I got a new featherduster about a week ago, and unfortunately had to be away for the week. My fish sitter took great care of the tank, but the feather duster lost its 'feathers.' What should I do? Was I feeding it wrong? How am I supposed to feed it? I need to know if its dead or not because the LFS that I bought it from has a guarantee deadline that I have to meet. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Featherduster problems
- Thread starter cdcq12
- Start date
1-9-06
New member
the feathers are the mouth of the worm inside and therefore is probably dead. the feather duster is a filterfeeder and does not get spot fed as any coral might so that could be a reason for the worm's demise. feather dusters are very easy to care for you need no light at all just good water quality. these things have been found growing in the deepest reaches of the ocean floor next to geothermal vents in highly toxic water. all info for that is straight from the discovery channel's "planet earth" on sunday evenings.
1-9-06
New member
the worm will recover or not, theres nothing you can do but keep up your water parameters. if it's dying and it's localized then it would have to do with stress from acclimation or another factor in your tank wether that be a fish or a hermit crab or if you said you were feeding it something like brine shrimp and something ate the mouth right off. I'm not an expert by any means but if you have a feather duster or coco worm w/ no mouth than it's doomed in my opinion. can you see anything in the tube at all? One of mine attached itself to the underside of my brain corals hard base and i pulled the shell right off of it. the worm quickly regenerated a new shell from the nutrients in the water and used the coral as protection but the feathers were always out to filter feed most of the time. so... if the feathers are not visible i can only expect you have a casualty in your tank right now. wait and see but i've not heard of the feathers regenerating. definetly contact the store and get an approval of an extension if this thing does not pull thru. also when you do that bring in a sample of your water to back up your story. if your ammonia is high right now it's probably dead already.that all depends on how big your system is too. hope this was some helpful advice .keep posting what happens, i'm interested!
Actually, really quick. I was able to get a credit for the featherduster even if the crown does or doesnt grow back. However, if I do get another featherduster, which I probably will, how do you feed them? Do you direct the phytoplankton right into the crown or just put the phytoplankton directly into the tank, as I was originally doing?
LeslieH
Premium Member
The feather crown is made of modified gills that surround the mouth area but doesn't actually include the mouth. The worm can continue to feed if the crown is lost (just not very well). Even if the whole anterior region was bitten off by a fish the worm can survive long enough to regenerate the entire head & crown under good conditions.
The crown creates localized micro-currents which move water up through the base & out the top. To successfully feed one, place the pipette below the base & release the food. If the food is released at the back or the side the worm won't get very much; if it's from the top the worm won't get any at all.
Good luck!
The crown creates localized micro-currents which move water up through the base & out the top. To successfully feed one, place the pipette below the base & release the food. If the food is released at the back or the side the worm won't get very much; if it's from the top the worm won't get any at all.
Good luck!
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