feather duster

[Holly]

After I picked up my daughter at school this afternoon, I came home to find the entire crown of feathers of my favorite feather duster whisping around the tank in the current. =( No sign of the tube anywhere.

Is it possible that it can shed it's feathers and grow new ones, or is it most likely pining for the fjords?

[prow]

no sign of the tube??? did something eat it? they do "pop" their top if they dont like the spot they are in or something is bothering them with water chemistry. but no tube, i would guess something ate it.

[Holly]

I didn't dig an inch into the sand. I brushed my hand slightly a few times over that area and didn't see a tube.. Perhaps it was there and I missed it.. ?

I can't imagine I have anything in my tank that would eat it, and my other duster is flourishing ..maybe the tube is under there somewhere ...

Water parameters are perfect.. I test regularly anyway, but I did another test after I found his crown floating (because I was in a panic it might be the water), and it was all OK. All my fish are having a dandy time, and my corals are 100% open and perfectly happy.

I hope I just overlooked the tube in the sand. I didn't know they could blow their top and live.

[prow]

yeah they can. the thing is they usually blow their top and leave the tube to relocate. not always, but in our closed systems, when they do, without a tude the worm will be a nice snack. no tube at all is kinda odd though.

[greenbean36191]

It is very energetically expensive to maintain the crown, so when they aren't getting enough food they ditch it. They will eventually regrow a new one, but if enough food still isn't available then they will ditch it again and continue the cycle until they finally starve. They need large amounts of phytoplankton to keep them going.

[Ninong]

I can't imagine I have anything in my tank that would eat it...

Your Copperbanded Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus) may have eaten it. In fact, I'm surprised it hasn't eaten both of them.

[icemark]

Your Copperbanded Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus) may have eaten it. In fact, I'm surprised it hasn't eaten both of them.

I was thinking the same exact thing

[smidoid]

It is very energetically expensive to maintain the crown, so when they aren't getting enough food they ditch it. They will eventually regrow a new one, but if enough food still isn't available then they will ditch it again and continue the cycle until they finally starve. They need large amounts of phytoplankton to keep them going.

Out of interest (I've had a similar problem with a dumped crow) how do we feed these little beasties? Or at least, get the phytoplankton to breed?

[greenbean36191]

If you google "phytoplankton culture," you should find lots of good information about how to grow the stuff. It's really pretty easy. You basically just need light, aeration, dirty water, and a starter culture.

These guys need a good bit of it, so you should basically be feeding as much of it as often as you can without compromising water quality. Usually it works best to slowly ramp up feedings over a long period of time. It's probably best to do general tank feedings rather than trying to target feed. It's hard to target feed these guys without them withdrawing, and plus you run the risk of making the phyto too concentrated, at which point the worms stop eating.

[smidoid]

Neat! I'll give that a go!

[Holly]

Ok well my butterfly actually doesn't seem to bother my feathers at all (I know it's been a coon's age since I replied to this; my kids are crazy busy on wknds, etc). My larger feather is happy as a clam and out all the time.

The only issue I had with the butterfly, and only on the first day, was that it wanted to peck at my PPEs. Now it's fine and LOVES on my mysis enough that it's not hungry enough to peck at anything else.

But who knows? I was told by the LFS that the butterfly was completely 'reef safe' but I wondered about it at the time. Maybe I trust folks too much =/

[Ninong]

I was told by the LFS that the butterfly was completely 'reef safe' but I wondered about it at the time. Maybe I trust folks too much =/

Most people don't consider feather dusters or any polychaetes for that matter when assigning the reef-aquarium safe designation. Chelmon rostratus is usually reef-aquarium safe but it will usually eat feather dusters and other worms. I would consider that reef-aquarium safe myself but I guess it all depends on where you draw the line. The online vendors will usually call a fish reef-aquarium safe even though it may eat snails, ornamental shrimp and hermit crabs. I don't consider that sort of a fish reef-aquarium safe because you really do need snails. A lot of fish eat ornamental shrimp but I consider those fish reef-aquarium safe.

I guess it all depends on your definition. For some online vendors, as long as the fish doesn't eat corals, it's considered reef-aquarium safe.

In the case of C. rostratus, some individuals have been known to attack corals even after several years of peace and quiet good behavior in the tank. This is rare but it has been reported. I would still keep one in a reef tank because I like them and I would be willing to take my chances. Same goes for Centropyge loriculus (Flame Angelfish). I like those, too.

[Holly]

Yeah, I like flame angels, too, but the LFS guy told me that I should never consider them 'reef safe.' I really like my C.rostratus, so I'll keep it until it demonstrates a pattern of reef abuse =) I would consider any fish that ate my ornamental shrimp to NOT be reef-safe, for me!

My coral beauty, however, is now full size and starting to pick on all my other fish; chasing cardinals, the butterfly, and even the smaller clown. I love him for his color and active swimming but he might have to go =/ He's a pugnacious little bugger