Feather duster lost its crown!!!
- Thread starter markrayx
- Start date
Drag Racer
New member
one of my dusters lost its head. about a week later a new one appeared. My LFS said not to throw it out when it happened because I thought the same thing.
MR PALM BEACH
New member
Theres Is no need to put It In a seperate tank I have had dusters lose there crown and In about 2 -3 weeks If not more they will grow a new one back. Keep In the same tank because It probably allready secured Itself to somthing Its comfortable with. Moving It to anouther tank Is just going to lead to more problems.
GoingPostal
Active member
Usually they do this because of stress or lack of food, I feed mine dts phyto every other day plus a general stirring up of tank debris to catch little bits of food hopefully. Is your phycopure fresh? Calcium shouldn't make a difference but bad water quality would.
cd77
Premium Member
Hawaiian feather duster?
I just had one lose it's head as well -- I happened to be sitting in front of the tank when it happened and watched the beautiful feather get caught in the current and nipped at by every fish and shrimp in the tank. I'm keeping the tube there to see if it grows another crown; though I've read if this is the case they'll frequently grow a smaller crown, lose it, and repeat the process until they finally die. There is a lot of conflicting information regarding these online -- everything from lifespan to target feeding. Feeding DT's can get very expensive, so it is good to culture your own.
Some of this is outdated, but worth reading. It might make for a good poll to see who has kept these for long periods of time and find out which ones are best kept, and what methods work the best.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/featherfaqs.htm
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=616280
I just had one lose it's head as well -- I happened to be sitting in front of the tank when it happened and watched the beautiful feather get caught in the current and nipped at by every fish and shrimp in the tank. I'm keeping the tube there to see if it grows another crown; though I've read if this is the case they'll frequently grow a smaller crown, lose it, and repeat the process until they finally die. There is a lot of conflicting information regarding these online -- everything from lifespan to target feeding. Feeding DT's can get very expensive, so it is good to culture your own.
Some of this is outdated, but worth reading. It might make for a good poll to see who has kept these for long periods of time and find out which ones are best kept, and what methods work the best.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/featherfaqs.htm
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=616280
barbra
Active member
Feather dusters can loose their crowns, but they shouldn't do it regularly. They do not shed. Provided that the worm is still alive it will grow the crown back. As stated above, it takes a couple of weeks for a full crown to form. It will initially be smaller, but it will come bush out slowly until it is as big as before.
For those of you with small shrimps in your tank you may want to keep an eye on them, they will tear the crown right off in short order. Especially Peppermint shrimp it seems.
It isn't really necessary to target feed with a baster or even to add DT's all that frequently. A couple of times a week will suffice well. Most can do fine off of whatever is floating about the water currents and don't necessarily require supplemental feeding.
For those of you with small shrimps in your tank you may want to keep an eye on them, they will tear the crown right off in short order. Especially Peppermint shrimp it seems.
It isn't really necessary to target feed with a baster or even to add DT's all that frequently. A couple of times a week will suffice well. Most can do fine off of whatever is floating about the water currents and don't necessarily require supplemental feeding.
even if he is secured, i'd still move him into a tank so that you can feed him and him alone. the problem is that he's stressed, which can be caused by lack of food. i always thought that they feed with their feathers. waiting for them to grow back can cause more stress in that they're not eating. its important that you do what you think is best for your tank markrayx.
My Hawaiian Feather Duster has lost it's crown 2 times in as many years: once while moving but I'm not exactly sure happened the other time. I think I had him too low in the tank and was getting too much sand in/on him.
In a week or so, a tiny, new crown emerged each time.
I have never dosed DTs or the like. My feather duster is in a FOWLR. He seems to do well with whatever food comes by that I feed the fish.
In a week or so, a tiny, new crown emerged each time.
I have never dosed DTs or the like. My feather duster is in a FOWLR. He seems to do well with whatever food comes by that I feed the fish.
