Feather Duster

Picked up a large feather duster today. Not sure on specific type but looks like your typical hawiian.

I acclimated and added to the reef on rockwork. It was very reactive at the store and pulled into its tube lightning fast with any kind of movement. After acclimating and handling it seems very sluggish and I can wave my hand around it without it really pulling back much. Is this due to stress from shipping/acclimating or did I acclimate it too quickly and kill the thing? It did eventually pull back into the tube after handling for final placement and came out again but still very sluggish.

 

It sounds like it is stressed and maybe injured.

 

Well it shouldnt be injured, as mentioned it reacted with impressive speed at the store to any kind of movement. After it was in the bag the crown came out though and when I went to place it in the reef I was very careful to minimize any time exposed to air and not squish the tube at all. Hopefully its just a stress thing from the move and acclimate then and all will be fine over the next few days.

I always did want one of these guys but was unsure of how well they would last longterm due to being strict filter feeders. I have had micro feather dusters and even some horseshoe worms do well in my reef so figured I would give them a try. Assuming it pulls through would feeding RODS and BRS reef chili be enough or should I dose phytoplankton?

 

What is your salinity, and what was that of the LFS water?

IMOPE, featherdusters are sensitive to parameter changes (even from long acclimation); however, if yours are in line, it should recover in a couple of days.

Also, I've never target-fed them. As long as you're feeding fish in the same tank it should be fine.

 

I'm at 1.026 my LFS keeps the fish system at 1.023 but this came from the coral system which is around 1.025. I'm not sure about his alk or ca but I was 11 alk and 440 ca this am

 

Well, I'm not sure if this works for Feather Dusters but when I add new fish. I can go up to them as much as I want, I can even wave my hand in front of them and they won't do anything. But as soon as they seem to be acquainted with their surroundings they are a lot more aware and will dive right back in when they see someone. I'm not sure if anyone else thinks this.

And I'm pretty certain my Feather Duster did the same so I wouldn't be that worried to be honest.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. After coming home last night I got scared because the feather duster was nowhere to be seen! Ended up the whole tube fell off the rock and onto a hammer so I had to fix it into a more secure place. Seems to be much more reactive today and I think things will be just fine.

On a side note I decided to whip out my hydrometer and it read my SG at 1.028 even though my refractometer was reading 1.026! Decided it was time for some recalibration and after doing so my refractometer also read the reef at 1.028. Did a 5gal WC today and it is down to 1.027. I will lower it to 1.025 over the next week. It amazing how trustworthy my year old corallife hydrometer is! I know they have a bad rep but it never needs calibrated and always reads very accurately. I do soak it in vinegar often though and when not in use always have it filled with freshwater to prevent any deposit build up.