+Mitch Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 i bought a hawaiian feather duster from fishy business last mon. for the first 4 days it was alive, eg crown would retract etc etc. for the past 3+ days it's been retracted the whole time. my water parms (salinity, ph, temp, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) are all good. the top of the tube is somewhat pinched together so i can't see down into it. how do i know if it's still alive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Lightly pinch the tube. If it is still alive the tube will feel "full", as well it may even wiggle a little. They quickly breakdown into nothing once dead. If you squeeze the tube and it collapses, then it is gone. Some times they will establish themselves somewhere and decide to move. They will leave the tube behind and crawl around looking for a new place to set up. On another note, I'm at a loss as to why they sell these things. I've not heard of many successes with them. Most of the articles I've read say they don't feed well in captivity, needing an almost endless supply of particulate foods. I added 20 of them to my tank at one time to see how many would survive, I am down to 2 and they are gradually getting smaller. Most people believe that spraying them in the fan "feeds" them, however their mouth is in the bottom of the tube, the middle of the fan is their anus. You are just spot feeding their butt. They draw water down into the tube and then it is forced back up and out through the middle of the fan to exit. They will also collect particles on their fan and from time to time draw this into the tube to clean it. Their reaction time is so quick that spot feeding only disturbs them, they tend to draw in and push food away rather than collecting into the fan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 +1 to CR mike's post above. Spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Guess I'm lucky, I've had the same FD in my cube since sept 08. Never tried spot feeding, but it hasn't changed at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted December 29, 2009 Author Share Posted December 29, 2009 Well, the tube feels firm towards the center and the tube is now attached to the neighboring rock. I'll give it a couple weeks and cross my fingers. Thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarbear Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 It might be growing a new crown (feather). I got one about 6 months ago and the pervious owner had it for about a year. I took it home and it opened up nicely. after about a month it closed up (just like yours. It looked pinched at the end) and I noticed the feather floating around in the water. In about a couple of weeks, it opened back up and had a new feather. Give it time, it is not dead. If it doesnt open soon and you dont want it anymore let me know. i will try to trade you something for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted December 29, 2009 Author Share Posted December 29, 2009 @polarbear, thanks for sharing your experience... so i'll be crossing my fingers this is just normal... btw, did you (spot) feed while it was in the tube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted December 29, 2009 Author Share Posted December 29, 2009 oh, and one difference is that it did not abandon it's crown... at least none of it is/was floating in the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarbear Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 i didnt and still dont spot feed mine. Just give it time. I think it will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wippit Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 "You are just spot feeding their butt" Quote Log! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reybeast Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 must.....resist....telling........butt joke......ARGH!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dena Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 I had no idea that was their fanny...too weird. Anyway, I've had one in my tank for over 2yrs...actually two of them. One came attached to a Flower Pot Coral and was really tiny...it's eating something because it's pretty big now. Dena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 fyi, i saw about .25" of it's crown peak out of the tube last night, but now it's completely retracted as before... oh well, at least i know it's still alive for now... thanks ya'll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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