Whats up with my feather duster?????

[chipmaker]

I have 5 feather dusters with approximately a 3/8 to 1/2" diameter tube. All are in similar positions on the bottom of the tank. Yesterday one duster was extended way out of his tube beyond its crown, and rotating wildly. It was out of its tube by approximately 1 1/4 to 1 1/2" of so. I reached in and touched it with a long plastic rod I have and it would not withdraw into the tube, and after a bit of touching it slowly withdrew to the point that about half its crown was still extended. A short time later it extended its crown, but it was limp and not all fluffed up as usual, just like a bunch of soaking wet feathers........It hung limp like that and extended out of its tube by a good half inch beyond its crown for about 2 hours, and this moring its fully withdrawn into its tube. All day long the tube was never closed up and just round n shape, but a short while ago I Noticed the end is sort of closed off as they typically do........Did he give up the ghost and die or what? ALl the others are doing fine..........I have not seen it out all day long, or last night, and if its not out by tomorrow will probably pull it out, as I would have to belive its probably dead.....All water parameters are perfect as is temp.......any ideas appreciated........
Oh yea, at one time the wife thought she seen it make a cloud of what looked like brownish color in the water while it was extended all the way out, but before you could get a good look it had dissipated in the water flow.....

 

[smoney]

Well, one reason that it was so far extended, it that the tube maybe to short or you may have wedge it somewhere in the rock or sand that pinched off the tube so it couldn't retreat that far into its tube. Therefore, making it very stressed.

 

[chipmaker]

Its been that way for some time, and the tube is just burined in the sand bed, nothing pinching it at all. I seem to think it was giving up thre ghost when I seen it as it has yet to reopen, so tomorrow morning if its still closed up its getting pulled out.

 

[promisetbg]

Sometimes FD's will jump their tube and make another,or drop their crown..only to make a new one in a few weeks.I would'nt pull him out yet if your tank is big enough,even if it dies it should handle it.Anything in your tank that could be picking at it?~Butterfly...peppermint shrimp?

 

[chipmaker]

Have a tiny peppermint shrimp.....but its not bothering any of the other dusters.......I did have two bad

[hr]
hermits of some type that thought eating my coraline off the LR was a good thing, and they have been removed, so I have a thought maybe one of those two hermits may have been bothering it.,,,but not sure. I guess as long as the end of the tube the crown emerges from is still in the typical closed fasion, the worm is still alive...Not really sure how that tube works in regards to opening and closing, but for now I guess I'll just let it be and keep a close eye on parameters of water.

 

[promisetbg]

The pep might be doing it at night...it's when they emerge and go hunting....they will damage/eat FD's.