Is there a fish that eats feather dusters?

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by amy

Would a copperband go after the 2 little clams in my tank? I'll have to do some research on the care required for these.

Not typically, but sometimes it can happen. FWIW I had a CBB for 3 years alongside clams and there was never an issue with the clams. He loved expensive LPS though, Acans and Blastos were soon to be a thing of the past after I added him. With butterflies in general there's always something that they might decide to get a taste for. CBB's just happen to be among the "slightly better behaved" among butterflies, but then they tend to have a poor track record of adapting to captivity.

[whatcaneyedo]

What about a long nose butterfly? I've never kept one but I've read in Scott Michael's books that they are more reef safe than a copperbanded butterfly and will eat tube worms.

[fishoholic]

My CBB that I had ate clams Left my frogspawn and hammer lps alone. They really do have a poor survival rate though.

[ScubaSteve]

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

What about a long nose butterfly? I've never kept one but I've read in Scott Michael's books that they are more reef safe than a copperbanded butterfly and will eat tube worms.

+100000!

My longnose butterfly destroyed every tubeworm/feather duster within about 12 hours of being put into the tank. AND he looked everyday for more. Oh, and they're freakin' hilarious fish with tons of personality.

[Funky_Fish14]

I have a solution that does not involve worrying about fish survivability or corals being eaten:

Arrow Crab. Most will eat feather dusters (though typically used to 'get rid of bristle worms'. Just tossing it out there.

Cheers,

Chris

[daniella3d]

sure, but where exactly do you find one? Never saw this for sale in my area, not even online?

Originally Posted by Funky_Fish14

I have a solution that does not involve worrying about fish survivability or corals being eaten:

Arrow Crab. Most will eat feather dusters (though typically used to 'get rid of bristle worms'. Just tossing it out there.

Cheers,

Chris

[whatcaneyedo]

J&L has them on their site.

Arrow crabs are sort of a specialized item that not all stores are going to stock all of the time because they probably aren't a big seller. But they seem to be a pretty standard item on the availability lists that I've looked at so I'm sure they can be bought almost anywhere. Even our LFS, Total Pet, brings them in on occasion... and they aren't much of a saltwater store.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by Funky_Fish14

I have a solution that does not involve worrying about fish survivability or corals being eaten:

Arrow Crab. Most will eat feather dusters (though typically used to 'get rid of bristle worms'. Just tossing it out there.

Cheers,

Chris

Originally Posted by daniella3d

sure, but where exactly do you find one? Never saw this for sale in my area, not even online?

I was at Aquarium Illusions and Big als in Edmonton yesterday and both of these stores had some for sale.

[ElGuappo]

i would never put another one of these in my tank... when they are small sure their great but when they get big they go after fish.... i lost a fire shrimp, pearly jawfish, and a chromis to mine.... it was in a rsm and i never found bodies for these and did see the arrow crap JUMP off the rockscape trying to grab fish..... i have heard that they may also stab fish with their spear shaped head...i never saw this behavior but it was extremely aggresive towards ALL posible food.....in the end my arrow crab was killed by my rusty angel and tobbacco bass.. everything in my tank ganged up on this crab and killed it... a real pay per view event.. and some how i was home to see it...

just my experience with my one and only arrow crab...

Originally Posted by Funky_Fish14

I have a solution that does not involve worrying about fish survivability or corals being eaten:

Arrow Crab. Most will eat feather dusters (though typically used to 'get rid of bristle worms'. Just tossing it out there.

Cheers,

Chris

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Copperband (and most other) butterflyfish are notorious featherduster eaters IME.