New feather duster question

[Bars]

I had a large feather duster shipped to me last Tuesday, which still hasn't opened. Yesterday I decided to shine a light inside the tube and I could see (and feel) it hide even deeper inside the tube. It also looked as if he doesn't have a crown anymore. Didn't see anything in the bag it was shipped in, or my tank. He has been in the bag for 10 hours and I float acclimated him for 15 minutes.

Will he regrow his crown and eventually come out? Or is this one ill/stressed/dying?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Feather dusters do often shed their crowns when stressed, but you should have seen the shed feathers at some point. If the duster is in good condition, it will regrow (albeit they will be smaller). Decades ago, I used to work wholesale and we would have scads of feather dusters in the tanks, and when I would go and pack them for shipping, they would all retract. I would then do just what you did, and feel for some movement of the worm inside the tube - if I felt that, I'd pack it up. The problem is that if that worm had already shed its crown, I wouldn't have known it and the recipient would get a duster with no crown....but then, I was 15 at the time (grin).

That said, the typical commercially available feather dusters from Florida and Hawaii are pretty difficult to keep going in aquariums long-term (at least for me).

Jay

 

[ID-Reefer]

I just received a feather duster from Aquarium Depot. I understood that they may pop their top and/or be out of their tube upon delivery. Mine didn’t pop his top but was out of the tube. Per instructions i laid on the sand bed and partially covered the worms body as it’s supposed to build a new tube. It seemed lifeless when I put it in and still does. I’ll wait another day or two and then remove. I’m thinking it might be best bought from a LFS rather than online.

 

[blaxsun]

I just received a feather duster from Aquarium Depot. I understood that they may pop their top and/or be out of their tube upon delivery. Mine didn’t pop his top but was out of the tube. Per instructions i laid on the sand bed and partially covered the worms body as it’s supposed to build a new tube. It seemed lifeless when I put it in and still does. I’ll wait another day or two and then remove. I’m thinking it might be best bought from a LFS rather than online.

I purchased a pair in December and one immediately decided to leave his tube. Instead of placing him in the sand bed I inserted him in a crevice between some rock. He was instantly happy and has since grown a new tube. The problem with the sand bed can be that your other creepy crawlies may disturb and/or harass him while he's trying to rebuild his tube,

 

[Bars]

Feather dusters do often shed their crowns when stressed, but you should have seen the shed feathers at some point. If the duster is in good condition, it will regrow (albeit they will be smaller). Decades ago, I used to work wholesale and we would have scads of feather dusters in the tanks, and when I would go and pack them for shipping, they would all retract. I would then do just what you did, and feel for some movement of the worm inside the tube - if I felt that, I'd pack it up. The problem is that if that worm had already shed its crown, I wouldn't have known it and the recipient would get a duster with no crown....but then, I was 15 at the time (grin).

That said, the typical commercially available feather dusters from Florida and Hawaii are pretty difficult to keep going in aquariums long-term (at least for me).

Jay

Thanks. I assumed he lost his crown at the store already

It has a nice and sturdy tube at least, so hopefully it'll regrow.