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I've had this beautiful feather duster for a couple of weeks, and I just looked up and noticed it's out of it's tube...Duster still moving freely, it's undulating in the sand. From what I've been reading this is a bad sign. But is it a death sentenc? Ammonia 0, nitrite .2 nitrate 0...Hmmm...

If you're both lucky, the worm will find himself a new home among the rockwork and rebuild it's tube.. In a healthy environment, where it can be left to rebuild in peace, it should only take it a few weeks to get back to normal.. How old is this tank?? I ask because you're still reading nitrite, but no nitrate.. Featherduster worms can be picky about their water, so it's possible that's your problem.. However, it's also possible there was a problem with the location of this worm's home.. Either that the FDW was either getting too much or not enough current in it's old location and went looking for a better spot..

You may want to keep any crabs and critters away from it while it's looking about for a new home.. While it's away from a tube, it's pretty vulnerable to predation..

Good Luck with it..

Last edited by Oleta at 18-Jan-2005 00:29

Something is going wrong with my tank....I just found a belly up brittle star...Fine this morning - Or so I thought. The tank is about six weeks old. All levels were fine for about a month, then I added some (too much) rock and got a huge spike...I did water changes, removed the rock and scrubbed it like crazy, and also used amquel...I don't know what's happening. I have to do some more water tests...

Sorry to hear it, mrlimpet.. Post back when you get your new readings and hopefully we'll be able to get you straightened back out..

Generally, coming out of the tube is a bad sign. I wish you luck.



Dan