Getting rid of feather duster worms

[solly]

I'm really not a fan of the feather duster worms that spontaneously grow out of the live rock. Is there a way to safely get rid of them?

 

[monsinour]

they are filter feeders and do nothing but add diversity to the tank. I dont get why you want to remove them. But if I had to do it, tweezers would probably work.

 

[jstdv8]

manual removal or a wrasse
I sell them to the LFS lol, I let them grow wild in my sump andI place live rock rubble in there, they grow over it and i sell or trade the rock, great filter feeders

 

[dmanatee]

Oh man I love my surprize feather dusters! Every once and a while I get a neat colored one like red or yellow that pops up on a rock or in the sand.
IF I were you, I would see if you could take the rock with them on it, and trade the rock at your LFS. Most likely you would get an awesome deal if the rock had alot of them on it.

 

[sparty059]

Quote:
Originally Posted by solly http:///forum/thread/381886/getting-rid-of-feather-duster-worms#post_3329398
I'm really not a fan of the feather duster worms that spontaneously grow out of the live rock. Is there a way to safely get rid of them?
Solly, would you be willing to send me some? I need some in my tank and would love some free ones if you're looking to get rid of them anyway.

 

[spanko]

Reduce nutrient levels in the tank thereby limiting the available food for them and they will disappear.

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by spanko http:///forum/thread/381886/getting-rid-of-feather-duster-worms#post_3329726
Reduce nutrient levels in the tank thereby limiting the available food for them and they will disappear.

I just realized what you new avatar is

 

[solly]

I don't mind them when they are small, but as the tank ages, they grow larger and I just find them unsightly and kind of creepy....not pretty like the ones you buy! I've never gotten different colors, like someone else posted, mine are always brown.

 

[jstdv8]

all of mine are blue

 

[bang guy]

A Mechanical filter will remove most of the food from the water column. The more water being filtered the fewer Feather Dusters you will have (as well as any other filter feeder).
Peppermint Shrimp can thin them out as well.

 

[jstdv8]

after i added my sixline I had a serious decline in feather dusters, I used to have a wonderful forest of blue on the left side of my tank, so many i couldnt count. now I have maybe 50 at the most. Ive never seen him eat one, but I'm assuming thats what did it.

 

[solly]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you...in doing some research I found out that what I was referring to as "feather dusters" are actually Aiptasia. I'm sure you don't want me to send you those! No wonder I think they are ugly! I have ordered some Berghia to hopefully help control the outbreak!!

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by solly http:///forum/thread/381886/getting-rid-of-feather-duster-worms#post_3333783
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you...in doing some research I found out that what I was referring to as "feather dusters" are actually Aiptasia. I'm sure you don't want me to send you those! No wonder I think they are ugly! I have ordered some Berghia to hopefully help control the outbreak!!
I would have recommended Berghia Nudibranchs as an a last resort. I hope you know that once the aiptasia is gone, you'll need to get the Nudi's out of there because they will starve, die and can be toxic to your tank if they die in there.

 

[solly]

In doing some research, I found that what I was calling "feather dusters" are actually aiptasia...I'm sure you don't want me sending you those!

 

[jstdv8]

you can send me the rock with the aiptasia, i enjoy Lime pasting those little guys. I get to keep the rock though LOL

 

[solly]

I did know that they would starve and die, but not that they would be toxic. I will do my best to get them out when they have done their job. I was afraid to try the other methods for fear of polluting my water. I have two relatively small tanks and both have infestations. 35 and 45 gal tanks.

 

[solly]

that would be most of the LR in two tanks! pretty bad infestation...

 

[nizz]

just get some peppermint shrimps. they will take care of them.

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nizz http:///forum/thread/381886/getting-rid-of-feather-duster-worms#post_3334078
just get some peppermint shrimps. they will take care of them.
I've have found this to be only 30% true at best, especially if you have a large infestation and there are any fish that need to be fed in the tank. I have 10 Peppermints, and a Copperband Butterfly in my 155 and I still have to kill aiptasia manually. Once the peppermints or anything else with exception of the Berghia Nudibranch knows that there is another food source, they won't search the tank for food and eat the anemones.
Also, if you have larger aiptasias, the peppermints can sometimes only eat part in one sitting, this aggravates the anemone and causes it to release spores to make new babies throughout your tank.