help polyps & feather duster dieing

[nitro4lf]

help my feather duster has blown it top off i think its dead already and my polyps are closed with some white stuff around them. first i checked the salinity and specific gravity too high so i lowered it then i left them when i came back this is what i found.

[Ocean Singer]

that is really wierd, but in a strange way cool :P

[Ocean Singer]

that is really wierd, but in a strange way cool :P

[bigfoot]

got me

[nitro4lf]

Ocean Singer cool :p for all i know my feather duster is dead !!!!

[FishinInTheDark]

By how much did you adjust your salinity? What are your other water perameters? I certainly looks like something is stressing out your inhabitants. . .

[Doctor_Reef]

I would want to know what the rest of the parameters are also as there certainly looks like there is some stressing going on as something appears out of kilter?!?!?

[Sugar Magnolia]

Agreed. Test your water and give us the results.

[Ocean Singer]

maybe the water stressed out the duster so much he couldn't take the pain of life anymore, so he commited suicide, he blew his head off, sorry for your loss :(

[pilotrob]

i have NEVER been able to keep a hawaiian featherduster alive in my reef for more than a few months. mine have done the same thing and then died.

[Chubosco]

Are you feeding it?

[meditech]

How quickly did you adjust the salinity? Looks to me that your Ph might have dropped whilst lowering it. Your parameters would be usefull

Those Feather Dusters are kinda sensitive to water quality and doing a massive and sudden water change wont do them any favors more times than not. They will also need pretty pristine water quality too. If your water quality is taking swings or getting outta control this will do them in in short order! They do need to be fed regularly in the home aquarium too as well as your water rarely has enough in it to sustain them. Occasionally they will shed thier "head" too. I have had mine do this a time or two and come back out on me. So just becuase it lost its head doesnt neccessarily mean its dead, but generally this is not a good sign though. I have several of them and have had them in my tanks for 2-3 years with excellent results, even had them multiply. I have the mini dusters, Atlantic/Hawwaiian Dusters, Dwarf Feather Dusters in Pink and Yellow and a couple of Coco Worms and they are pretty awesome critters. In fact the mini dusters in my live rock holding vats are outta control reproduction wise, but it makes it easy to get 10.00 a pound for the rock I occasionally sale! (Yeah I know thats kinda pricey but the rock is completely covered in coralline algae and there are tons of dusters, sponges, and some Zoanthids on them, so...)

I havent an answer on you regarding the polyps. I too would like to know what the water quality is as well including PH, Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, salanity as well as an idea of what kinda swings in these levels your having. How olds the tank too?

Its hard to come up with a explaination when I cant see the tank and check it myself personally but maybe with enough info we can get to the bottom of the issue....