Have a BioCube 14 which has been running 7 weeks. I have had a Yellow Feather Duster in it for the last 3 weeks but noticed it had slipped down amongst the LR and wasn't getting much flow. Plan was to move it during todays water change.

Unfortunately on inspecting the tank, said Yellow Feather Duster's case (??) seemed empty & I found a green caterpillar creature which I assumed was the occupany curled up at the back of the tank in some 'dead' water. It was alive though & I moved it to an area closer to some flow and the origninal home.

A trip to the local reef store though and the lad there told me that it was best to remove them as they're survival rates were minimal once outside the case and being a Nano-reef, the filter load if it died would be a bad thing.

Could do with some opinions on whether to tear everything down to locate the worm (which has now subsequently disappeared) or hang tight expecting it to make a reappearance in a new location in good health. I hadn't specifically fed for the Feather Duster as the shop had told me there would be plenty in the tank for it to filter but a different assistant today had another opinion...

Water tested fine for Salinity, temp, PH, Nitrate, Ca, Alkalinity & Ammonia.

Clean up Crew comprises 5 blue legged Hermits, Sexy Anenoma Shrimp, Skunk Cleaner and I added 3 snails this afternoon.

Am new to this so any thoughts or more experienced opinions greatfully received.

Thanks.

See if this article Aquarium Invertebrates (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/invert.htm) is helpful. It may just be building a new tube in a more desirable location. Do you have a second powerhead in your tank of just the return pump?

No I've just got the pump which came with the Biocube.

If I could at least still see the worm I'd be a bit happier. Would be good if it was building a new home. Initially I thought it might be becuase I could see some clear mucus being formed around it before it wandered off somewhere else.

Thanks for the article though - very interesting. I guess I'll just have to watch the ammonia level over the next few days in case it croaks in a hidden spot.

You might want to consider adding another small powerhead to make the flow more chaotic and help avoid dead spots.

Not sure exactly what featherduster you have, but survival without tube is very very possible. The lad at the store is wrong, IMHO. A feather duster is a worm in a tube, when things go bad and a worm leaves said tube, it is trying to survive, not to die. The worm cannot travel with the tube, but is capable of building a new tube. The tube was not a refuge found, but was built by secretion of mucus to bind surrounding materials. Best answer is to leave worm alone. It is out of your hands and more time than not, it will survive and build new tube if given good water qualities/conditions and not harrassed.

i agree with Carmie and Fat, i would also leave the worm alone, and not go by whay the LFS says. it sounds like they are one of the "out to get the money" stores. the worm can definitely survive out of the tube, with the right conditions.

i would also add another power head to the tank for make the flow a little more chaotic. maybe a maxijet 400 or 600. or the new nano pumps found here ... Fraggle Reef, Premium Corals and More (http://www.fragglereef.com)

i agree with Carmie and Fat, i would also leave the worm alone, and not go by whay the LFS says. it sounds like they are one of the "out to get the money" stores. the worm can definitely survive out of the tube, with the right conditions.

i would also add another power head to the tank for make the flow a little more chaotic. maybe a maxijet 400 or 600. or the new nano pumps found here ... Fraggle Reef, Premium Corals and More (http://www.fragglereef.com)

Thanks guys. I'm inclined to let things run and see what happens.

The worm is still colored nicely green and seems active enough moving around in the tank. It was trying to get itself into a vacant shell this evening so I'm hoping that's a good sign - just going to keep an eye on things and let nature take it's course.

FYI It was sold to me as a miniature Yellow Feather duster.

FYI It was sold to me as a miniature Yellow Feather duster. A scientific name if ever there was one.:agree:

BTW, is it muskie as in muskellunge?

Yes indeed - I am a highly scientific kind of guy.

Muskie indeed. Been a bit obsessed with catching them the last few years. Got a 47.5 inch long one last Nov which was fun.

Actually the idea of getting a tank was initially to do a freshwater with some native species in but I was persuaded that it was much easier these days and I could successfully run a Reef tank with a BioCube.

Being a Piscean, of course all of my activities are centred around H2O.

Have you any idea what a Fen is ?

I only know it as a word that is used in the British Isles to mean a marsh.

I'm impressed Carmie...

Most of it below Sea Level. Now a series of Drains, Sluice Gates and Flood Defences in East Anglia but it was a marsh until the 18th Century when a Dutchman, Cornelius Vermuyden went to England designed and organised the drainage. He met some resistance in the form of mediaeval terrorists who feared for their livelihood in the Fens, catching Eels and harvesting various bits and pieces from the Marshes and making a meagre living. They disrupted much of the construction. The Fens have been dominated by Ely Cathedral known as the 'Ship of the Fens' parts of which dates back to 600AD - kind of old.

There are also legend of a large dog that terrorises folks in the Fens known as Black Shuck. A band called "The Darkness' did a rock song about it a little while back.

It is also the home of a lot of very good fishing and some rather big specimens of Esox Lucius, several have been caught over 30 pounds in weight from drains and rivers you can nearly jump over.

Used to be home - now I'm in another flat part of the world - Indiana

It comes of reading a lot and having the ability to remember totally random bits of information! A 30 pound pike! YIKES, that is nothing but a mouthful of TEETH!