Something ATE my serpent star

[tuwhada]

I had an orange serpent star in my tank. he used to come out all the time. The last week or so I have noticed that he has been hiding alot. I had some issues with my water quality so I thought it was that. now I came home and it is like raw carnage there are pieces of this poor little guy EVERYWHERE!!! Something ripped all his legs off. I think he is dead but of course is in the hardest corner to get at. But who would have done that. The tank is a 20xh with a 1 wc seahorse, a scissortail goby, a blue gudgeon goby and a small chalk bass. I have a few corals and a clean up crew you know shrim, hermits, snails.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Christina

 

[Corty]

Water quality can definitely do it. I've found Hermits to be excellent cleaner-uppers. If he died from other causes, they'd still have shredded the body and made a meal out of it. I believe this explains several "missing" fish. When something dies (granted, they've all been small inverts, no fishies yet - hopefully not for several years), I don't even take it out of the tank because they gobble it before it can degrade the water quality. Makes my job a lot easier.

-glares at the shrimp that decided to die behind the LR-

 

[clowninround]

Yep happened to my friends tank during the hurricane when her temp when up in her tank, it just fell into little pieces. Her peppermint shrimp had a hay day! Funny, she had 3 other stars that made it just fine too

 

[tuwhada]

Yeah i have another star who seemed fine yesterday but I have not seen him today???? mmmm... well my qualit was not terrible my pH dropped just a little to about 7.8 but only for a little while and my nitrates were around 80 BUT now they are better and other things are fine. I guess maybe he was week or something.

Thanks
Christina

 

[quarryshark]

Yes, I agree that is was most likely water quality. Other than that, the clean up crew was just doing their job.