Feather duster

[Fishy]

I got a pink dwarf Hawaiian feather duster for my 12 gallon tank today. One of my first animals was a tiny feather duster that came with my first coral. It was a hitchhiker. I now have Dusty, a bigger feather duster. His tube is about 4" long and feathers open to 1". He's been opening and closing all day.

About half way down his tube, there's a hole in the tube and this gunk is hanging out. It doesn't easily wipe off and shows no signs of being alive. I left it there. Is that part of his body? Does he use it to secure himself to substrates? Or, is he injured? Or, is it something else?

What is the best way to secure him to one spot? I wedged him in a crevice and put a dead snail shell over him to try to hold him there but the current keeps moving him.

How much current should he be in? Where I have him now, his plumes are always moving but I'm not sure if it's too much movement. Obviously movement brings the food to him but I also don't want to rip off his feathers. I read they are really gill plates? Is that right?

Thanks!

 

[TimSchmidt]

Not sure on the gill plates. For the securing part just wedge them in a place that keeps them still. I made a hole in my rock work and wedged my Coco worm (close to feather duster). Too much flow and I know because the crown curls up really really tight and he hides.

 

[Murex]

I think the hole in the tube may be an injury because they need to be totally protected from predators like fishes and other invertebrates. You have to be very carefull with the flow too because, although the flow brings food to it, it also brings oxigen, and if the flow is very strong it will hide inside his tube and eventually die from lack of oxigen and food :shock:

 

[Fishy]

Dusty's been open most of the time since I've had him. He had stayed put from Sunday until last night but then fell off/out of his perch again. I had to stick him back. The hole in the tube has a lot of gunk hanging out. If it's an injury, I can't imagine why it's not fatal. I wonder how far back his body actually goes down the tube, if it's all body innards down the entire tube.

Here's a photo from the day after I got Dusty:
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/photos/othe ... dusty4.jpg

 

[TimSchmidt]

The tube isn't actually part of the worm. The worms make it from calcium in the water. They can actually survive without the tube. (They just normally get eaten by other creatures). I wouldn't worry too much (but I may consider finding a tiny bit of rock and glueing it over the hole?).