Feather Duster alive or dead question ?

[mling]

I’ve just purchased 2 Feather Duster from a LFS. One has been displaying it’s crown within hours of being in the tank. The other is still in it’s tube and has yet to display it’s crown. I believe this one is also the one that did not display it’s crown when it was in the LFS. It was hard to tell for sure since there were so many in the tank and they all retracted when a hand was put in the tank. I know it is still alive because you can feel the strong vibrations when you touch it. How do I know when a Feather Duster is dead ? Obviously not showing it’s crown is not in clear indicator. But is this an indicator of a sick Feather Duster ? Should I remove it from the tank so that it was not infect other inhabitants ?

I read that Feather Dusters are light sensitive. Does this mean I should keep them in “caves” where they are not exposed to the 200 watt of lighting I have ?

[SaltyDawg]

When my FD died it kind of halfway hung out of the tube and then just died. Give it a few days, FD's are known to shed their crowns and grow them back. Just keep an eye on it and don't keep touching it. You will only stress it out.
Wayne

[miztahphong2]

yeah feather dusters shed their crowns due to bad water conditions. but even if they do shed their crowns it will eventually grow back under the right conditions.

[Big Jim]

I got a kickass feather duster once, orange and purple, only $10 but it died 3 days later. It just hung out all floppy like once it died. Smelled nasty too!

[icereefer]

What size tank do you have? and what are you feeding, :) them?

[miztahphong2]

if you have an established reef you dont actually have to feed them or so ive read. but they can be fed filter feeder foods

[icereefer]

Dido? if.

[coral_diver]

Feather Dusters also have been know to be fed upon by the occasional big hungry bristleworm. They also are not fussy about lighting they can easily be fed rotifers and brineshrimp. They often shed their head also when they are being reproduced this prevents them from eating the larva that develop shortly after the fertilization is complete. When this is happening of course now a bit late but in the early morning usually the animals will emit smoky plumes of either eggs or sperm. It is an often occourance for them to reproduce in the home aquariums. Just a FYI. They will also yes shed the feathers if attacked by a predator as well as a response to poor water conditions or the shock of being moved. It will take 2-3weeks for them to begin regeneration of the feathers around that time you should begin to see a nubby feather starting to poke out however not a full plume. The tube should be left alone and not moved around during this period also so just let him rest and he will be fine I am sure he will just need some time. I just brought mine home yesterday pretty things hard to believe they are a worm huh? Hope this gives you the info you are after and a little more. :D