Feather duster worm behavior

PatTheAttack · 03-20-2001, 10:04 PM

I am for some reason- confused on my feather dusters. Just all of a sudden they are starting to lose their feathers.(head) I am so mad

cause my tank looked so good with them in it. I have one that has lost his feathers and came out of his tube and I put him back in and he came out again.He is now hiding under 2 rocks!! I can't figure out why he is doing this. I am afraid he will end up dying without protection??Has anyone been through this?

Blake · 03-20-2001, 10:53 PM

My feather duster lost it's crown. I was all worried that it died. Just wait a month, yeah a month. My FD has grown a new crown.

FDs loose their crowns due to stress. It may be water quality, introduction of a new coral, or what have you. Sometimes they are really stressed and crawl out of their tube. Wait a while, leave it alone. It will grow a new tube.

In the wild, when attacked, the worm will slip out of it's tube, crawn in the sand, and make a new home.

Bottom line: leave it be.

Arcadion · 03-20-2001, 11:30 PM

Blake is right, they do drop their crowns when stressed. Water chemistry, current too strong, fish picking at their tubes...
Just leave it where it is, it will grow a new crown and tube. Sometimes if the current is wrong, they will abandon their tube and move to where the current suits them better and build a new tube. Theyre pretty hardy.

PatTheAttack · 03-21-2001, 02:42 PM

Thanks for the advice but I checked all my water levels and know its not that. I did add another power head but is on slow. ??

This a.m. it is still under the rocks and hasn't crawled in the sand. The others are doing fine Soooo far. My white one is growing back his crown but I NEVER saw this happen before.(out of tube) Won't the worms get it?