green brittle star missing legs

[Mermaid]

ok so i recently had to move my green brittle star from my 150reef to my 16gal bowfront tank, cause his legs were looking like someone had been picking at him. a long time ago i used to keep emerald crabs in the tank with him, and one day i caught one of the emerald crabs red handed picking off spines and eating them. so the crabs got the boot. however i noticed the star's legs were continuing to get shorter and shorter. i only had three emeralds, two of which were huge and easy to capture, while the other one was tiny and impossible to catch. so there is still one lonesome emerald crab somewhere in the big tank, which is why i moved over the star to the 16. it hasn't been long enough to notice any improvement in the star. so i was wondering if anyone else out there had a problem with their brittle stars getting eaten by anything, and if so will the legs grow back okay? well thanks for any info!
later,
mermaid

 

[steve-s]

The legs will eventually heal. Growing back will usually take a fair amount of time (few months min.) but as long as the cause is eliminated, the star should recover. I hope it was properly acclimated top the new tank when transfered.

I would also suggest some target feeding once a week or so. It will greatly improve the speed of the healing. Soaking foods in some Selcon or the like wouldn't hurt either.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Mermaid]

thanks!