Feather duster really stretching out

Bovine · Nov 28, 2012

I seen my feather duster do something i have never seen before, luckily i was able to grab a picture. what do you guys think the feather duster might be doing?

fts hes in the dead center of the tank. Tank has been established for 2 years. never mind my Christmas tree light reflection in this pic

Squishie89 · Nov 28, 2012

Does he go back in? He may be leaving his tube to find a different place to live. Or maybe trying to get better access to food.

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Pkunk35 · Nov 28, 2012

The worm is I believe ready to eject the tube. They do this when stressed usually. I have video of one of mine doing this, kinda freaky.

Is the worm attached to the rock? How long have you had it? Mine did this because he could not eat (I'm guessing) as a worm (I think) kept eating its crown even after it had regenerated it 2 times. Are you actively feeding him somehow?

Bovine · Nov 28, 2012

i have had the duster for a id say 6 months now. I had it in a large reef but noticed he was getting niped at so i put him in my 29g.
Since the duster has been in this home(2 or so months) it has regenerated all the missing crown and is looking better then ever.
it has been in the same spot in this tank since i first put him in and it has now conected itself to 2 rocks.
very healther and always nice and open. he has since receeded. but has been in and out all day...

Pkunk35 · Nov 28, 2012

Bovine said:
i have had the duster for a id say 6 months now. I had it in a large reef but noticed he was getting niped at so i put him in my 29g.
Since the duster has been in this home(2 or so months) it has regenerated all the missing crown and is looking better then ever.
it has been in the same spot in this tank since i first put him in and it has now conected itself to 2 rocks.
very healther and always nice and open. he has since receeded. but has been in and out all day...

It sounds like he is probably degenerating from lack of food, or at least that is my best guess as they can degenerate over a period of months even tho they are out (there is some speculation that a duster being "out" all the time is actually a bad sign as it is constantly searching for food).

If me, I would leave it alone and dose just a bit of phyto or other planktonic food i had just a bit more regularly if you already are (i really don't recommend changing feeding habits at this point tho) .

What might be better is stirring the sand a bit and blowing bacteria off the rocks to help get some more foods already in the tank in the water column.

i do hope he looks better soon!

Bovine · Nov 28, 2012

Pkunk35 said:
It sounds like he is probably degenerating from lack of food, or at least that is my best guess as they can degenerate over a period of months even tho they are out (there is some speculation that a duster being "out" all the time is actually a bad sign as it is constantly searching for food).

If me, I would leave it alone and dose just a bit of phyto or other planktonic food i had just a bit more regularly if you already are (i really don't recommend changing feeding habits at this point tho) .

What might be better is stirring the sand a bit and blowing bacteria off the rocks to help get some more foods already in the tank in the water column.

i do hope he looks better soon!

Thanks for the tidbit there!
I guess i have never really added a food small enough for this guy to eat now that i think about it. I assumed the established tank would have what it need to survive. I will try adding some phyto and see how it reacts to some food.
Thanks again

Pkunk35 · Nov 28, 2012

Bovine said:
Thanks for the tidbit there!
I guess i have never really added a food small enough for this guy to eat now that i think about it. I assumed the established tank would have what it need to survive. I will try adding some phyto and see how it reacts to some food.
Thanks again

no problem! I've spent a long time researching care of worms...they are probably one of the more difficult inverts to care for long term. Just be sure to keep your phyto dosing small otherwise more problems may occur than adding phyto would solve.

altolamprologus · Nov 28, 2012

I disagree about them being difficult long term. I've had a dozen ornamental feather dusters spread between two tanks (29g and 20g) and only lost one while I was on vacation. The rest I either still have, or have traded in to the LFS after I broke down a tank. They're quite easy if you just feed them. They only eat live phytoplankton (bacteria included) smaller than about 40 microns. Just buy a bottle of phyto feast live and add a small squirt daily and they'll live for years. Also, since the phytoplankton is alive, it poses no threat to water quality. It just remains living in the water until it's eaten. Oh, and it's a good idea to not run a skimmer if you have feather dusters because half of what skimmers takes out is the phytoplankton naturally growing in your tank.