool coral josh.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

WOW ...

Is that photo on the profile a pic of your own specimens Matty?

Only those are amazing to behold ...

For comparison, here's a scan from the Mike Paletta book of Zoanthus socialis, again listed as "Green Polyps" ...



Attached Image:


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yep those are mine, and the difference between what we are talking about and what you are talking about is the term "star" describing the pachyclavularia, and plain ol' polyps describing zoanthus. BTW these days we call those brown .

These are green "polyps":

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Green? They're dark green in the middle all right, but with brilliant lemon yellow tentacles ... in fact they're a bit dazzling to look at!

Don't know how the ones I posted can be called 'brown' when they're visibly green, if a somewhat less vibrant one than yours ...

Mind you, some people continue to call Gyrinocheilus aymonieri the "Chinese Algae Eater" when it's nothing of the sort ...

In any case, the Zoanthus from my paletta book scan weren't illuminated under metal halide lighting - if they had been, chances are they would have appeared somewhat differently, as I've noticed that quite a few Cnidarians - anemones as well as corals and colonial polyps - undergo some fairly spectacular changes of appearance when lit with metal halides thanks to the UV inducing fluorescence ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002