Feather duster feeding video? (Probably posted already a thousand times)

[loveaddressbox]

Hello! I did a huge research on this and now I feel I should have buy phytoplankton instead of the marine invertebrate food from kent... but I'm honestly feeling as lost as ever, also my local fish selling guy say Feather dusters don't need food... They... Like most corals... Feed on light! I can buy him a new lamp thought only $99.99 (I promise I didn't facepalm, but I wanted to)

Since the tank is new I thought feeding him now and then with some invertebrate food would be good... I really like him... her... whatever it is...
Does anyone has use this food for their invertebrates?
I thought of buying a pipette to be near the feathers and drop some drops... food on them... but now... I might be thinking he is an anemone or something... lol would his "tentacles" pull the food?

Thanks for read/reply, sorry to ask so much and if anyone has a video on how to feed them, I'd love you if you share it...

 

[Betta132]

A feather duster is not a coral. It's a worm. It's just a very strange worm.
Do NOT trust that LFS in the slightest.
Anything marketed to filter-feeders should work, feather dusters aren't as fussy as most.
Place the duster in an area with mild current, then use a pipette or turkey baster to squirt some food into the water a few inches upstream. If you try to put food right on him, he'll take it as a threat and hide. You have to put it where it'll be washed right onto him. And yes, he'll get it to his mouth just fine- that's exactly what those feathers are for.

What size is the tank?
How old is it?
What else do you have living in there?
How much live rock do you have?
What are the exact water parameters?

 

[loveaddressbox]

A feather duster is not a coral. It's a worm. It's just a very strange worm.
Do NOT trust that LFS in the slightest.
Anything marketed to filter-feeders should work, feather dusters aren't as fussy as most.
Place the duster in an area with mild current, then use a pipette or turkey baster to squirt some food into the water a few inches upstream. If you try to put food right on him, he'll take it as a threat and hide. You have to put it where it'll be washed right onto him. And yes, he'll get it to his mouth just fine- that's exactly what those feathers are for.

What size is the tank?
How old is it?
What else do you have living in there?
How much live rock do you have?
What are the exact water parameters?

Thanks for your reply it means a lot!
Is 30 gallons
My memory is very... Not good... A couple of months I guess...
A Clavularia, Literally an (1) Actinodiscus (I got show a picture of several small groups when I order it... I feel kind of like they play with me... But well...) And that's all... I had two Poecilla... Lapitina? I don't remember the fish that lives on salt and fresh water. The store guy say that I should take a few and have them to get the tank going since I couldn't use bacteria (long story). I return them to the store when I put the Feather duster in the tank, because they bite one of his feathers, it didn't fall or anything, but I was afraid they could hurt him.
About 12lbs of live rock.
I don't know for sure, the local store guy test it, say ammonia was 0? NO3 20 or 40? ph just say it was fine... (seems 8 on the color bars) salt is 1.021-1.023 (he test it and say the last (coralive?*), I test it and say the first on my kent salinity test thing).
Thanks for taking the time to read/reply.

 

[Betta132]

You're going to want to get your own test kits so you can monitor water parameters.
Also, you should get a hydrometer so you can be certain that your newly mixed saltwater is at the right salinity.

Do NOT trust that LFS in the slightest. For future additions, either ask on here or look them up online.
Poecilia latipinna are sailfin mollies. They're very peaceful, but they're algae eaters, and sometimes they bite at things like feather dusters to see if they're edible.
It's best to have at least one pound of rock per gallon of water, preferably more. It helps increase biological filtration capacity, and it helps little critters grow.
Poecilia Latipinna are sailfin mollies. They do nip at things that look edible.
For your next fish, I'd suggest a shrimpgoby or watchman goby. They're small, there are many colorful varieties, and they're very peaceful. Also, they shouldn't bother your feather duster.
You could also have a single Banggai cardinalfish, a Pterapogon kauderni. Don't try to keep a school of them. They school when young, but when they get older, they tear each other apart. A pyjama cardinalfish, Sphaeramia nematoptera, could also work.

 

[loveaddressbox]

Hi! I got the thing for the salinity! Is from Kent!
I will look for a kit.

Hehe... Yeah... I will try to stay away from him.

So I can't even keep two of the Pyjama Cardinalfish?

Those Gobies look amazing, just was fearing they would hide, on the store they are hidding most of the time.

I would get more rock, but it panics me to get rock on here, it would be either from this guy or the only other store has ich everywhere or planarians :l

The feather duster didn't move even when I put a couple of drops near his feathers... It just was around him until it merge in the water... I read the label now and it say it is Kent Microvert, feather dusters are mentioned on the bottle... I used a pipette with a... A valve type thing to put the food in the water in the "right ammount" i guess...
He doesn't move much... Is this a sign of his health? Good or bad?

You're going to want to get your own test kits so you can monitor water parameters.
Also, you should get a hydrometer so you can be certain that your newly mixed saltwater is at the right salinity.

Do NOT trust that LFS in the slightest. For future additions, either ask on here or look them up online.
Poecilia latipinna are sailfin mollies. They're very peaceful, but they're algae eaters, and sometimes they bite at things like feather dusters to see if they're edible.
It's best to have at least one pound of rock per gallon of water, preferably more. It helps increase biological filtration capacity, and it helps little critters grow.
Poecilia Latipinna are sailfin mollies. They do nip at things that look edible.
For your next fish, I'd suggest a shrimpgoby or watchman goby. They're small, there are many colorful varieties, and they're very peaceful. Also, they shouldn't bother your feather duster.
You could also have a single Banggai cardinalfish, a Pterapogon kauderni. Don't try to keep a school of them. They school when young, but when they get older, they tear each other apart. A pyjama cardinalfish, Sphaeramia nematoptera, could also work.

 

[Betta132]

The cardinals will most likely fight.
The gobies hide in the store because they're terrified of everything and probably kept with aggressive fish. They're still a bit timid for awhile after purchase, but you'll see them once they settle in. Yellow watchman gobies are particularly bold.
Even if the guy is an idiot, his live rock might be okay. Just look it over and see if it has any visible pests like anemones or crabs. Bristleworms aren't a concern, in fact they're good guys.

The feather duster isn't supposed to move unless startled. They just sit.
Place him in a current so the food will flow downstream into his crown (the feathers) instead of just sitting there. That'll help him feed.

 

[Shawn O]

I've had a pair of Pajamas in my tank for six months and the guy who had the tank before me said he had it up and running a couple years. I can only assume by their size that they are about two years or older. Occasional chasing, but no real fighting.

 

[Betta132]

I should be more specific- non-mated pairs will fight. If you manage to get a mated pair, they'll do fine together, but it's a bit tricky.
If you can find two near-adult cardinals who are hanging out together, there's a pretty good chance of them being a pair.

 

[loveaddressbox]

The cardinals will most likely fight.
The gobies hide in the store because they're terrified of everything and probably kept with aggressive fish. They're still a bit timid for awhile after purchase, but you'll see them once they settle in. Yellow watchman gobies are particularly bold.
Even if the guy is an idiot, his live rock might be okay. Just look it over and see if it has any visible pests like anemones or crabs. Bristleworms aren't a concern, in fact they're good guys.

The feather duster isn't supposed to move unless startled. They just sit.
Place him in a current so the food will flow downstream into his crown (the feathers) instead of just sitting there. That'll help him feed.

Okay! I love that gobie you mention!

So how much more rock should I get?
They don't have Bristleworms, but I see in some tanks flat worms (Planaria?)
Honestly the most scary thing I have seen to be on a live rock!

So... I move him to a place with more flow... But then I stop feeding him?
The bottle says a few drops per gallon and something... Does that even work?
Just putting some drops according to the bottle instructions on the water?

 

[Betta132]

You want to have at least one pound of rock per gallon, ideally.
Can you post pictures of the worms on the rock? Someone here can ID them so you'll know if they're bad news.

Don't stop feeding him, it won't do him any harm as long as you keep up on water changes. Also, it'll help to feed the phytoplankton that he's eating.
Unfortunately, feather dusters take awhile to starve. It'll be 3-4 months before you can tell if the food is actually working- that's how long it takes for a duster to starve.

 

[loveaddressbox]

Well... I could try... But I might not be going to that store soon... Because... The local guy is angry at me, no for real... He wanted to sell me some stuff and I say no and he was like "Well... I won't sell you anything else until you buy a wavemaker, LED lamp, stuff"

Okay! How often is good to feed him this food(Microvert)?
5 gallons each month is a good routine for a water change?
Should I buy a phytomax or zoomax? I think they are from coralive, right?
That sounds very bad and sad...
But there's no way to tell if he is happy?

 

[snorvich]

I should be more specific- non-mated pairs will fight. If you manage to get a mated pair, they'll do fine together, but it's a bit tricky.
If you can find two near-adult cardinals who are hanging out together, there's a pretty good chance of them being a pair.

This. Two males will not work for sure.

 

[Betta132]

Perhaps you should consider ordering online? There are some good places to get things online without having to worry about pushy, angry people.
You should do water changes much more often. 10% per two weeks should work for a lightly-stocked tank with a featherduster.
Phytoplankton is more likely to work as a food source, so phytomax.
Feather dusters are only one step up from corals, as far as intelligence. They react to stimulus, but that's about it. Since they don't really have behaviors to observe, about the only way you can tell is to see how it works.
If its crown starts breaking off or if it doesn't retract when touched/disturbed, it's probably starving and just trying to get more food. If it's staying out at a normal expansion and retracting when disturbed, it's fine.

 

[loveaddressbox]

He doesn't really retract since I got it, he was like this...
I better get the Phytomax soon...
Thanks for your information!