Feather Duster Worm lost its crown...dead?

[Johny123]

My feather duster worm decided to loose his crown. It came off this morning after a few days of acting funny.

Should I assume he is dead and remove the tube?

16 gallon bio cube
Ammonia, Nitrates all undetectable.
Salinity 1.024
Temperature 79-80

I've had him for about 2 months. Do weekly 2 gallon water changes with distilled water.

What am I doing wrong? and should I assume he is dead and remove him?

 

[schnebbles]

He can regrow the crown. I have one I just got from Liveaquaria who hasn't come out yet. His bag was really dirty so I wonder if he lost his crown too.

he's alive though because he'll move inside the tube.

Try and see if you can feel it moving before you trash it.

 

[patiof]

when they are dead, the tube goes altogether limp.

when they shed their crown, the tube should look similar to when its alive and have some rigidity to it, though the opening may not look totally closed.

it may take a week or more before you see it emerge again.

 

[keddre]

It's not dead. They will lose their crown at times. It's not always a bad thing, but just in case see if they are eating enough and if anything is messing with them. If it regrows the crown but it's smaller, then it is not eating enough


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[Ghost25]

Don't remove it yet! The crown you're referring to is called the radiole. I have a coco worm which jetissoned both of it's radioles after they sustained some damage (maybe from a hungry fish or invert). It took a few weeks but they have grown back and are almost back to full size.

I would recommend feeding small particulate food like Reef Chili or Reef Roids if you aren't already.

Your salinity is low, probably not the culprit but I would recommend getting it up to 1.026.