Feather Dusters

[HUMNBIRD]

Need Some Advice. I Have Three Beautiful Feather Dusters - Came Home From A Weekend Away And One Of My Feather Dusters Lost It's Feathers - I Cannot Locate The Worm Anywhere But Being Gone For The Weekend It May Have Been Disposed Of By Others In The Tank.

I Ran A Water Check Everything Is Good With The Exception Of My Ammonia Level Between 0.1 & 0.2 ---

The Tube Itself Appears To Have The Worm Still Inside As I Can Just Barely Make Something Out - Will The Feathers Grown Again Or Should I Remove The Tube.

Help!!!

[greenbean36191]

This is a common stress response in these worms. If nothing has changed in the tank recently then its a pretty safe bet that it was caused by starvation. These worms only eat things the size of phytoplankton and they need lots of it. If you havent been feeding it phytoplankton quite frequently then you can be pretty sure that it isn't getting enough food. The worm will regrow the crown, but if conditions don't improve it will shed it again. The cycle will continue until conditions either improve enough or it starves to death from using all its energy to make new crowns.

[HUMNBIRD]

Thanks - I will do what I can. I love these things - I find myself watching just them in the tank.

[crabbybutnotahermit]

i have heard that feather duster will sometimes release eggs or sperm into the tank the shed their own crown to avoid 'eating it'.

quite new here but is something i think i read somewhere.

J