Oops, I got a Coco Worm

[ReeferNoob4ever]

Well I got a coco worm not knowing about them. I pretty much thought all feather dusters were created equal. I have some questions about it's care. I think it's mature because the area holding on the feather part is spiraled.

I was hoping it could sustain off of floaters but I read they eat meaty stuff too. Can I just turkey baste a few brine his way once a week?

The worm seems to only like lots of flow. If not, it goes inside and barely sticks out the tips.

My other little brown duster with a soft tube likes low flow and is out all the time.

 

[ReefsandGeeks]

They have very similar care requirments as the normal feather dusters. I've used oyster feast with a turkey baster every other day or something and has worked well. They also have a calcium carbonate shell instead of the papery shell like other feather dusters, so they will draw some calcium and alkalinity out of the water like stony coral. If you don't have other stony coral, water changes should be plenty to keep up with the demand.

My hermits liked to pick at my coco worm's feathers, which ultimately lead to it's death. They never bother my Hawaiian feather duster though. So just be watchful of that.

 

[TokiHacker]

Supplemental food helps if the tank is not well established. Mine is doing fantastic and I dose ocean snow and reef roids along with brine and flakes regularly. That seems to keep it satisfied. Also Copepods every 3 days.

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

Thanks all! I actually just had a copepod bloom yesterday. The little critters were all over the glass and floating around. Hopefully that will help feed the worm.

Also, I turned off my powerhead to feed my fish and saw my coco doing something odd-

<a href="http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/iandrackert/media/COCO_zps0cx36r7n.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah44/iandrackert/COCO_zps0cx36r7n.jpg" border="0" alt="COCO photo COCO_zps0cx36r7n.jpg"/></a>

Is this normal?

My other soft tube worm doesn't do that.

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

It was like it was squeezing something...

 

[ReefsandGeeks]

Yes, that is normal. I see mine do that when I target feed oysterfeast. My feather duster also clinches in when spot fed oysterfeast. Mine doesn't do that simply from turning off powerheads, but often does when food is introduced.