Feather duster lost it's feathers... help!

[reef3r]

I just bought a feather duster from liveaquaria and it arrived today at about 1:30. I acclimated it for about 1.5 hours, until the sg matched the tank. When I put it into the tank, the tube was very soft. I was a little surprised by this. Are they normally hard? After a few minutes, it opened up, but it would blow around in the current. It didn't look 'fan shaped' at all. I moved it to a low flow area, but it kept squirming around. I left it alone, and when I came back a few minutes ago, I found it had dropped it's feathers... I've never had a feather duster before, but I'm guessing that's bad. Will it regrow the feathers, or is it a goner? Is it normal for it to lose them like that? Please help!

tested today:
ammonia. 0
nitrite. 0
nitrate. 10
ph. 8.1
sg. 1.026

 

[liquidlunch]

stolen from www.saltwaterfish.com :

A worm lives within the tan tube of the Feather Duster, and this worm carries a colorful "crown" of feathers. These feathers are pushed up throw the opening of the tube and act as a catching device for food, which is collected by the worm's mouth at the base of the feathers. The worm uses the tube as protection and will quickly pull in the feathered crown when it detects a predator. The Feather Duster can be placed on the substrate or into your rockwork. The Feather Duster will attach its foot and remain stable once placed into the aquarium.

Feather Dusters are not often thought of as worms because what most people see is just the pretty feathery "crown" the worm inside uses to capture food. But there truly is a worm living inside the tan tubes they create using sand and secretion to create their home. The feathery crown is also called a "radiole" and is used as both gills and to bring food to its mouth which is at the center of that crown. Feather Dusters are very light sensitive and will quickly retract when approached or disturbed. Feather Dusters are known to "throw" their crowns which usually regrow within a few weeks.

 

[widmer]

Speaking of feather dusters, what is their typical lifespan anyways? I'd enjoy keeping one in the fuge just for fun even if it eats some of my pods.

 

[reef3r]

Well, I'm still worried. saltwaterfish's info isn't really the best, anyway. Is it bad if I can see the actual worm?

 

[AIMFish]

I've always been told that they come from lagoonal areas and not the reef. Because they are a relatively large worm they have larger dietary requirement than most people can provide in a reef tank. The 2 theories I've heard about "popping their heads" is that they do it to clean them off and/or they are starving and will regrow a smaller one. Either way I've never met anyone that has had one for more than one year.

 

[PJSEA]

Any time I had a feather duster throw it's crown, it died not long afterwards. Hardest part of keeping featherdusters is feeding them properly.

See here for more info:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/featherfaqs.htm

 

[reef3r]

Okay well I don't think mine will last more that a day...
the whole worm fell out of it's tube now. It's about 3 inches long, the tube is closer to 6 inches. Is there any chance of the worm returning to the tube, or building a new one? Or is it already dead?

 

[AIMFish]

They can build another tube. Coming out and loosing the crown in the same day can't be good tho

 

[DawnOctopus]

I don't know what will happen since yours is out of it's tube... However I have had one of my feather dusters for about 6 months, and he has popped his top twice -- Once when I first put him in, and once when I upgraded tanks. He has regrown it both times. I target feed every other day. HTH.

 

[IndyReefMan]

Your feather duster is stressed out over something. I have a number of feather dusters that have been in my tank for 2 or 3 years. Every once in a while, they will throw their crowns, but they've always grown back. But, it can take a few weeks. Don't give up on it. If the worm is out of its tube, I would gently place it in a low flow area where it won't get blown around. They can grow their tubes back.

 

[reeferhabit]

I had mine in my tank for over a year. The crown has came off probably three times and grown back every time

 

[nhlives]

Just bought one (actually two) and after just a day or so it lost the crown. In less than two weeks it started coming back.