Hawaiian Feather Duster issues.

[Kimdive]

I have recently upgraded to a larger tank and my Hawaiian Feather Duster is not happy about it!
It first lost all it's feathery head and then 2 days later it has also left it's tube:-(
All my LPS, xenia and leather coral are looking great.
I am feeding micro organisms into my tank, but maybe because it's a new tank, there is still not enough?
I am thinking about putting it into my boyfriend's sump, where it is an established tank...
Not really sure how it will eat now, without it's head!

Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Thanks.

 

[Chibils]

Do you have any fish that would've noticed it, such as butterflies?

 

[Kimdive]

I only have 2 clown fish. I do have 1 snail though that seems to be taking a special interest, although my conchs like to have a look also. I've put it in a breeding box now though as someone has taken his head off last night:-(
I'm not sure if he is still alive now, but stranger things happen in these tanks!

 

[Kimdive]

Update, that amazingly he is still alive

 

[LeslieH]

Kim -- Losing the crown & moving out of the tube are common responses to stress. Building a new tube normally just takes a few days. Regrowing a crown will take weeks or even months. There's evidence that they partially subsists of dissolved organic matter in the water in addition to the small particles they normally filter out of the water. If it's protected from predators and gets sufficient nutrition it's likely to survive.

 

[Kimdive]

Do you think I should keep him in the breeding box? It has plenty of water flow and I've put some sand in there for him. I'm also the micro organism's directly into the box.
Do you think the snail could be the culprit of stressing him out? It's a small light snail, roughly the shape of a conch.

Your help is much appreciated.

 

[LeslieH]

Could you put the box down so it's sitting on the bottom? Without a crown the worm is going to need direct contact with detritus & sand in order to get enough material to build a new tube. Feather dusters have 2 flexible mouth appendages they can use to pick particles if the crowns are missing.

I'm useless when it comes to advice about snails. It could be the snail, your parameters, the stress of moving, a hitchhiker you don't know about, or some reason only the worm knows about. We still know so little about the animals that inhabit our tanks.