Small feather dusters boom in my tank

[coastie55g]

so is that a good thing guys? the tank has been running for about a year now.. with about 50 lbs of LR.
but just the other day i have noticed a lot of small shell casings of smaller creatures in the water floating...im assuming them little guys shed like shrimp or am i killing them off?
the other thing i have noticed is a spike in the small feather dusters all over the LR
this all a good sign of a tank finally coming to? just in time for uncle sam to move me in a year and half..
thanks
Chris
oh its a 55 gallon
jalli lights
penguin 330 bio-wheel
and a hang on back skimmer *excalibur*
and a magnum hang on back...
thats all im running.. one day i hope to "upgrade" but other expensive hobbies take most monies

 

[merredeth]

Originally Posted by coastie55g
so is that a good thing guys? the tank has been running for about a year now.. with about 50 lbs of LR.
but just the other day i have noticed a lot of small shell casings of smaller creatures in the water floating...im assuming them little guys shed like shrimp or am i killing them off?
the other thing i have noticed is a spike in the small feather dusters all over the LR
this all a good sign of a tank finally coming to? just in time for uncle sam to move me in a year and half..
thanks
Chris
oh its a 55 gallon
jalli lights
penguin 330 bio-wheel
and a hang on back skimmer *excalibur*
and a magnum hang on back...
thats all im running.. one day i hope to "upgrade" but other expensive hobbies take most monies

I like feather dusters and have them in my tank, so for me it would be a good thing. I'm not sure they will get fully mature though from what I have read online.
Congrats on the feather dusters - I don't envy you having to move though. Moving is a

[hr]
.
Denise M.

 

[hot883]

That is a good thing. They WILL stay small and are usually white feathered. Once in awhile you will see color variation but not very often. I have so many in my 55 that they are starting to hitch hike on my hermits. Ha! They are filter feeders so no special care is needed.

 

[stanlalee]

this peace of rock as you can see has red ones, orange ones and brown/white ones. over 20 on this rock alone (stop counting once up to 20). I have red ones on other rocks and feather dusters on just about every rock in the tank. I dig em.

 

[merredeth]

Originally Posted by hot883
That is a good thing. They WILL stay small and are usually white feathered. Once in awhile you will see color variation but not very often. I have so many in my 55 that they are starting to hitch hike on my hermits. Ha! They are filter feeders so no special care is needed.
Phytoplankton in a turkey baster is what I spot feed my feather dusters.
Denise M.

 

[milomlo]

Originally Posted by Merredeth
Phytoplankton in a turkey baster is what I spot feed my feather dusters.
Denise M.

What do you feed feather dusters? I thought they just fed off of things in the water. I didn't know you could feed them.
OH DUH!! Never mind. I see it.

 

[merredeth]

Originally Posted by milomlo
What do you feed feather dusters? I thought they just fed off of things in the water. I didn't know you could feed them.
OH DUH!! Never mind. I see it.

Phytoplankton is good for the dusters. I do it regularly by sucking some into a turkey baster and very slowly expelling it from the baster while the duster waves over the phytoplankton absorbing the nutrients.
It seems to keep the dusters happy.
Denise M.

 

[milomlo]

Originally Posted by Merredeth
Phytoplankton is good for the dusters. I do it regularly by sucking some into a turkey baster and very slowly expelling it from the baster while the duster waves over the phytoplankton absorbing the nutrients.
It seems to keep the dusters happy.
Denise M.

I have some Kent's Zooplex. Is this the same thing?

 

[merredeth]

Originally Posted by milomlo
I have some Kent's Zooplex. Is this the same thing?
I went online and did a google search for you and from what I read it would appear they are very similar. I don't know if they are exactly the same though.
MY LFS owner has several degrees in sciences and I went to call him and ask for you. He didn't answer his cell which means more than likely he is either at the airport or doing personal stuff.
My suggestion is to compare the bottles at this point and do some further research. Someone else who knows far more than me may comment on this though and have a more precise answer for both of us.
I use Phytoplanton though as that is what he recommended to me. Since the dusters are happy with it I see no need to change on my end.
Always curious to find the right answer myself,
Denise M.

Edited Note: The Phytoplankton has life in it with sizes ranges from 2 to 12 microns or an average of 7 in a bottle.
Your Kent product has life the size of 800 microns in it.
Hope this helps you out.
Denise M.

 

[bluephi115]

mini feather dusters from what I have been told and read do NOT need to be fed. I have about 10 or so in my tank and have never fed them. I have found 2 in snails the last couple days.

 

[merredeth]

Originally Posted by bluephi115
mini feather dusters from what I have been told and read do NOT need to be fed. I have about 10 or so in my tank and have never fed them. I have found 2 in snails the last couple days.
Most people I know don't even get the minis to live for long, but feeding it would give it a better chance.
Denise M.

 

[coastie55g]

kool guys/gals thanks for the replies.. didnt think i would have ten in a day! wife counted she said she saw about 34 or so...

which is kool in my book cause a month ago i didnt see any

 

[milomlo]

Originally Posted by Merredeth
Edited Note: The Phytoplankton has life in it with sizes ranges from 2 to 12 microns or an average of 7 in a bottle.
Your Kent product has life the size of 800 microns in it.
Hope this helps you out.
Denise M.

So what exactly does that mean? Kent's is better?? :notsure:

 

[oceanists]

could be aiptasia

 

[jacknjill]

^^^^ theyre feather dusters.
if you like them, make sure you dont get a copper banded butterfly, they will eat them up very quickly. good luck with them

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by milomlo
So what exactly does that mean? Kent's is better?? :notsure:

phytoplankton is plant/algae plankton, zooplankton is animal based plankton
kent phytoplankton is much smaller plankton than zooplex and pretty much comes out looking like green liquid. zooplankon has clearly visable to the eye red plankton that is even big enough for small fish and shrimp to enjoy. everytime I feed my corals zooplankton I have to pump a little from the syringe to my fire shrimp to keep him from ransacking the button polyps trying to get at it. my false percula and small damsel go nuts as well. tiny feather dusters cant do anything with this stuff neither can many mushrooms and other corals that dont eat meaty foods. Phytoplankton is small enough for just about everything. I see no need to be feeding tiny hitchhiker feather dusters either. they spend all day with that feather grabbing nutrients already in the tank. there should be enough in the water from regular fish feeding/live rock production to keep them alive. if you arent feeding corals all your going to do is make your water quality worse than it has to be. I pretty much alternate those two products to feed my corals

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by Merredeth
Most people I know don't even get the minis to live for long, but feeding it would give it a better chance.
Denise M.

I think differently. I started with none and they started popping up all over. I have many, to many to count probably well over 50. I do not spot feed them. Not needed.

 

[milomlo]

Originally Posted by Stanlalee
phytoplankton is plant/algae plankton, zooplankton is animal based plankton
kent phytoplankton is much smaller plankton than zooplex and pretty much comes out looking like green liquid. zooplankon has clearly visable to the eye red plankton that is even big enough for small fish and shrimp to enjoy. everytime I feed my corals zooplankton I have to pump a little from the syringe to my fire shrimp to keep him from ransacking the button polyps trying to get at it. my false percula and small damsel go nuts as well. tiny feather dusters cant do anything with this stuff neither can many mushrooms and other corals that dont eat meaty foods. Phytoplankton is small enough for just about everything. I see no need to be feeding tiny hitchhiker feather dusters either. they spend all day with that feather grabbing nutrients already in the tank. there should be enough in the water from regular fish feeding/live rock production to keep them alive. if you arent feeding corals all your going to do is make your water quality worse than it has to be. I pretty much alternate those two products to feed my corals

So did I get the wrong stuff for my hairy mushroom? That is what the guy sold me of course.

Also what is the difference in the phytoplankton and the Kent Marine Micro-Vert ???

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by milomlo
So did I get the wrong stuff for my hairy mushroom? That is what the guy sold me of course.

Also what is the difference in the phytoplankton and the Kent Marine Micro-Vert ???

No hairy mushrooms are one of the few that will take meaty foods. probably want to alternate foods once in a while regardless. I'm not sure whats in micro-vert. Kent has about half a dozen coral foods and recommends alternating between all of them. Naturally I'm not going to buy them all so I bought one animal based and one plant based and called it a day.

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by bluephi115
mini feather dusters from what I have been told and read do NOT need to be fed. I have about 10 or so in my tank and have never fed them. I have found 2 in snails the last couple days.

These animals will come and go in blooms as nutrients in the tank vary. You will almost always have some around. They are not the same species as the large feather dusters and will not grow very large. IME they certainly do not need to be directly fed, and will simply benefit from the break down of other nutrients in the tank. Larger feather duster species may be a different matter.