feather duster placement

[dianeww]

Hi all,
Today I decided to do a little re-arranging of a few rocks (those which can still be moved anyway). There was one smallish rock down in front center which I thought would look better up higher, hiding a power head. I found that a large feather duster in the sand next to the rock had attached to the rock, so he moved up with the rock. Is it OK to leave him there? Or do they need to be in the sand, and if so, how do I get him off the rock and back into the sand? Or do I have to put the rock back on the sand? Hope this is clear....thanks!

 

[Hara]

IMO, it should probably be put back in the sandbed. They use sand and coral/rock pieces in creating their tubes.

As far as getting him off the rock, if it is well attached, I wouldnt try. I would just move the rock back down.

 

[angelscrx]

feather duster grow where ever they land. He should be fine there.

 

[newfound77951]

And if he doesn't like where you moved him to, he'll just move anyway! So I'd leave the duster be and let him figure out where he wants to live.

 

[Finatic]

He'll move out of the tube if he doesn't like where he is, I don't know how long it takes him to build a new one though.

If he moves, I would watch out for the Stars while he is out of his tube, it can be kind of iffy. Although I will say this, I have a serpent star and he doesn't bother my FD's.

Like all of the inhabitants, they have minds of their own and will rarely stay where you put them.

 

[SeeDemTails]

Mine like the sand bed...but as stated it will move where it wants...dont rip it off the rock though!

 

[melosu58]

I agree that you dont want to ripit off the rock and as Mrs Hara said the sand will be best IMO

 

[Hara]

One things need clarification, I was assuming that you meant a large hawaiian feather duster, not the smallish ones that we get all over the rocks etc in our tanks. If it is the smaller ones, it can stay on the rock with no problem.

 

[dianeww]

Let me clarify! Yes, it's a large Hawaiian feather duster, and where the end of his tube was under the rock I moved, he was (is) attached to the rock. So now he's up near the top of the tank where I put the rock, and he's out and seems to be happy blowing in the current. But I guess the general consensus is that he (and his rock) would be better off on the sand?

Thanks to all for all your thoughts!

PS ....another quick question. All my feather dusters (I have four) are just kind of lying on the sand, held in place by small rocks or shells. Should I have buried their tubes down into the sand, or should they just kind of lie there with the tube all exposed? They seem sort of vulnerable, though they're all doing fine.

 

[Finatic]

they'll do what they need to do to feed and feel protected. They can hop around quite nicely on their own if they don't like where they are. You'll wake up one morning and notice that the tube moved to another spot in the aquarium.

I just leave mine on top of the sand in the general area where I'd like them to settle, then they adjust their tube and move to where they really want to be in a couple of nights.