feather duster help

[lbannie]

I have had a feather duster for a few months, and it just came out of its tube! I tried to put it back into the sand but I guess it got blown out and ended up on the rocks.....actually in a cool place so I thought I would leave it there....of course now I can't find it!! Do you think it's still alive? It might have fallen into a hole in the LR.....Can these things move on their own?

 

[johnmaloney]

it should be fine, they leave their tubes often. THey move on their own once they get themselves free of the tube. It is made of mucous, they can replace it quickly

 

[RYANLAWRENCE]

How hard are feather dusters to take care of because my book says experts only but the guy at the store said they are very easy to maintain

 

[thincat]

They do need a mature tank of at least 1 year. They are filter feeder and are not really very hard to care for.

 

[johnmaloney]

It depends on the species, but i agree that they are pretty easy, they take care of themselves. Turkey baster blast your rocks to keep it clean and they seem to spread a bit more. I think they can feed off that, but it could have been other things...just a personal experience I didn't have controls or testing etc...but it feels correct.

 

[melosu58]

My experience with them is that they are pretty easy to take care of. They are filter feeders and will take care of those excessive nutrients.

 

[RYANLAWRENCE]

If you had a protein skimmer that would remove alot of the organics out of the water would you need to feed them baby brine shrimp?

 

[thincat]

No, If you look closely at what looks like it's feathers they are really little arms and they past the food down to the center where it is eaten. Just to show you how small the food has to be. Johnmahony hit the nail on the head when he said to blast the LR with a turkey baster. That makes great food for the duster,

 

[lbannie]

Still can't find it I think it's in a hole in the LR......

 

[capj64]

I hope you find it. What kind is it? I have two dwarf green yellow that I bought off bluezoo.com One seems ok with were I placed it but the other one is swaying back and forth, have moved it around several times. At this point I'm just waiting for it to do like yours and break away from it's tube and find it's own space