I am very new to saltwater. My tank has just cycled so I got 2 feather dusters yesterday that are apparently pretty hardy. I floated the bag for about 15 minutes and just placed them into my tank. Did I damage them?? How do you know if a featherduster is dying or has gone into shock? For the future, should they be drip acclimated?
Necessary to acclimate featherdusters??
- Thread starter amanda_
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i would suggest acclimating them via a drip method, for about an hour and half..
A good easy way to know if they are stressed or dying is by them either permanently staying in their tube if dying or shedding their crown if stressed...
Niko
A good easy way to know if they are stressed or dying is by them either permanently staying in their tube if dying or shedding their crown if stressed...
Niko
When refering to the crown, its the feathery head part of the worm. If its shed this, it will stay in the tube untill a new one has been formed...
Niko
Niko
The one featherduster seems perfectly fine. It is out all the time
and seemed to eat when we fed it some baby brine shrimp. The other one seems fine as the crown stays out and it has moved around but the skin stuff around the worm is not completely around its body but only attached at the 'neck'. Is this normal or is it a sign of stress or death?
and seemed to eat when we fed it some baby brine shrimp. The other one seems fine as the crown stays out and it has moved around but the skin stuff around the worm is not completely around its body but only attached at the 'neck'. Is this normal or is it a sign of stress or death?
it could be, as long as you have good calcium levels in the tank, the tube will grow back..All you can do is monitor it well, ensure nothing harrasess it..Do you test for calcium?
Niko
Niko
i would just watch it really, ensure nothing causes anymore stress and hopefully, all should be well and the tube will grow back..i would suggest a getting a calcium kit though so you know what the levels of the tank are..
Niko
Niko
How new is the tank? Did it cycle? When you say the other duster has moved around is it floating in the flow or do you mean just the feathery crown is moving in the flow? I keep mine buried in the sand except for the last inch or so.
Hmm I'd not be feeding the feather brine shrimp. You could feed it phytoplankton but when you do be sure to do it from the bottom of the feathers and let it just drift up and into the crown so it can filter the food.