Cluster Duster

Cluster Dusters (Bispira spp.) are colonial feather duster worms that form dense aggregations of individual tubes, each extending a delicate, spiraling crown of radioles used for both filter feeding and gas exchange. The radioles fan out in graceful spirals of brown, tan, or banded white, retract instantly at any disturbance, and re-emerge slowly – a behavior that makes them compelling to observe over time. They are passive filter feeders that draw sustenance from dissolved organics and fine particulate matter; systems with regular phytoplankton or coral food supplementation support them well. Place in low to moderate, indirect flow where their crowns can remain fully extended. Compatible with most reef inhabitants, though wrasses in the Halichoeres and Coris genera are known to harass or consume tubeworms.