Feeding featherdusters
Hi there! <Hi Leslie, MacL here with you today. Sorry for the slow response>
Couple of quick questions for you...What do I feed feather duster worms? At the moment they are getting green micro algae and Artemia. <From the faq on Feather Dusters, Daily to a few times weekly offering of live (brine shrimp nauplii, rotifers...) or prepared foods (store bought or home-made) is recommended. Clam "juice", other "meaty" foods frappe'd in a blender or smooshed with spoons or other tools applied in the general area (with a syringe, turkey baster device...) with most all particulate filtration switched off for the duration (@ an hour?). You can read more about them at http://www.wetwebmedia.com/feather.htm. Basically the feather dusters are filter feeders.> How bright a light do they need e.g.. is one ceiling fluor okay or do they need brighter light (someone has put an ultra bright halogen light over them and I have not seen them put out there "feather dusters" since!)? (By the way these are a cold water worm from South Australia). <If they are a cold water worm are they in cold water? That's more likely your problem then lighting. >
Secondly, we have an annoying bright pink growth making its way through the many recirculating tanks. Some think its an algae, others a fungus. It does no apparent harm and only presents as a very fine coating on tank surfaces.. <I would suggest looking at www.algae-base.org for an identification although to be honest it sounds to me like you are having a problem with Cyano algae. Is that a possibility?>
Thanks, Leslie

Should I collect my own feather dusters?
Hi am thinking of collecting some yellow feather dusters that live in colonies from local waters for my aquarium. Can you suggest the best method of collection. << Well I'm not sure what your local laws and regulations are, but I think feather dusters are easy to gently pull off. >> My aquarium is 40 gallon or so how many should I look at getting and I presently have five different damsels namely lemon, blue/yellow, sergeant major and two wild caught with eye spots one is blue/black the other is blue/yellow that I have never managed to ID. << It is all about food for dusters.  I suggest just getting a couple, making sure they do well, then consider adding more. They key is feeding them lots of plankton. >> I have a wrasse similar to a Christmas wrasse (also wild caught) various small starfish, a cowry, an orange slug and two purple/orange/black nudibranchs (all wild caught), oh and a closed brain coral. Will any of these harm the feather dusters? << Yes, the wrasse and cowry are possibilities. No way to know for sure.  If they are all well fed, then I wouldn't worry about it. >> The sergeant major tends to pick at the coral when it has been fed but it doesn't seem to harm the polyps just pinches its food. From what I have read they are fed much the same as the coral small shrimp etc squirted into/onto it. Do they need specific lighting conditions? << Not really. >> And on another note I would love to get a clown fish, Nemo specifically, the LFS has them in regularly but wont hold fish for more than a day, am unable to go to another LFS inside of 5 hours drive away or else I would as this one knows bugger all about marines but stock and sell them anyway. Are the clownfish prone to diseases, which ones, are they readily treatable in the display aquarium, would a cleaner wrasse solve those problems better (have read not to get one unless diseases are present as they would likely starve is this true) << Yeah, stay away from cleaner wrasse.  Most anemonefish are very durable and great beginner fish.  Just make sure they are eating, look healthy, and well quarantined. >>, are they compatible with my other fish/invertebrates? So many questions sorry much appreciate this and looking forward to your answers! << Should be good fish, good luck. >> Nicole
<<  Blundell  >>

Nutrient Control Issues
hello; i have a problem with an exploding population of these snails. could you suggest a safe method of extermination? a fish only tank with lots of live rock and a few anemones...thanks! mark s 
<Hi, Ryan with you today. These guys are small dusters/worms which form calcareous tubing on the glass of an aquarium. My guess is that they're multiplying in vast amounts because of large amounts of unnecessary nutrients in your water. They're stationary, filter feeders. As soon as their food supply is exhausted, their population will follow. Are you overfeeding? Ryan>

Freaky Feather
>I've had a feather duster in my tank for 6 days and it was doing great.. 
>>Six days isn't long, but let's continue.
>I did a 10% water change last night and this morning when I woke up, the feathers and (body?) came out of the tube. 
>>Mmm..
>What does this mean? 
>>Can mean many things. The whole body is out of the tube? Are you sure the animal is alive? When they exit like this it's a sign of stress, possibly impending death, or it's quite unhappy with its present location. When they lose their crowns (the term for the feathers at the head of the worm) it can mean, again, stress, or that they're worn out, just like a bird's feathers wear out and they have to molt. Direct feeding with coral foods is the way to get them to regrow most quickly, assuming pristine water quality. This should NOT have happened immediately post water change, and I believe that may have stressed it. The reasons for this are many: did you match temperature well (if not exactly, then at least a touch warmer)? Did you match pH EXACTLY? Salinity? Just these three factors can have had an effect. This still doesn't address overall water quality, which is another factor.
>What do I do with the tube? 
>>Leave the tube for the time being. Your biggest concern at this point is ensuring you've provided the closest thing to pure sea water as possible.
>Will it be ok? 
>>I can't tell you with the information I have.
>The duster is moving and the tube is still opened and closing occasionally. 
>>Then I would guess that the worm is still inside, and you ought to leave it be. 
>New at this please help. Kris 
>>Kris, if this is a new system (less than one year old) then I strongly advise you to go VERY slowly adding any new animals, and ALWAYS research them well before you buy! You've provided no water quality parameters for me, so I cannot address that. All I know is that you did a very small water change, and that's it. Look to our site's information on how to ask questions and what we need to help answer to give you an idea of what will be helpful. Marina 

Feather duster worm problem 5/3/04
Hi. This is Alvin here, I've had a feather duster worm for about a year now and it has been growing larger and more feathers are emerging from the crown. however, I noticed that the feathers on the crown have somewhat been shortened. It does not seem as if it was bitten as the tips of the feathers are no jagged.  My concern is, what can be the cause of it?
<If it is not being caused by fish, it could be a water quality issue.  Do check salinity, pH, alkalinity, ammonia and nitrate.  Do keep in mind that grazing fish like tangs will occasionally nip sessile inverts, not necessarily to take a bit, but just as part of their exploring for food.  Such activity could be irritating to the feather duster.>
I have a 50 gallon tank with a maroon clown, tomato clown, a brown tang, 6 damsels and 2 blue dot sleeper goby. The only recent additions are the gobies, other inhabitant have been bought about the same time as the feather duster worm, so I assume that they are not the cause. I thank you in advance for any suggestion that you may be able to provide.
<To be sure that you can rule out the fish, observe the tank for a while from a distance.  Fish learn to associate your presence with food, so your approach will interrupt their normal grazing activity.  If you aren't very patient, you could even set up a video camera and fast forward!  Best Regards, Adam.>

Spirobranchus giganteus - 4/30/2004 
Hail to the Crew: 
<howdy> 
I have been researching the Christmas Tree Worm burrowed in a Porites coral. The specific one at my LFS is a yellow Porites, which they say needs bright light. 
<very very bright lights... this coral occurs in ankle deep water in the tropics> 
Also, most all the FAQ's say they need high light and water movement. 
<correct> 
However, my confusion comes with the photo caption on the page: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/polychaetes.htm. It says "Need frequent particulate feedings, low light." 
<the worm, not the coral... and "need" is not the right word here. They are azooxanthellate (non-photosynthetic, and light matters little if you can prevent algae from encroaching>> 
Now, I appreciate differing opinions, but could this have been misstated on the photo page? Could it possibly be that the Porites requires high light, but the worms don't? 
<correct> 
That would seem like an unusual "relationship". 
<as per above... the coral needs light, the worm cares not> 
Thanks for all you do. When people follow your advice, lives are saved. Rich 
<thanks kindly my friend... best of luck! Anthony>

Fan worms out of control! What do I do? - 4/27/04 
Hi, I have a two month old FOWLR tank with a fan worm epidemic. <Maybe perhaps there are high nitrates in the tank or much left over food> A month ago, I noticed what looked like a blue fan worm growing on one of my scarlet reef hermit's shell. <One of many place you can and will fine them> I was excited at first, <I would be> but all of a sudden these things were everywhere. <Not unheard of at all> Covering my snails, and crab shells. I sent pictures and contacted the company that I bought my snails from and they said it was Aiptasia and to get rid of it ASAP. <WHAT?! Big difference here in my opinion, but I am sure there is more to this diagnosis than I am hearing...anyhoo...> My scarlet reef's were dying from an unknown cause at the time, <In my opinion, these are not exactly as hardy as the other hermits offered to the trade> so I believed them and thought the Aiptasia was doing it. Therefore I scraped all these "things" off everything I could find. <Ahhh....too bad.> Recently I have been doing some more research and discovered they were fan worms. The little calcareous serpulids, and fan worms were not Aiptasia. <Exactly> I was devastated, knowing I had killed such beautiful creatures. <Well, more will appear> I only had one that had any color, and it was a beautiful blue. HOWEVER....., I have been noticing that these things are still everywhere. Growing and reproducing at an alarming rate. Unfortunately none are blue like my favorite, but they still are beautiful. <I agree> My question is, should I limit their growth? I have hundreds of practically microscopic ones on my snail and crab shells, but there are still more than a couple dozen on my live rock that are starting to grow quite large. <Won't hurt a thing. I would leave them, but do be aware of water quality. There proliferation is sometimes less enigmatic and more an indication of water quality going awry> Will this overgrowth of fan worms be okay? <Sure. Doing what they do best. Feeding out of the water column> Is there such a thing as too many? <Not in my experience> I have been told that this means the water quality is good. <Not really. Proliferation of macro life is more an indication of water quality....that is true. Good or Bad is a relative term. Do research our FAQs on fanworms> Trust me, after all I've been through, I am definitely patting myself on the back, but should I be more concerned at their numbers? <Not their numbers but do go through some water testing to make sure that something isn't headed in a bad direction> Please let me know what your thoughts are. <You got 'em> Thank you so much again for the absolutely wonderful help.<What we do!> You guys are the greatest. <So our all our readers. Thanks for being part of it all. ~Paul>

Feather Duster
Hello,
<Hi, Graham at your service.>
We finally found your wonderful site of information.  
<We're glad that you find the site useful!>
We have a 75 gal. that has cycled.  It is about 1 month old.  We just recently added 2 Hawaiian feather dusters.  This morning we saw that one of them has completely left his tube with crown.  It also had a web like matter coming from it.  What could be the
problem?  
<Many times tube worms will leave their tube due to stress- possibly something is bothering it, too much current, or poor water conditions.>
We are feeding it DTs phytoplankton.  We have a crushed coral
substrate.  Will it be able to re-build its tube with that substrate?
<Fortunately, in a healthy environment, the worm will be able to regrow its tube within weeks or months.>
Thank you!!!
<Take Care, Graham.>
Joan Tipton

Feather Duster Question 3/8/04
Hey:  I have a feather duster question...  I have had one for about two weeks and now he starts coming out of his tube... but he goes back in if he gets scared...  Looks like he gets out and his crown is out and he looks around with it or something...  Is something wrong with him or is this normal..  Thanks a lot
<It is probably normal.  Feather duster tubes are often damaged in transport.  It will be reconstructed in time if the animal is healthy and getting enough food.  Losing "feathers" from it's crown would be a bad sign.  Best Regards.  Adam>\

De-tubed feather duster
My husband bought a rather large feather duster for my tank today.  It's tube is about 1/2" (12mm) diameter & about 8" (20cm) long.  He put it in a hole in the live rock at lunchtime, about 3" would fit down in the hole.  At dinnertime, I noticed it was sagging a lot and getting close to another coral.  My husband wasn't home, so I decided to move it.  It wasn't coming out of the hole very easily, but it finally came out.  Well, the tube did, anyways.  So now, I have an empty tube and the feather duster is still in the hole in the rock.  I can see it way down in there, but I can't get to it.  Will it rebuild it's tube?
<Possibly, yes>
What an idiot I am, I knew I shouldn't have forced it out if it was stuck.  Will it live?  Will my husband kill me? :) Thanks in advance.
Lisa
<Don't know about spouse... but I give you good odds, and the worm too, of surviving, building (and keeping) a happy home. Bob Fenner>

The Tube Is There- But Is Anyone Home? (Missing Feather Duster)
Hello guys, this is Bart from Southern California.  The service you guys provide is invaluable.  If it wasn't for your assistance, I would have given up long ago.
<Glad that we've been a source of encouragement! Scott F. with you today!>
Attached is a picture of my 5 gallon nano-reef.
<Very nice!>
I purchased a light green feather duster at the beginning of the year. After laying him on the surface of the sand he immediately started boring into the sand from his back end.  While performing maintenance duties, I noticed a tube made of sand alongside the tube worm.  After trying to move it I realized it was attached to the old tube. Apparently, he got busy and extended his tube 2 inches into the sand and it just recently managed to come to the surface of the sand.  Problem is I never see him anymore.  Now this has been a couple weeks and I see no activity whatsoever.  Do you think he is still alive?  What will happen to the old piece of tube?
<It will probably decompose or crumble over time, or perhaps another animal will "adopt" it as a home!>
It appears to be crumbling and apparently deserted, but is still attached to the new piece of tube. Thanks for your assistance.
<Well, I've always been a big on holding out hope 'till the last possible minute. Typically, these worms will emerge after a week or so if they are indeed alive. However, why not give it a little more time? As long as water quality has not been compromised by a decomposing animal, it's worth the wait. Keep your eyes peeled and your fingers crossed! Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Are featherdusters tasty?
Hello
<Hi>
I saw a  7"x3" piece of rock which had about 20 small 1cm blue
featherdusters? present.
I would love to add it to my reef setup but before i shell out $60
i thought that I would research their possible predators. I have red scarlet
hermits, blue legged hermits, orange Linckia star, turbo and Astrea snails, purple
tilefish, pair maroon clowns, Lemonpeel angel, citrus clown, yellow watchman
goby, small conch, pistol shrimp, two fire shrimp, two cleaner shrimp, two peppermint
shrimp, a rose bubble tip anemone, and various corals. tank has been running
for 8 months with minimal problems (the most mysterious being the unexplained
death of the bicolor blenny last seen happily swimming about his small cave ,
later that evening to be found deceased in a shallow rift of live rock, no
apparent disease but some possible trauma to his midsection, I suspect the purple
tilefish  which had been just released into the neighborhood ,but he swears he
was with the cleaner shrimps all night. The case has gone cold and no other
mortalities have been reported!)
Thanks for your expertise and time.
Mr. S. Holmes
<Well, the good news is that nothing in your tank will nip or bother the worms (besides the lemon peel angel which has a chance for nipping at the coral and feather dusters, although I wouldn't be too worried unless the angel has been previously nipping at other invertebrates or coral). Because you mentioned "Blue feather dusters," this makes me think that you're referring to Christmas tree worms. The worms are found in a small polyped scleractinian (SPS) coral which is in the genus Porites. This coral that the worms host in will require intense amounts of lighting, preferably metal halides. If you do not either have intense amounts of fluorescent lighting (T-5, VHO or Power Compacts) or metal halides, I would not recommend this coral/worms. If you do decide to buy the coral, first make sure that you have proper water quality and proper amounts of current. Because the host coral (which the feather dusters are in) is an SPS, it will require generally strong amounts of current. Water quality should be great, which means no phosphate, no nitrite, no ammonia, little amounts of nitrate, pH of around 8.2, Salinity of around 1.025, and a steady temperature. Because this host coral is calcium carbonate based, it will require a calcium of around 450ppm and an alkalinity of around 8-14dKH. The coral can be delicate to keep, but in the proper environment this can be a stunning addition! Good luck, Graham.>

-Featherduster feeding-
<Kevin here, how are ya?> Hey, just wanted to tell you thanks for the help on my sea urchin question, and I have one other question to ask. I just got a featherduster and the guy at the pet shop said that he would require no special feeding <wrong> and live on the fine particles that are naturally in the aquarium <true, but not for the long haul> (I guess stuff like the small particles of food that aren't eaten by the fish) I am now reading that they need to be feed. Can you please answer this question. <I'd recommend one or two of the many live, freeze dried, refrigerated, frozen, etc brands of phytoplankton, preferably DT's live phyto. Follow the directions on the bottle, usually a few times a week should suffice.> My last question is how long do they generally live, I have been unable to get a answer to this anywhere on the internet. <Short answer: They do well if fed properly and are otherwise very hardy.> Thank you very much in advance you guys are great. <I hope this helps! -Kevin>

Tiny New Ones
>I am curious about small creatures emerging from my live rock.  They appear to be similar to a feather duster in appearance.  Their casing (1mm diam) is white and is growing about 2mm weekly.  The filter is slightly purple in coloration and is almost jellyfish-like and when extended is about 7mm diameter.  The 75 gal marine tank with about 100 lbs live rock has been set up since Sept 03 but these critters have just started to appear.  Any thoughts?  Bill (cafacman)
>>Hhmm.. I would guess (without any pictures to help with identification - NOT that I'd necessarily be able to identify with a picture anyway)  that they are a worm of some sort.  Beyond that, I couldn't begin to venture a proper guess.  However, as to the relatively recent population boom, I would surmise that it is one of two scenarios, or a combination of both, those being that A: tank conditions are only just now "right" for them to repopulate (remember, you wouldn't get them if there weren't at least a few to begin with), which would make some sense as the tank's only now just beginning to mature; or B: they've been there in small numbers, and population density has now hit levels at which they're more noticeable (think "real estate").  Know that this sort of thing is entirely common.  Marina

Live Rock Denizens (1/11/2004)
I purchased some live rock from my local pet store and saw several things that looked like extremely tiny red anemones, actually more like a very small feather duster.  The base is red along with the "tentacles" that come out.  I never see them go into the base/tube but they do "flow" in the current like a duster would.  The self proclaimed fish expert at this store called them Spaghetti worms, but I have never seen a Spaghetti worm that looked like these.  Any clue as to what they are?  Any info will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you....  Steve
<Hard to say for sure without seeing them myself, but they do should like tiny Sabellid fanworms by your description. Look here for more info: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/feather.htm  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/polychaetes.htm
Hope this helps. Steve Allen>

Splitting feather worm??
Hi whoever :-)
<Adam today!>
This is Des. This isn't really a problem but I can't seem to find much info on the topic. Steve Pro suggested that I ask the crew particularly Anthony. I have a  feather worm that has been in my tank approximately a year and a half. The  other day I noticed
two mouths!  Steve suggested I send a photo but alas my camera is
acting up. Anyway there are definitely two mouths and I wondered if this is how  they reproduce?
<A photo is always helpful, but I think you are exactly right!  In a little while, you will probably have two feather dusters.>
Also I wondered what is likely to happen. Will it:
a. Just sit there with two mouths sharing the same tube?
<Possible.  No idea how long splitting may take.>
b. Eventually have one or both of the blow the coop and one or both
make a new tube.
<Probably.  One will probably leave the current tube to build it's own.>
c. other?
<Maybe.  Dunno for sure.>
Also I noticed that it is not quite open as long as much as usual.
Could this be the stress of doubling?
<Very well could be.  Dividing is an energy intensive process for any animal.>
Anyway this isn't earthshaking but I was curious.
<Not earth shattering, but a nice report.  Please do updated us if it splits.  Please also include photo documentation if possible.  This is the first I have heard of this and have never seen it documented, so your report could make a great educational tool.>
Thanks, --des
<Thank you!  Best regards.  Adam>

Itsy Bitsy Fanworm (12/21/2003)
Hello all! <Greetings, Steve Allen responding tonight.>
Was hoping someone might be able to help me with a couple questions.  <I'll give it the ol' college try.> I just got a new batch of live rock today, and I noticed in a quarter sized depression in one rock that is about an inch deep is a teeny tiny fan type worm. <lucky you!>
It is about 1/2 inch long and small in diameter - about 1/16" maybe  The question is how can i keep this lil guy alive? I imagine the food he needs would have to be terribly small - his fan after all is only about 1/8 inch!  Any ideas for me? I read over the FAQs and saw nothing about worms this size.
<A toughie here. If your tank is already well-established, there may be enough matter in there for it to survive with adequate circulation. You could try gentle tar] get feeding with a live filter-feeder food. Trouble is, most of what you squirt at such a tiny worm will go past and contribute to the waste in your tank. Whether you want to try this or not is your call.>
Another question since I'm already typing- I have 40 watt florescent bulb on my tank. at the moment I can't afford better and was wondering is the lack of light going to harm/be detrimental the stuff growing on my rocks? (like a couple of teeny tiny green/yellow star polyp-looking things and a flat coral/or mushroom thingy that's on one, the coralline algae and the stiff red plants/algae?
<If you leave the light on 10-12 hours per day, the coralline will certainly be fine. The mushrooms are not big light-users, so they may be OK. The yellow polyps probably need to be in the upper 1/3 of the tank to thrive. Read about lighting needs on WWM.>
Thanks a bunch! <You're welcome.> J Casey
PS i never heard back from you all after i sent the pics of my snail-  did you get that message? thanks again! <I could not find that e-mail in any of the in baskets. If you do not receive a reply form someone by Monday morning, I'd suggest you re-send it.>

Question bout tubeworm......
Hi Sir,
I'm Seng from Malaysia and I would like to know is it ok to keep 5 tubeworm in a tank with another 6 fish together?
<Yes... if there is sufficient room, and the fishes are not types that are given to eat the tubeworms...>
I read about one magazine that the tubeworm will provide oxygen to the fish, is it true?
<No... these are polychaete worms... that respire, use oxygen rather than produce it>
My tank is only 25 gallons, is it too small to keep so many live thing?
<Likely so... If the fish selected were very small and not very active you might be able to house this many... What sorts of fishes did you have in mind?>
Hope can get your reply as soon as possible, Thanks!
Seng
<Sama sama, Bob Fenner>

- Shrinking Feather Duster -
Hi All,
A quick question, of the millions you get and reply, for which we are all better for, thank you in advance.  My feather duster, who is rapidly approaching a year old, is getting smaller, he no longer seems to be as full.  He built a new tube, he never left the old tube, however he forked  back into the piece of rock he has been attached to since we got him. <Interesting.> My main concern, are we feeding him properly? <Let's see...> My tank setup is about 1.5 years old and has very low bio load. I regularly feed 2 tablespoons of DT's about 3 times a week and also add Reef Smorgasbord on the other 3 days of the week with a fasting on Sundays, The inverts are feed twice a week usually Mysis shrimp and some kind of bubble pop type food i.e. bloodworms, or something.  Clean tank, water changes on Sunday with RO water, or distilled if I forget to setup the RO machine. My parameters have been normal and I recently add a refugium, after we noticed his shrinking size.  Any suggestions? <Hmm... sounds to me like you are doing most things correctly. The DT's particle size could be too large for this feather duster... need to blend it down or perhaps try other things. Do read this article, suggestions for feeding there: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/feather.htm
Cheers, J -- >

Gettin' the Skinny on the Feather Duster
>Hi All,     
>>Hello.
>A quick question, of the millions you get and reply, for which we are all better for, thank you in advance.  My feather duster, who is rapidly approaching a year old, is getting smaller, he no longer seems to be as full.  He built a new tube, he never left the old tube, however he forked  back into the piece of rock he has been attached to since we got him.  My main concern, are we feeding him properly?  my tank setup is about 1.5 years old and has very low bioload. I regularly feed 2 tablespoons of DT's about 3 times a week and also add reef smorgasbord on the other 3 days of the week with a fasting on Sundays.  The inverts are fed twice a week usually Mysis shrimp and some kind of bubble pop type food i.e. bloodworms, or something.  
>>Last bit is confusing, "bubble pop" food?  I don't know of many inverts that would feed on these foods, (ESPECIALLY the bloodworms), and I cannot imagine how well, if at all, bloodworms could or would be utilized (via digestion) at all.  I would stop that.  I would TARGET feed the feather duster with the DTs.
Clean tank, water changes on Sunday with RO water, or distilled if I forget to setup the RO machine.
>>My goodness, I'd really be careful just tossing in distilled OR RO water without first buffering.  But I don't know that this has anything to do with the shrinking duster.
>My parameters have been normal and I recently added a refugium, after we noticed his shrinking size.  Any suggestions?
>>You'll have to wait a while for the 'fuge to kick in.  In the meantime, target feed him.  Marina

Spontaneous feather duster generation-
Hey, I have been noticing tube worms forming on my live rock. They have white
calcareous tubes and their "feathers" are a deep red color. The tubes are about
1/4" and they are slightly curled. I have Googled the site but have been unable
to find a definitive ID. Any idea what these are? If so, how big could they
get? Thanks,<They are just small feather dusters that seem to reproduce readily
under ideal conditions, Enjoy these small magnificent creatures, Good luck, IanB>
Steve

Small tank, Large Dusters 10/13/03
Good day all!  As always, all of you rule!!!!!!!!  We are so very lucky in being able to contact each and every one of you regarding any issue we may be having.  Thank you so very much.
<quite welcome>
Well, first off, I've got a 29 gal- emperor 400 w/bio wheel- CPR dual Bak pak- 30.5 pounds of live Fiji rock from harbor aquatics- 35-36 pounds of live sand by natures ocean- 4 feather dusters- 1 fridmani Pseudochromis- 1 yellow clown goby- 1 Banggai cardinal- 2 peppermint shrimp- one scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp- a bunch of Cerith and Nassarius snails- 2 Astraea snails- assorted
hermits (blue legged, scarlet reef, left handed, red tips)       As I LOVE every specimen in my system, I've no problem finding
information on anything and everything in my tank here on your site.  Thank goodness!!!!  My issue here is with the feather dusters.  I have read many things about their being fed and cared for properly, and so far so good.  As it's been from the start since I have gotten them.  July 19, 2003.  Although 3 days ago,
one did blow his top off!!!!!   This is normal and/or acceptable I know.
<it is almost certainly stress induced. And honestly, I do not see how a large Hawaiian feather duster has a prayer of surviving in such a small aquarium. At best, it will take months to slowly starve to death. Your system simply is not big enough to support it (needing bigger aquaria, deeper sand beds and/or refugia). Prepared foods do not adequately sustain these organisms>
I want to make sure that they are feeding and/or being fed correctly and what they need to be fed.  Originally, I would just feed them Selcon soaked baby brine shrimp.  Until I think I remember reading on your site that even that may
be a bit large for them.  
<correct>
I will proceed to blend them.....................what
I'm getting at is that I've read so many a times about the CLAM JUICE.
<may be helpful.. but is still limited nutritively>
I have bought Doxsee/Snow's Clam Juice, has no MSG or additives it
says.  I am wondering if this will be suffice blended along with the baby brine shrimp enriched with Selcon?  Somehow, I feel horrible horrible adding a "human table food" into my system.......and I certainly don't want to harm anyone nor
create an algae bloom or anything of the sorts. Will this brand/type of clam juice be fine to use?????                       Does even this CLAM JUICE have to be blended???????
Will this "supermarket" bought clam juice be bad to add to the tank?????
<its all a moot point here... I fear. I just don't see a single large feather duster living to see even 1 year old, let alone 4 large ones on prepared foods. My advice is to send these animals to a larger aquarium (100 gallons plus... and aged over 1 year with a DSB)>
I hope to hear back from you soon, as I just want the best for the feather dusters as anyone else would and I'd rather not bug u guys if I was able to find the answer on the site, so thank you for your time.
<no worries... I just wish the news was better. Best regards, Anthony>

- X-mas Worms -
Any suggestions on how to keep a Christmas Tree rock alive and happy? I add a basic Kent A&B as well as iron and a phytoplankton diet to the tank. Anything else I should include? What about light needs (time wise). Just want to keep them healthy and happy.
<Unfortunately, all too often the needs of the Porites (the coral that forms the "rock" that the tube worms live in) is neglected, which slowly dies. Porites is considered a SPS coral, and needs good water flow, high and stable calcium and alkalinity levels, and high light levels (preferably metal halide). The worms derive some health benefit from the Porites (they often die should the Porites die) and will be quite content to live on phytoplankton that you add, as well as naturally occurring microscopic floating goodies. That said, the duration of the lighting should not be taken into account with individual corals, but rather with the whole tank in mind (don't exceed 12 hours, I keep mine at 10 hours). I hope this helps! -Kevin> Thanks

Missing Tube Worm (9-23-03)
Hello again, <Howdy, you got Cody today.>
I have a question...  well I would start off by telling you have a great site and all, but I bet you get sick of people telling you got a great site I even told you got a great site once, but anyway 2 Days ago I had purchased a Tube worm so I floated him for an hour and arranged him on the rocks 4-5 times to see where he looks best at (poor guy), so I excused him for not coming out. But two days is enough!  So I picked up his tube and realized nothing was in it not even his beautiful burgundy and gold crown.  But I also saw a rip in his tube near the back, but he couldn't take the crown with him could he?  Or did I pay 12 dollars for an empty tube and my specimen is still in the pet shop but there's no way.  Though my dealer did pinch the tube off a little from another one.  
Could he be in my substrate making a new tube I wonder?  How would I know if he's making a new one though?  Please write back quickly I trust you all more than my dealer.<These are all possibilities.  He could of "jumped" when you were moving him but I bet he is still at the store.  Next time try to either buy both of them or buy one that is by itself.  You probably wont be able to tell if he is in your tank for a while as he will be buried in the substrate making a new home.  Cody>
Thanks a lot,
Chris