Feather Dusters

[dacia]

What would cause the worm to crawl out of the tube and die?
I have had multiple feather duster casulties in my 35 gallon tank. There are no fish, just a conch and chocolate chip starfish. The water has no ammonia or nitrite, the nitrate level is less than 20, specific gravity 1.023, pH 8.2. Would a trace element such as calcium or magnesium make a difference? My starfish is thriving and I would like to add fish in about a month or so (Christmas present for mom and dad will be a fish or 2)...but I wonder what is wrong if feather dusters keep dying?

 

[dburr]

Do you feed them?

 

[dacia]

uh, no...
I was told they didn't need to be fed because they feed off of "letfovers" in the water...like the food the starfish doesn't get at, or the waste he gives off. Bad advice?

 

[dburr]

They filter feeders. I use Phytoplan. But, DT's and all the others are good.
I'm not sure what "leftovers" means. Do you feed the starfish pellets or some thing like that. I don't think that some thing like that will have small enough particles to be suspended in the water colume. But, I could be wrong.
HTH, Dan

 

[bededog]

i am new to this whole thing but how long has your tank been set up. It sounds like it is relatively new if there aren't any fish in it yet. doesn't it take a while for plankton/algae or whatever to get going so filter feeders can get enough to survive?

 

[jbstuart]

I have 2 duster's, and its common for them to lose their fans and grow new ones. I've had mine for about 7 months now, and one just now lost it's fan. Are you sure they're dead, because they can throw their fans and come out and look like one crazy looking cacoon, and still live through all that. They fizzle out sometimes during shipping in this manner.
Jarod

 

[saltynewbie]

mine have spread like crazy since i started using cyclop-eeze..

 

[slofish]

usually, feather dusters will fall out of the tube and die mainly due to stress. If water conditions are ok, they should grow back new fans.

 

[leboeuf]

there not called fans...... there crowns.
the food that your feeding the star is not feeding the dusters. They need suspended food in the column to feed on. Example, dropping food cube into water so the fish can feed and left overs disperse to the center of the crown. Because your not feeding any fish, consequently they are not eating. Try a turkey baster with brine and shoot it up stream so that is drifts in the direction of the duster. GL

 

[jonthefb]

disteres wont eat brine.....they consume large amounts of suspended organic material, mostly in the form of zoo and phytoplankton.....my suggestions is to get ahold of soem phytoplan, or marine snow, and when you decide to get another, uses this as a food source....you can just pour int in the tank or you can target feed teh dusters!
good luck
jon

 

[antkri]

I my experience you have to feed them, and that once they lose their crown that they are a goner. A lot of prople say that they grow back, but in my experience, they have lost their crown for a reason. Some get stressed and some are just plain hungry. If it is still alive you will see it stick its little head up to the end of the tube. That is a great sign, run out and get some phytoplankton and try to feed it. I use a child's syringe(that you give them medicine in) and just kinda squirt it around the entry of the tube. If you do not see the head come up to the end of the tube it is most likely gone and you need to get it out of your tank, but be careful cause it smells and stains your clothes and is liquid.
Hope this helped
Kristin