feather duster query

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bumblebee1976

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
72
Location
Huntingdon area, Cambs, England
Hi, I was just wondering if anybody could tell me what is happening to my giant feather duster worm please. I checked the other posts but couldn't find the exact problem I have so I thought it best to start a new thread. So...the tank has been running since beginning April, 60litres, stable params (ammonia, nitrites and nitrates all 0, pH is between 8.0 and 8.2 I think. Sorry, test is difficult to read) and the feather duster has been in for a couple of weeks with no problems really. It is extending a little too far out of the tube (say a centimetre or so) and its crown is curling at the ends. I have fed liquid invert food occasionally and brine shrimp a couple of times per week but I haven't actually seen him eat any of the shrimp. Oddly enough, my aiptasia (pet anemone!! Don't ask.) has moved away from him and I am wondering if there is a clash between them. Perhaps the feather duster has been stung? Other possibilities that I could think of are an increase in temperature over the past week with the hot weather - max 79 deg. Also, I have noticed my hermits, snails, sexy shrimp and cleaner shrimp all trying to 'clean' him. Usually he permits this, but sometimes retracts, especially when the cleaner tries to clean his crown!!:eek: The thing is, it could be so many different things causing him to stress, how do I know which it is? I am supposed to be doing a water change over the next few days but I don't want to make the problem worse. Also, if he is going to shed his crown and leave the tube, what do I need to provide to enable him to regrow? My substrate is ceramic media with live rock on top but I do have some shells if they need crushing for the purpose. His tube is not entirely smooth, looks a little cracked but it's hard to tell if it's really cracked or just irregular as he has built it. Hoping the tube hasn't been damaged by the cuc. Any offers of help gratefully received!!
 
Well, The aiptasia could of killed some of the crown and the CUC might be removing it. Whats with the pet aiptasia anyways? Well, Just try to let it be. And how is it overextending? Mine is usually out with the worm visible slightly as well.
 
Your featherduster won't eat brine shrimp. It get's most of it's food from the water column. The aipatisia might be harming it. The hermits would only feed on it if it had dead areas. If it shed it crown, it will grow a new crown from the same tube. The tube is not hard it is more leathery in composition.
 
The cuc have been on him since I got him, on and off. Actually they seem to be leaving him alone at the moment, which I am pleased about because the lfs never said anything about aiptasia or cuc harming him. The aiptasia came with the live rock, I was new to marines (still am really but completely new to it) and asked if it would be okay to have just one and the lfs said some people hate them and others like them. It is really big, I like the look of it so he bagged it in water on the rock. The only time it has ever moved is when I first put it in the tank so I don't know why it is moving now. It doesn't seem to be reproducing all that quick and the few babies move quite a lot so sometimes I remove them. I know you are going to tell me this makes them reproduce faster but it doesn't seem to have done...yet lol! If the population takes off I will try a peppermint shrimp or other method. The way it is overextending is as you said, with 1cm of worm visible, roughly. Usually I can't see the worm at all and its crown has never been curly before. It's funny, I thought it was the aiptasia but could it be the cuc? I'm thinking they would more likely damage the tube if anything but I guess the cleaner could have irritated the crown if he kept hassling him!! You're going with the aiptasia as the culprit then? Shall I try to feed him and see if that helps? What about the water change I had planned? Been trying to feed my clown goby up a little so I'm worried there will be some detritus to vac this week. Thanks for your help AMD.
 
Oh, so it's perfectly fine for the hermits to 'pick' at the tube if they are removing dead matter? Seems like they must be doing that - every member of the cuc has had a go and then moved on but the cleaner is a bit more of an obsessive-compulsive. He even follows me as I move, he's a greedy little critter! I read that feather dusters can eat brine shrimp but you must be right as when I put it in the tank he doesn't seem to touch it. If I'm feeding frozen brine, pellet, flake and invert food on alternate days then surely he is getting enough from the liquids? Yes the tube looks sort of dusty and a bit leathery, hard to describe but it sounds normal-ish. The aiptasia is a distance from him now, I've no idea why he moved but wouldn't that mean he is no longer a threat, unless he moved closer, which seems unlikely?
 
Looking over the post, I think the CUC is cleaning up the extra food that you are feeding the Duster. Cut back on feeding it and see what happens.
 
The only thing he is getting specific for him is the invert food, and I think I've only given that once or twice at most since I got him. But I guess he is getting liquid and particles from the other foods - I am feeding to try and help my goby as he is looking thin. Would the food situ affect the feather dusters health then? I thought this was a bullying issue? Do you think it could be the heat also, as I've read that they prefer cooler temperatures generally? Thanks - sorry for all the questions.
 
79 degrees Is pretty cool. I would not worry about that temp. Keeping it constant is more important. 79-83 is pretty normal.Just watch and see what happens with the duster. It should be Okay. I bought two about a year and a half ago and loss one soon after. It all comes down to how they were collected. the one that survived has been host to one of my clownfish. and its still going strong...
 
Here is a picture of it.
img_995935_0_f3c5989fa78597bca18f7d63b623d224.jpg
 
Thanks for that Thincat - wow cool pic! He is cute, must have buried his tube deep into the sand - mine had the same size crown but a longer tube. Your sand is really deep. Unfortunately I went to look at him last night after posting the message and he was stretching out further and curling his crown even more - then this morning he has shed it completely. The water has been an unstable temperature because the thermostat on the heater is set to 25 deg, so it has risen by 4 deg over the hot spell. Will that not be a shock to the feather duster? So, it could be quite natural that he has shed his crown then? There's me blaming the aiptasia, which incidentally has moved again overnight. How strange, could it be that whatever is stressing the feather duster is also stressing the anemone? I am going to be getting a pair of clowns after my holiday, I didn't realise they would use a duster for a host - how cool, wish you had a picture of that to show me aswell! At least my duster hasn't completely left his tube, that's what was worrying me. Just have to wait for him to regrow I spose. Thanks so much for your help and the great pic - I will check my params today. Do you think it is safe to do a water change over the next few days while the worm is 'naked'?!!!
 
Thanks thincat! Wow - what a great pic! A clownfish hosting in a feather duster, that is so cool, I didn't know they could do that! I am going to get a pair of clowns after my holiday so maybe they will do that in my tank. After posting last night I went and checked on him and he was stretching further out of his tube and curling up; then I went and looked this morning and he had shed the whole crown :(
Do you think it is just a coincidence that he has lost it, or would you still suspect the anemone? Incidentally the anemone has moved again overnight, could it be that whatever is stressing the feather duster is also stressing the anemone? I'm glad he didn't leave his tube as I was worrying more about that. He does look kind of nude now :eek: Will he be okay with me doing my tank maintenance or will that stress him further? I read that they can only shed a few times and then they die. Is that true? Thanks so much for your help and the lovely pic.
 
Yes it would be okay to do a water change. Try to make the water the same temp. as the tank and you should be okay. They will die if they are forced to shed to often. The problem with your aiptasia moving about is that everytime it moves it leaves a little bit of itself behind and that grows into another Aiptasia.
Water making that much of a change can and will stress your tank animals.
Clowns are weird fish. They will host in almost any coral or duster that they find handy. I have seen them in dusters, GSP's, hammer corals and frogspawn corals. I'm sure the list goes on.
Remember one thing and that is to go slow. The only thing that comes fast to a saltwater aquarium are mistakes.
Here is a picture of what I use to help reduce the temp. in my tank. Be aware that this causes lots of evaperation so you have to check your water level daily. Also remember that only the pure water evaperates and not the salt. So just add R/O water.
img_995991_0_760d4dbaa587a02f79a064bf95fb0c21.jpg
 
I am trying to find a way to quote part of your reply but it just seems to quote all of it - any help there greatly appreciated!!
Just wanted to ask you what you meant by "Water making that much of a change can and will stress your tank animals".
I will watch out for baby aiptasia then where he has left and gone walkabout - I must admit I didn't see that happen before when he moved but maybe the baby was on the move aswell! The reproduction rate doesn't seem all that quick. Thanks for your pic - I've got a different setup to you - it's a biorb and is in a corner so I'm not sure how I would get a fan to it, but I have thought of putting iced water bottles in. Do you think the changes in temperature are the cause of the problem?
 
Okay, brain was in short supply on that question on the "water". I meant change in water temp. will stress your animals. I use the frozen bottle of water and my system is to large and it makes no or very little change in my water temp. You might have better luck. So give it a try.
 
Hi thincat - thanks for your message about the heat stressing the aquatic life! Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you - more has happened since; the aiptasia continues to move, shrinking some of the time and then 'spreading out' to full size but I am not too concerned if he is affected by heat!!! I haven't seen the feather duster now for a few days and am very worried he has died in the tube. How will I know? We are going on holiday in a few weeks and I really want to find out what the cause of these problems is before I go. Also, don't want to leave things decomposing while I go away but equally don't want to remove the feather duster if he is still alive. Sorry, I hope that makes sense!!! One of my turbo snails seems to have shrunk slightly (meaning the foot, not the shell of course!!:-D) and I saw a sexy shrimp on it. Wasn't sure if he was cleaning the snail or feeding on a dying critter, so I picked up the snail and moved him onto a flat rock. He has stayed there ever since :( The snails have slowed down of late, even since before the heatwave, and the hermits also appeared to slow down but they seem ok now. It's just the snails, the feather duster and the odd moving behaviour of my aiptasia that I'm dealing with - why is everything going so wrong? I have done a PWC and cleaned off some algae, I am wondering if it is the heat combined with the stress of moving things around during maintenance which has led to these problems. What should I do now? Any further diagnostics required or should I contact the lfs about my feather duster? Thanks so much and sorry this message is so long. Things have been going so well until now:eek: Maybe these lifeforms were already advanced in years when I got them but I feel that would be too much of a coincidence to be honest. I wish I could tell myself that it is the case but I am worried there is something going on that I have missed, maybe another parameter? Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates all still 0, pH difficult to read but seems to have gone up since the last filter/water change. Not sure why as it is meant to be buffered, but I am having trouble reading the test result so this could be an error on my part. I am thinking of checking the pH at my lfs tbh.
 
If you're going to have the water tested be sure to get real numbers, not just oh it's fine. Have them check for all the parameter that they can. I think maybe your Alk is out of wack causing your PH to hit the roof. Be careful not to overfeed since you don't have many animals in there yet. Take it slow and you should be okay. Featherduster require a more mature reef to do well. Research your animals before you buy them.
One last thought, what is your tank temp. now?
 
Okay thanks I will get the figures from the lfs, to include an alk test. Sorry, the system seemed to crash so I haven't been able to get back online since my last posting! I have been feeding more to try and get the weight on the goby, that's all. He seemed to be very thin. Do you think I should consider sending him back as he is so hard to feed and may be causing the params to become unbalanced? The other inhabitants are all cuc so it would be easier if I did take him back because I could cut the feeding right back. I did try to research the feather duster but I didn't find that they needed a mature system, they were considered to be quite easy to keep from what I read. I also had a lot of small ones hitch hike on the live rock so I saw them thriving and then looked into getting a bigger one! The tank is reaching 80 deg or slightly over at peak sun. I have frozen some bottles of water to try and get it down, but it does fall over night. The fluctuations are what is worrying me. Do you think this is the problem, apart from a possible alk issue? The pH has risen but it is not above healthy limits for marine systems; I can make out the colour enough to see that it is around 8.2 or slightly over. It seemed to change last service but not necessarily a sudden change so I hoped that it would be ok. With regards to the duster, what should I do with him? And the sessile snail?!! Thanks for your ongoing help.
 
First the duster, Just leave the tube alone. There is no need to remove it.
Second, the smaller duster are nice hitchhikers and are not the type that grows large. here is a link that you might enjoy:Live Rock Hitch Hikers
What type of gobie do you have. Some, maybe most will feed on brisle worms and animals that live in your sand and liverock. They be look thin but that might just be the way they are. Do not overfeed. It could become a bad habbit...;)

You did not say how long you where going to be away.
 
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