kimberbee Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 It's been what, about a week since he lost his tube? Does he look like he's shrinking? Hopefully it's a good sign that he's still around and kickin'. Or is it a she? Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 It's been what, about a week since he lost his tube? Does he look like he's shrinking? Hopefully it's a good sign that he's still around and kickin'. Or is it a she? it wiggled out last wednesday. so it's been almost a week. i'm at a loss, really. he still seems fat and wiggly, but i was hoping with the bit of sand on the back of its head, it'll start making another tube. no progress this morning, alas. i get nervous when the sexies and the bristle worms get near it. wish naked worm luck! still not feeling super hopeful, i have to admit. all the googling just says how hard they are to keep alive. Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Hi Cindy, you have a wonderful tank. As for the duster moving out of its tube - here's a way I learnt that helped one of my previous dusters regenerate a brand new tube within 1.5 weeks. First, try to get a jar or even tupperware that's at least 3 inches high. Then put 1/3 of aragonite sand into the jar. Gently lay the duster in such a way that it is positioned vertically with its crown facing upwards (think of a sprouting plant with a flower at the top), and fill up the rest of the jar all the way with sand. Leave maybe 0.5 inches of free space between the sandline and the rim of the jar. The duster is technically now 'planted' into your little sand jar, and *should* settle in and feel secure. Put it in an area of low flow or in a tank corner where it is less likely to be disturbed by any other things in the tank. Within two to three weeks, you should see the tell-tale signs of a new tube forming. I applied this technique with one of my dusters (when it was restless and crawling around for almost 2 weeks), and it worked. So I hope this might help your duster as well. Best of luck! Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Hi Cindy, you have a wonderful tank. As for the duster moving out of its tube - here's a way I learnt that helped one of my previous dusters regenerate a brand new tube within 1.5 weeks. First, try to get a jar or even tupperware that's at least 3 inches high. Then put 1/3 of aragonite sand into the jar. Gently lay the duster in such a way that it is positioned vertically with its crown facing upwards (think of a sprouting plant with a flower at the top), and fill up the rest of the jar all the way with sand. Leave maybe 0.5 inches of free space between the sandline and the rim of the jar. The duster is technically now 'planted' into your little sand jar, and *should* settle in and feel secure. Put it in an area of low flow or in a tank corner where it is less likely to be disturbed by any other things in the tank. Within two to three weeks, you should see the tell-tale signs of a new tube forming. I applied this technique with one of my dusters (when it was restless and crawling around for almost 2 weeks), and it worked. So I hope this might help your duster as well. Best of luck! thank you so much, shadow. i admit i'm a bit timid about handling it (afraid i'll hurt it) but if it's still like this in a week, might definitely give it a go. Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 As for the duster moving out of its tube - here's a way I learnt that helped one of my previous dusters regenerate a brand new tube within 1.5 weeks. First, try to get a jar or even tupperware that's at least 3 inches high. Then put 1/3 of aragonite sand into the jar. i'm beginning to wonder if the sand is an issue. the worm came in a tan white colored tube. and my sand is the black hawaiin sand. aiiiii Link to comment
gena Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Hi Cindy, you have a wonderful tank. As for the duster moving out of its tube - here's a way I learnt that helped one of my previous dusters regenerate a brand new tube within 1.5 weeks. First, try to get a jar or even tupperware that's at least 3 inches high. Then put 1/3 of aragonite sand into the jar. Gently lay the duster in such a way that it is positioned vertically with its crown facing upwards (think of a sprouting plant with a flower at the top), and fill up the rest of the jar all the way with sand. Leave maybe 0.5 inches of free space between the sandline and the rim of the jar. The duster is technically now 'planted' into your little sand jar, and *should* settle in and feel secure. Put it in an area of low flow or in a tank corner where it is less likely to be disturbed by any other things in the tank. Within two to three weeks, you should see the tell-tale signs of a new tube forming. I applied this technique with one of my dusters (when it was restless and crawling around for almost 2 weeks), and it worked. So I hope this might help your duster as well. Best of luck! This is awesome! Cindy, do it!!!! I wouldn't wait. I bet it will work . You could always ask your LFS if they have any loose sand you could use so you don't have to buy a whole bag for only a few cups of sand! Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 This is awesome! Cindy, do it!!!! I wouldn't wait. I bet it will work . You could always ask your LFS if they have any loose sand you could use so you don't have to buy a whole bag for only a few cups of sand! i considered that. i might just do that when i got get my usual week of salt water for my weekly water changes on thursday. or maybe tomorrow. Link to comment
Maniu Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 You could ...... as a last resort, get 0.5 inch pvc tube cut to size and place your beloved worm in it. I read somewhere that it will lessen the stress and provide protection from predator and pesky inverts/fish. Btw there is a lot of info about Feather Dusters out there. But it might take a bit to find it. When I get home later today or tomorrow, I will try to post links to some useful info about feather dusters. FD are hard to keep for many reasons but starvation is the main cause of death. Simply speaking, FD need a lot of nutrients and unfortunately it has to be caught by immobile predator of plankton. ........and your video ROCKS. Link to comment
metrokat Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 You know those thin plastic tubes that tweezers come in, it's snug and the duster might like to be cozy again. You could try to weight it with a little sand and place it next to the worm, it might check it out Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 You could ...... as a last resort, get 0.5 inch pvc tube cut to size and place your beloved worm in it. I read somewhere that it will lessen the stress and provide protection from predator and pesky inverts/fish. Btw there is a lot of info about Feather Dusters out there. But it might take a bit to find it. When I get home later today or tomorrow, I will try to post links to some useful info about feather dusters. FD are hard to keep for many reasons but starvation is the main cause of death. Simply speaking, FD need a lot of nutrients and unfortunately it has to be caught by immobile predator of plankton. ........and your video ROCKS. thank you! i've been googling as much as i can. often, people just quote the same source. i've found a few good articles, but nothing on how long it might take for them to rebulid or their preference of sand, etc. i guess it's assumed if he had a white/tan tube, he needs that sort of substrate again? yeah, i realize now that it needs food. i've been dosing liberally with phyto feast live concentrate, but not sure if that's enough. it wiggles when i dose though. who knows. aiiii ant, i believe, also said it is a xmas tree worm. in retrospect, i hope not, as those have hard tubes, i think. and i specifically wanted a soft as i don't dose with calcium. You know those thin plastic tubes that tweezers come in, it's snug and the duster might like to be cozy again. You could try to weight it with a little sand and place it next to the worm, it might check it out thanks, kat! in my research i know that you had kept some of these duster worms, did they do well? or do most not last very long? Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Wish I could give you more info on how mine survived. It was really rather surprising considering this was in was my very first setup... [sighs] [Reaches WAAAY back] http://s75.photobucket.com/user/g12052/media/10g%20tank/stuff127.jpg.html'> That's the guy (on the right) It slithered under the left rock structure where there was some good cross flow and a lot of detritus. I didn't break down the tank for a solid 3mos but by then it had a fully rebuilt tube. It stayed in the new system until a crash wiped out the entire tank some 6 months later. http://s75.photobucket.com/user/g12052/media/black%20diamond%20tank/11-5-07025.jpg.html'> Dunno what you could glean from that. Lol maybe baster the sandbed every now and again? But like everyone seems to agree upon food and prayer are the best you can do for it. Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Wish I could give you more info on how mine survived. It was really rather surprising considering this was in was my very first setup... [sighs] [Reaches WAAAY back] That's the guy (on the right) It slithered under the left rock structure where there was some good cross flow and a lot of detritus. I didn't break down the tank for a solid 3mos but by then it had a fully rebuilt tube. It stayed in the new system until a crash wiped out the entire tank some 6 months later. Dunno what you could glean from that. Lol maybe baster the sandbed every now and again? But like everyone seems to agree upon food and prayer are the best you can do for it. what a fantastic tank and great feather duster. i'm sorry it crashed. thank you for sharing. Link to comment
metrokat Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 thanks, kat! in my research i know that you had kept some of these duster worms, did they do well? or do most not last very long? I had a pretty yellow duster a while back and sold it, so it was very much alive for the several months I had it. The other dusters in my tank are happy but they are small rock dusters, not a big one like yours. I had a fan worm appear out of no where on the christmas favia. The tube got damaged when I chiselled the favia out to put in the new tank. The worm was doing fine, I put it in a nook that was in the rock. Bastard acro crab found it My tank has a bunch of phyto, I feed live whenever I can get a bottle but feed dead phyto every day nearly. I don't know how phytoplankton reproduces in a tank (I know how I culture it and it has no predators in the culture) but I would think bacteria, zooplankton, other species of phyto are all consumed by some critter at some level to make food naturally in a tank for other critters. Established tanks can sustain dusters IME, for this reason. Mature tanks are as near of an ecosystem that is able to sustain its unseen creatures. Live phyto is what they like from what I have read, heard. Feeding a lot though could lead to a nutrient spike so be watchful. I would probably target feed with pumps off. They also consume dead phyto and micro foods and you can see them pooping this out. the poop is it's way of building it's tube. I know none of this from first hand experience so please take it with a grain of salt. Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 thank you so much, shadow. i admit i'm a bit timid about handling it (afraid i'll hurt it) but if it's still like this in a week, might definitely give it a go. Don't worry - if you're afraid of handling it, try using a small cup or something to scoop it up and use your fingers (gently) for placing it. Try to avoid using a net or tweezers since this might be too rough on the worm. i'm beginning to wonder if the sand is an issue. the worm came in a tan white colored tube. and my sand is the black hawaiin sand. aiiiii Could be, but you might as well give the sandbox/tube idea as suggested by Maniu a try. Otherwise a restless worm won't last too long in a tank. Link to comment
Maniu Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Worked very long shift today and didn't prepared links for you to sink into except the one below. hope it helps with basic information needed to keep feather dusters. I have two in my tank but honestly, I am not sure if I can keep them alive long term (doubtfully). They do love higher flow areas and phyto. I also feed live plankton whenever I can get it. Usually once a month. Target feeding with pellets or other food such as mysis or cyclopeez etc is misleading info suggested often around the web. It needs "food that is just right". ( please see link below ). Leaving tube is almost never a good sign (sorry but don't want to sugar coat it). I can only speculate on why but it is usually due to poor water quality, insufficient nutrient consumption, flow or pests. keep trying feeding it phyto. But like Kat said, carefully as you don't want to over feed and cause other problems. Best wishes M http://www.dtplankton.com/articles/filterfood.html Link to comment
kimberbee Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Good luck with your wormie!! Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 thanks for all the advice, anecdotes, and good wishes, friends. i found the perfect container--the small chemipure elite plastic tub. i kept it and knew it'd come in handy! tomorrow i go in search of white sand for the duster. i noticed one plume's feathers is defnitely thinned. i don't know if natural loss due to stress, predation, not feeling healthy or what. but he wiggled again a lot when i dosed the tank with phyto. will keep posted. Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 well, Operation Nursing Duster Worm began today. he had crawled to the very back of the tank during the night--somewhere which is inaccessible to me. i had a feeling he was headed that way. he definitely has lost some of his feathers. it is thinned and ragged. there was a damned bristle worm near it and i totally believe they have been eating his feathers. he looks pretty rough around the edges and i think i left intervention (one week without tube today) for too long. i had to buy a 10# bag of white argonite sand and also bought another new bottle of phyto feast (the other expired recently--though near full, and i wanted to make sure i had best phyto i could for duster). total cost: $32 i had to take the rocks out from the tank, nothing was smashed or died, amazingly. but i can't say i'm feeling confident for the duster. i was too scared to bury it vertical, so i just put it in the nursing tub with the white sand and sprinkled some on him. i also fed him directly. continued good thoughts appreciated. it'd have to be a big turnaround. the people at LCS pretty much thought duster was a goner once he left the tube. boo. here is a bad foto of duster in quarantine. Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 here is another foto of poor ragged naked duster... Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Positive thoughts i don't know how i keep suckered into spending more to keep a critter alive than i spent to buy it. Life of a Noob. thank you, kat! <3 Link to comment
frankdr Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 ..spending more to keep a critter alive than i spent to buy it. ^^ The definition of reef keeping.. sigh Link to comment
cindyp Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 ^^ The definition of reef keeping.. sigh seriously. and i think the end might be near for my duster worm. i'm sad. Link to comment
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