Is it normal for a feather duster to come out of its shell???

cside · 03/15/2011, 10:05 AM

Mine is

should I be worried? I have two right now and only one is doing this. params are:
ammonia:0
nitrite:0
nitrate:0
sg: 1.025
ph: 8.4

Toddrtrex · 03/15/2011, 10:36 AM

No it isn't.

I have kept one in about 10 years, but the few times that I have seen them do this was the beginning of the end -- something is wrong, what I can't tell you.

King_Richard · 03/15/2011, 10:42 AM

From what I've read on them they'll come out of there tube if they're unhappy with the flow and they're also know to occasionally shed their feathers as well but usually regrow them. We had one that shedded and left it's tube and died on us, but this was during a minor tank crash that we experienced when we went on vacation. But, from what I understand, it's best to just leave them be and hopefully they'll form a new tube. If your's still has all of it's feathers then I wouldn't be worried about it yet. If it's losing feathers as well, then I'd suggest trying to up your feed to it if you can keep water quality in check as well. Hope everything works out for you. Also, have you noticed them breeding at all? We're considering getting 2 koko's sometime since our tank is all healthy again since we'd like them to hopefully breed.

cside · 03/15/2011, 12:53 PM

@ king richard: mine havent bred or anything like that. and i think it may be dying now. it has all of its feathers, but one of my fish nipped it a few times when it came out. i have it in a breeder net hanging in the back so the fish cant harm it. it still has all its feathers out so hopefully it is still alive.

I dont know whats going on in my tank right now though. I lost a mandarin and a bangaii cardinal in the past week. My corals are fine and my current fish look fine atm. Will do a full water change tomorrow.

cside · 03/15/2011, 04:01 PM

the feather duster is still moving around so i assume he'll be ok. i put his old tube with him in case he wanted it

AwkwardParrot · 03/15/2011, 04:10 PM

have your salinity verified. they usually won't make it if they have moved out of their tubes. It also typically happens if you have a large PH swing. If your levels check out ok, bring some water to a LFS and ask them to test the basics.

Good luck!

03/15/2011, 10:05 AM	#1
cside Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Clearwater, Fl Posts: 384	Is it normal for a feather duster to come out of its shell??? Mine is should I be worried? I have two right now and only one is doing this. params are: ammonia:0 nitrite:0 nitrate:0 sg: 1.025 ph: 8.4

03/15/2011, 10:36 AM	#2
Toddrtrex Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 23,162	No it isn't. I have kept one in about 10 years, but the few times that I have seen them do this was the beginning of the end -- something is wrong, what I can't tell you. __________________ Click my name and then "visit toddrtrex's homepage" for tank pictures Current Tank Info: 210g reef and 65g reef

03/15/2011, 10:42 AM	#3
King_Richard Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Pensacola FL Posts: 235	From what I've read on them they'll come out of there tube if they're unhappy with the flow and they're also know to occasionally shed their feathers as well but usually regrow them. We had one that shedded and left it's tube and died on us, but this was during a minor tank crash that we experienced when we went on vacation. But, from what I understand, it's best to just leave them be and hopefully they'll form a new tube. If your's still has all of it's feathers then I wouldn't be worried about it yet. If it's losing feathers as well, then I'd suggest trying to up your feed to it if you can keep water quality in check as well. Hope everything works out for you. Also, have you noticed them breeding at all? We're considering getting 2 koko's sometime since our tank is all healthy again since we'd like them to hopefully breed. __________________ "I know where I'm going, just don't know how I'm getting there" 60g Cube>50g Sump\Cube Algae Scrubber:) 6" DSB:) Live Rock:) Caulerpa :) and nothing else!

03/15/2011, 04:10 PM	#6
AwkwardParrot Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Vernon Posts: 1,368	have your salinity verified. they usually won't make it if they have moved out of their tubes. It also typically happens if you have a large PH swing. If your levels check out ok, bring some water to a LFS and ask them to test the basics. Good luck! __________________ ```__\|__' ' ' ---o0o---

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03/15/2011, 12:53 PM	#4
cside Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Clearwater, Fl Posts: 384	@ king richard: mine havent bred or anything like that. and i think it may be dying now. it has all of its feathers, but one of my fish nipped it a few times when it came out. i have it in a breeder net hanging in the back so the fish cant harm it. it still has all its feathers out so hopefully it is still alive. I dont know whats going on in my tank right now though. I lost a mandarin and a bangaii cardinal in the past week. My corals are fine and my current fish look fine atm. Will do a full water change tomorrow.

03/15/2011, 04:01 PM	#5
cside Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Clearwater, Fl Posts: 384	the feather duster is still moving around so i assume he'll be ok. i put his old tube with him in case he wanted it