PDA

View Full Version : Where did my feather dusters go?

Karl H
10/04/2006, 02:15 PM
My tank has a nice sized population of feather dusters [the small ones that hitchhike on your live rock]. One rock in particular has a tight cluster of about 15-20. Literally overnight the entire cluster disappeared, the fan, the tube, everything is gone. There are plenty of other feather dusters distributed around the rest of the tank which haven't disappeared yet. What is going on here? Did they die? Get eaten? What type of animal eats feather dusters?

Current Livestock:
1 Sailfin Tang
2 Ocellaris clowns
1 Six-line wrasse
1 Cleaner shrimp
Various corals, soft and hard

Parameters:
Ammonia, Nitrate - zero
Phosphate - zero
PH - 8.2
Ca - 400
Alk - 3.5
Mg - 1170 [a little low, raising it with Kent Mg]
Salinity - 1.025
Temp - 80

I feed the fish pretty liberally. I also feed DT's phyto and oyster eggs to the corals.

Lately I've been putting antibiotics in the fish's food because the six-line has popeye.

Any ideas?

TIA
bertoni
10/04/2006, 03:08 PM
The rock might have a hitchhiker in it. Of those animals, the shrimp is one possibility. I don't know about the six-line. The other fish seem unlikely to eat featherdusters.
Ryanqk
10/04/2006, 03:41 PM
I got a piece of marshall islands rock recently that was COVERED in tubeworms, mostly the ones with paper like soft tubes, over a few days time they all disappeared except the ones with hard calcerous tubes which are still there. I still have no idea what happened to them all i brought the rock home with tons of water in the bag and newspaper and although a lil torn up they came back out at first. Oh well the hard tube ones are prettier anyways. Maybe it was die off....
Ryan
Karl H
10/05/2006, 07:05 PM
I forgot to mention I also have a starfish.
bertoni
10/05/2006, 07:26 PM
Hmm, some starfish definitely eat animals. What kind of star? Do you have a picture or a link?
Karl H
10/05/2006, 07:48 PM
Its a Fromia. Thanks.
bertoni
10/05/2006, 08:13 PM
Hmm, I don't think Fromia would eat featherdusters, unless perhaps the dusters were very small, but it's possible. Could be a hitchhiker.
atty
10/06/2006, 05:31 AM
get a trap and put feather dusters inside and see what ypu get.
Karl H
10/06/2006, 05:13 PM
I may try that. Thanks!
demonsp
10/06/2006, 05:31 PM
They also abandon there tube if unhappy , like bad flow , lighting or new hitchhiker in the area. I dought they all died you may see some appear in other spots . It may take a day or two to see this.
Here's a good aritcle on feather dusters.GL :)

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/feather.htm