Unsheathed my feather duster :/

[Cuttlefish]

I had an accident with my favorite XL feather duster. It was the first invert I got in my slow reef build. He was doing great in the MT, getting huge. But when I added a Copperband Butterfly I had to get him outta there cuz he was picking at him constantly. So I put him in my refugium.

2 months went by and I didnt realize it attached itself to the underbelly of a rock. Well today I bought a couple new pieces of rock and had to move things around to make room. I lifted this rock and felt a slight resistance but it was too late. Somehow the sheath part of the duster got held down by another rock and when I picked up the rock the duster had anchored to, I guess it yanked it through the outter, soft bark-like tube. So now the duster is in two pieces. I suppose I might as well throw away the tube part cuz its useless now. No way im going to be able to thread the duster through the sheath.

Anyway, should I just start mourning the loss of my favorite duster or is there a chance he will regrow a protective tube again? It seems the duster is ok but how could u tell if it was dead or dying? A duster is a duster. All there is to see is the frilly duster part and the long body part that used to be in the tube is now just coated with the white sand I have in the fuge.

By the way I finally found my camera cord so I can take pics and transfer em onto the computer here. Ill take a pic tomorrow.

[Reeftanker3295]

Is the worm inside fine or did you kill the worm? I accidentally ripped off half of mines tube the other week too and he already grew it back, if the worms fine then he will grow back his tube.

[jenglish]

If safe from predation they have been known to build new tubes out of sand. That is if it survives any infections from open wounds. IDK how a worm would handle an iodine dip as a disinfectant. I would put it in sand in the fuge or a pan, and see how it does. Watch it closely so if it dies you can remove it.

[Cuttlefish]

I think hes gonna be ok, once again I asked a question here without first surfin around for the answer. Seems its pretty common for these things to regenerate tubes. One guy even surgically removed one from its tube and it grew back. It seems like its doing ok. Its all open obviously, what choice does it have atm lol. But when i it senses motion like when I move my hand near it, it collapses. So reaction = health im thinkin

How would i know if it died though? It droops and ceases to react I assume?

[Reeftanker3295]

Yea, if you can maybe put it in a small tank or section of your tank by itself with small rocks and sand so that it can regrow its tube without thinks biting at it.

[Loverotties]

+1