HELP....Feather Duster lost it's Base!

[boogie1986]

Hi,

I had posted another question about my Feather duster retracting alot, but now it has completely come out of it's base. I can actually see the worm itself. What should I do? I just got it from the LFS today.....

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[bertoni]

It's probably going to look for a new home. About all you can do is sit and wait. If any part of the worm is in the shell, you could try moving the shell and seeing whether the worm move back in.

 

[D-Rod]

if you just got it today it's severely stressed give it time to recoup!

D-Rod

 

[GreenBabe5]

When i moved my rock mine fell out of its home and i scooped him up and dropped him back into the rock and within the hour he found a new hole. Looked kinda weird though, didn't expect him to be all pink and gooey inside. but he's back and happy.

 

[boogie1986]

Ok, the base is still somewhere wedged in the rock, but the worm itself is in the sand. The crown is still attached and worm is wiggling around it seems like. Perhaps it's building a new base with the sand and stuff? Here's a pic:

and here are some more of the abandoned base and the duster in the sand.

 

[hairymushroom]

is the sand covering the worm? if it is its most likely secreting a mucous to create a new tube.

 

[bertoni]

I would let the worm be and wait. It's probably making a new tube.

 

[hairymushroom]

maybe bury it in the sand if there are fish that might pick at it, like pygmy angels etc. if not just leave it like bertoni said

 

[boogie1986]

Well,

When I woke up, the worm had moved behind a rock. Before i went to bed last night, I took the empty tube and put it beside the worm, and apparently it has latched on to the empty tube. It still looks like it is making it's own base. Anyways here are some pics:

I wonder How long it will take to completely form a new base.

I'm really attached to the featherduster. I know it's wrong to play favorites, when this is my first featherduster, but I'll probably never find another purple and yellow one:

Thanks for all the help

 

[Randall_James]

He must have been really unhappy with his placement to risk certain death. He is in fact a tasty snack for an awful lot of different fish when he is unprotected. If he finds a spot to land, I would see about giving him some sanctuary for a few days (strawberry baskets work well). The colors are not that rare, he is a pretty typical "Hawaiian Feather Duster" I have had mine for over 2 years without incident. I do provide DT's every 3rd day or so however

 

[boogie1986]

Well,

I think he might be ok for now, because I don't have any fish in the aquarium yet.

 

[Randall_James]

good, that really is his biggest threat without his home