It's feather duster time!

[Sweetpea]

I placed two of these handsome guys on hold this afternoon. I had a couple of questions that I asked the guy at the store, but I wanted to ask you all, too... just to be on the safe side. My nitrates are a little high... around 20... is this ok?
Since my tank is so small, the lights keep the water temp. up a bit... usually 81-82... is this ok?
Thanks for any advice! I want to be certain everything is ok before I bring them home!

[graphixx]

sweetpea your temp is allright I would not get it any higher than that. and if it were me I wold try and get the nitrates at about 10 or so. but you should be allright. good luck keep us posted

[zoo-a-holic]

temp is fine and the nitraits need to come down, however, these little buggers are tough to keep when your perameters are up and down sooo try to get the natraits down before you add them!

[dakar]

a quick 4 gallon water change should take of the nitrates for now.

[Sweetpea]

Thanks guys! I'm planning on doing an extra water change tonight... my water jugs got really cold last night because SOMEONE went to bed and left a window open... it was 43 degrees when I got up this morning! I've got a heater in there, so hopefully it'll be ready before it gets too late tonight. I am planning on picking the dusters up on Wednesday or Thursday... I'll post pics then!

[Reef_Angel]

Sweatpea, Feather Duster's are pretty tough IMO. I've had mine since we set the tank up, and that's been well over a year now. He's been in our very first tank, and has moved to every new upgrade and never failed us. "Dusty" was my first purchase when we we're done cycling. i had always dreamed of having one. Now we have the ocean in just about every room in the house! Anyway....
Being one of my favorites in the tank, his spot was on one of our coolest rocks next to a little concrete hut that Dakar made. The hut sits on a big corner piece with shelves and caves built right in. The rock is now covered with green star polyps, so it looks pretty neat! The green stars didn't attach to my chaeto covered hut, so I decided that my duster deserved to be showcased with it. He's attached to a nice sized chaeto covered rock from the same batch of rock Dakar made, so I didn't think anything of him sitting in the one bare spot on the rock. I had not been feeling well for a good 2 week period a while back, and in that time, the GS P's overgrew his rock while I wasn't looking. It looked OK so I left it. Next thing I know, I noticed he had his crown retracted, and that the stars had made their way all the up the tube right to the crown. So I got out my very razor sharp little scissors that are excellent for fragging, and I started very carefully running the scissors under the GS P's mat in order to remove it without disturbing "Dusty" to much. I got the mat to a point where I was able to slip the scissors under it and simply finish cutting down his tube to the base of the rock. Then all I'd have to do is peel the GS P's that were still attached and have a nice GSP frag. I was quite pleased with myself as all was going well, and Dusty never retracted his crown. As I finished, I was stunned to see that I had caught his tube at some point, and had opened him up like a surgeon. I always wondered what the worm looked like inside such a beautiful sea creature. I'm not fond of worms really, but Dusty intrigued me with his outer beauty. I now know what a cocoa worm looks like! I was near tears, but I knew I was in to deep to just stop removing the GS P's since they were taking their toll on him too. He was sure to die with both injuries for sure. I was working like wildfire by this time since my surgical closing procedure was already planned, and I wanted it done sooner than later. The GS P's came off quickly and in one piece. Thank God I didn't have to pick at it with his tube sliced open like that! The whole time, my patient held it together and still never retracted his crown. Honestly I thought surely he was going to throw it at any moment.
Now, to close the incision which was 3-4" long :( . Surgeons use this method, so I was going to give this type of closing the incision a shot. My first thought was to steri-strip him shut which would have worked, but I didn't want to let go of him to run to the BR closet for the med kit for fear he'd fall out of his tube. So I grabbed the Crazy Glue, put a small amount on my finger and gently rubbed it down the tube as I held it shut with just a tiny bit of overlap so as not to get any toxic glue on the actual worm itself. After his incision was closed up, I was impressed with how good things looked. I found him a new pretty spot in the tank, and he's happy as ever....still never once pulling in his crown unless he gets spooked by something in the tank. I've kept an eye on his sliced tube, and the great news is that it has sealed itself nicely. I don't know if the glue helped him to rebuild his tube, and I knew he could possibly grow his whole tube back quite quickly on his own if something didn't get a hold of him first. I felt so bad for what I did that I wanted to make it as easy on him as possible. So that's my story! My sweet husband (Dakar) got the news on all that happened when he got home from work. He bust out laughing at me. I think his comment was something like, "Only you Angel...only you would cut open the Feather Duster and glue him back together."
I really love every inhabitant we have in our tanks........and Yes, I talk to them and they let me know I'm OK. As long as I keep feeding and treating them by making their tank fun to live in, and keep my practice of hand feeding oyster eggs, brine shrimp, DT's and anything else I can find that will make them happy. I promised to stay away from them with my fragging scissors, (unless I need a frag, but they've agreed to that), :lol: everything will be fine! I had to tell this because it helps everyone remember that we all still make mistakes even though we are doing our best for these beautiful creatures in our care. That's what it's all about! :)
Have Fun creating your perfect little piece of the ocean Sweetpea! :)

[Sweetpea]

Wow, Angel! Now THAT's a roller coaster story if I ever heard one! Thank you very much for sharing it! (I'm so glad to know that Dusty has been such a trooper...)

I am very excited about creating my own little slice of the ocean... and I am pleased to know that there are folks like you that will be excited right along with me!

[Reef_Angel]

You betcha! I like to share good information with everyone, and I'll sell myself out when I really screw up too. I think it's good for us to all realize that things that go wrong for Reefers of all experience levels, and we all still learn new things... sometimes the hard way! Like me, I'd better keep Crazy Glue on hand at all times! It's healthy to share the little extra's we do/do wrong with our reefs, and it's good to laugh at ourselves. If you make someone else laugh along the way, then you've succeeded :-}
You've got the right attitude about Reefing. Keep it up! I look forward to seeing it grow along the way! Most of all, keep having fun!! ...Angel

[jerryc]

Sweetpea you do no that all members of CR have to post a pic of all new
additions to their tank. Look forward to you getting that worm home so
we can get a look at it.

[Sweetpea]

I certainly intend to share pics... I'm a proud Mama! :)

[Blk_Lotus]

Any suggestions fora Feather duster who developed a tear in his tube and is now retracted? It has enough room to fit in the tube, however it is having some issues sticking its feathers back out. It gets kinda cross threaded with some feathers poking out the side while others push farther up the tube. I'm considering taking it out and just lopping off the part of the tube above the tear so that it will at least be able to go out and back in. I don't really feel like attempting to use superglue on another living creature. Hehe. I've glued myself to assorted things too many times over the years.

[zoo-a-holic]

yea, i cant wait to see pics of the little guys! BTW, Angel just posted how to fix your little problem up there ^^^

[Reef_Angel]

Blk Lotus....I agree with you, and no....I don't super glue living creatures as a habit either. Think about it though...we use super glue(s) to glue down frags, and it helps them adhere to the rocks we want them on. The only way it would kill one is if you glopped the glue all over the top of it. So in an emergency situation like the one I managed to create by attempting to save my duster from the GS P's that were irritating it, I have to say I'd do it again if I had to!

Your situation is different being that the crown is a bit tangled, and some of it is coming out of the tear while the rest of it is able to extend. When he retracts, does his crown go below the tear? I'm not real clear by your post exactly where the tear is in proportion to the worm & the crown. I suppose you could cut the tube as long as he can still retract it, and none of his body is sticking out. He may throw his crown if you do this, but it will grow a new one eventually. When they throw the crown, it's generally due to illness, or some kind of shock. My duster held on to his well, so he must not have been stressed to badly from what I did to him.... to my great relief! Good Luck with your Duster! .....Angel

[Sweetpea]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#My dusters are home! I am trying to relax about the shrimp attacking my nem and appreciate my two new guys... they are so pretty! They're hanging out, waving thier feathers in the current, and they seem to be not-so-shy, even when Marlin bumps against them. They didn't even fully retract when I placed them! I am so proud! Here they are...#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#IMG alt="image file name: 2kf14d42f6cf.jpg" src="http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/upload/2kf14d42f6cf.jpg" border=0#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#If I get one in focus, the other is out of focus, lol! ;)#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#looks perfect! good job#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[jerryc]

I like them a lot CONGRATULATIONS

[Sweetpea]

Thank you! :)

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#NP, i like the lighter one, try to get a clear picture of him!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#this is proof for you sweatpea, its proof that featherdusters show up anywere!!!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#IMG alt="image file name: 2k2e9cd5340d.jpg" src="http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/upload/2k2e9cd5340d.jpg" border=0#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Sweetpea]

WOW BR!!! That's really cool! :D

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#lol! i thought it was pretty funny when he poped up there#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#