Feather Duster won't come out...

[rappa]

I just bought him yesterday. Looked beautiful in the store. I acclimated it by floating it in the tank for about 40 minutes. Then I put it in a bucket for 30 mins dumping a cup of tank water every 5 mins.
He still hasn't shown his feathers. It has been about 26 hours since introduced. Did I kill it??? I read somewhere that your not supposed to take them out of water entirely. I did that. OOPS. What do you guys think?

 

[shnabbles]

What are your water readings?
What kind of flow is it in?
I bought one last week, i think its only closed once since i put it in the tank..

 

[speg]

Firstly, start using the drip acclimating method.. its VERY simple and in my opinion its less work than the pour-in-water-every-so-often method. You'll find your results greatly improve and also less lag time for corals/inverts/fish to show happyness.
Secondly, its not unusual for something to be in a bit of 'shock' when first introduced into your tank.. its only been a little over a day right? Give it a bit longer before you start to worry.
Thirdly, have you tested all your levels and is your salinity at least 1.023 specific gravity?
These are very tough animals in my opinion seeing as how when I introduced my two feather dusters into my tank they were literally taken out of the bag and dropped into the tank.. no acclimating at all and they were actually in 'bloom' after about 10 seconds.
As far as not taking them outta the water to place them in your tank.. that doesnt apply for these.. that is fine to do.
Like I said give it a bit more time and make sure your levels are right.
If its not happy with your conditions it may shed its crown of 'feathers'. If it does this dont panic.. just do a water change and improve your conditions.. it'll grow back.

 

[rappa]

OK thanks. Water conditions are all fine. Maybe it is in shock. I will give it a couple of days I guess. Thanks for the replies.

 

[dburr]

Gently feel the tube and give a slight pinch, you should feel it move if it's alive.