My feather duster lost its feathers!

[kat 4]

Help - one side of my feather duster lost its feathers..is something wrong? Will they grow back? The tube itself seems fine. I read somewhere they could lose them if they are not being fed enough but I've been putting in filter feeding everyday. What did I do? Also, do they mind being moved around the tank? My husband is always "readjusting things"! Thanks!

 

[eddie1973]

I had the same problem before. I heard the same thing, not enough food or poor water condition.
Eddie

 

[fraggle_a]

Its a worm.
Its quite capable of moving itself if it wants a new location. Like any animal, you can stress the worm out.
Loss of feathers happens with them a lot. Often they will "Throw" their feathers and regrow new ones.
If you have been feeding it the phytoplancton (spelling anyone?) it should be fine. Poor water quality would be easily seen in other organisms first (like corral, or anemonie). Constantly moving things around in the tank is a bad idea though. It can potentialy stir up decaying organic matter in the sand that the bacteria isnt finished with.

 

[spanish dancer]

Featherdusters do not like to be moved.
And yes, they will sometimes lose their crown. I suspect since it lost only some, it is due to the stress of moving? Because usually, If it were due to poor water quality, they would discard their entire crown. Don't worry, they will grow back, even if it doesn't eat much (if anything) for a while while it does so.