brittle star losing legs... what the heck?

[saltcreep1025]

my brittle star has now lost 2 of its legs. whats goin on?

 

[toddwess]

Mine is missing half of one of it's legs, and the guy at the LFS told me that was normal from time to time.

Apparently, they are very brittle little guys. He also said it was important to make sure to not expose him to air when transfering him into the new tank.

Keep us posted on his/her progress - would be interested to know if mine is going to start dropping legs/arms, too.

Todd

 

[toddwess]

Sorry, I mis-spoke. I have a serpant star, not a brittle star, but they are sort of similar . . .

sorry,
Todd

 

[BrianH]

How long has it been in your tank? Starfish in general are very sensitive to changes in salinity. I usually take 2 hrs or more to acclimate them. I also make sure the SG of the acclimation water matches my tank before I move them in.

One of the reported causes of leg loss is poor acclimation.

Brian

 

[saltcreep1025]

well hes been in my tnak for about 2 weeks now. my water has been a little crazy the past few days, thats probably why. how long does it take them to grow their legs back?

 

[kidafius]

It seems that emerald crabs eat brittle stars at least. You got any little green devils in there?

 

[saltcreep1025]

yep 2 of em =/

 

[kidafius]

there you go. brittle stars seem to sometimes make an attractive lunch for the emeralds. I had 2 emeralds that were perfectly well tempered. I added a third, much larger one, and lo and behold! my brittle lost a leg. My good buddy called me up shortly after and said he saw his emerald in action eating a leg of his bristle star. Hope that helps.

 

[saltcreep1025]

yep, looks like no more brittle stars for me. thx muchly