Feather Duster (Sabellastarte sp.)

Add living motion and natural filtration to your reef. The Feather Duster (Sabellastarte sp.) is a peaceful, reef-safe tube worm that unfurls a delicate, fan-shaped crown of feathery radioles to strain plankton from the water column. It builds its own leathery tube and anchors into rock or sand, making a striking, low-footprint centerpiece for an established saltwater aquarium. Beginner to intermediate care.

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Care Guide

• Feed the water column. Feather dusters are filter feeders, so they rely on suspended food rather than light. Offer phytoplankton, marine snow, or other fine particulate foods a few times a week.
• Placement. Set it near the bottom in low to moderate flow. Tuck the base of its tube into rockwork or bury it slightly in the sand so the worm stays upright and secure.
• Stable water chemistry. It draws on calcium and alkalinity to build its tube, so keep salinity, alkalinity, and calcium steady. Aim for clean water that still carries enough suspended food.
• Lighting is not a factor. Unlike corals, it hosts no symbiotic algae, so any reef lighting works. Place it wherever the flow and food suit it best.
• Crown shedding is normal. Under stress, during acclimation, or as it grows, a feather duster may drop its crown and grow a fresh one over a few weeks. Hold conditions steady and it usually rebuilds.

Specifications

Compatibility

Completely reef-safe and a great companion for corals, peaceful reef fish, and cleanup crews. Because the crown is soft and exposed, avoid known tubeworm pickers such as some wrasses, large hermit crabs, certain crabs and predatory shrimp, and butterflyfish. Good tank mates include peaceful reef fish, reef-safe snails, and other filter feeders.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Bulldawg Reef Juice Clam Blend, a live phytoplankton blend made for clams and filter feeders
• Quantum Pure Phyto for routine filter-feeder feeding
• Reef-safe cleanup crew: Astrea Snails, Cerith Snails, and Trochus Snails

FAQ

My feather duster lost its crown. Did it die?
Probably not. Shedding the crown is a common stress or growth response. As long as the tube still has a healthy worm inside and your water is stable, it usually grows a new crown within a few weeks.

Do I have to feed it?
Yes. It does not get energy from light, so plan to dose phytoplankton or another fine filter-feeder food a few times a week.

Is it safe with my corals?
Completely. Feather dusters do not sting or compete with corals, they simply filter the water around them.

Where should I put it?
Near the bottom of the tank in low to moderate flow, with the tube anchored in rock or sand so it stays upright.