Feather dusters in the sump, out of control

[Delphinus]

What do people do about the feather dusters in the sump if you have them? My sump is plagued by these. I feel bad to vacuum them out and flush them all but my sump is covered in these and I imagine their poop is contributing to the detritus buildup down there.

Have half a mind to go get a butterfly fish and let him go nuts in the sump..

What do others do? How often do you vacuum out your sump?

[lastlight]

1. shut flow off
2. kent scraper them into oblivion
3. use a net to remove the mess
4. pump back on

[Delphinus]

So one vote for eradication, lol. Okey dokey..

[MarkoD]

dont people pay like 20 bucks for these at the LFS?

[wingedfish]

I have the same issue in the sump, and getting out of control in the display as well. the butterfly was going to be my route.

[Coleus]

hmm I thought they are good to have because they clean your water. no?

[badAZZlars]

Originally Posted by wingedfish

I have the same issue in the sump, and getting out of control in the display as well. the butterfly was going to be my route.

Copperband butterfly is perfect for cleaning up the DT. Generally reef safe and they love these things. I'm pretty sure the first 2 weeks I had mine it lived solely on feather dusters until they were all gone. Then the trouble is getting them to eat other foods. Mine ended up liking frozen mysis but it took awhile to convince it to eat.

[reefermadness]

They are filter feeders.....the detritus would be there with or with out the feather dusters....the duster are there because there is high particlute matter to filter.

My vote is they are good.....leave them.

[The Grizz]

I have them in my DT, there has to be thousands. My problem is they are in my sand. I know I am going to puck some out and give them to a few freinds but thee is so many ALL OVER the tank.

I would say a few are good but where to draw the line.

[Bloodasp]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

dont people pay like 20 bucks for these at the LFS?

The big ones that are colorful, yes. The small ones, I won't pay a dollar to get those.