Hawaiian Feather Duster (Sabellastarte spectabilis) Care Guide
Sabellastarte spectabilis is a filter-feeding sabellid tube worm with a feathery radiole crown, peaceful and reef-safe.
Overview
Sabellastarte spectabilis is a sedentary tube-dwelling polychaete of the family Sabellidae. According to Wikipedia it features a branchial crown of branched tentacles, the radioles, forming a plume, and lives in a tough, leathery tube covered with fine mud. It is a peaceful filter feeder valued for water-column filtration.
Taxonomy
- Phylum: Annelida
- Class: Polychaeta
- Family: Sabellidae
- Scientific name: Sabellastarte spectabilis
Habitat
Per Wikipedia the species is native to the Indian Ocean and Red Sea and has expanded its range to African coasts, Mozambique and the Gulf of Mexico, reaching Hawaii by 2002, where it was reported on pilings, floating docks and harbour walls. It occupies holes and cracks and among algae on reefs and rocky shores.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 80 L
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Salinity: 1.024-1.026 SG
- dKH: 8-11
- Adult size: 5-15 cm; Wikipedia reports up to 80 mm length, 10-12 mm width
- Lifespan: 2-5 years
Diet
It is a filter feeder. Per Wikipedia, cilia on the tentacles create water currents and organic particles are caught as they float past, channelled to the mouth via mucus-filled grooves, while larger particles serve as tube-building material. In aquariums it depends on plankton-rich water and supplemental phytoplankton dosing.
Compatibility
Peaceful and reef-safe with other invertebrates and peaceful fish. Avoid hawkfish, many wrasses and arrow crabs, which may pick at the crown. Place it low in the tank where suspended food is more plentiful.
Breeding
Per Wikipedia it reproduces by both asexual fragmentation and sexual means, with research suggesting sequential hermaphroditism in larger specimens; fertilisation is external and larvae settle after planktonic dispersal.