Feather Duster Worm?

[filipi]

Hi There,
I just bought a feather duster and noticed that it produces a weird leather mucus out from the center of his feathers. Is this normal? or is that their waste? Will it affect the water chemistry and how do you clean them? Thank you in advanced....

 

[clayton]

Mucus coming out of their mouths? Feather dusters do excrete a mucus to use for their tubes but I think they excrete it from the length of their bodies. Tubeworms are Polychaetes, of the phylum Coelenterata which means the only have one path to and from the gut ie the mouth (no bum!). Its been a while since I did that biology but I think it's right. I constantly see my tube worm passing pellet-like waste from it's mouth, maybe yours has indgestion!

 

[kmatysek]

I've noticed a brownish mucous-like substance from our feather duster's mouth as well, nothing of the pellet variety. I notice it most when I've just done a water change, because the particulates in the water tend to cling to it. We've had ours for a few months and he seems healthy (aside from some altercations with snails and a crab - see new post).

 

[dean]

It's just their waste excrement. Nothing to worry about. Dean