something chewing on sandsifter

[steve r]

something is chewing on my sandsifting star. today one of its legs is almost gone! and there a few small chunks missing from the others. what can i do to help it heal? i am going to put it i my 12" HOB fuge to isolate him. i know it will starve in there though. it doesnt target feed. any thoughts on the culprit? i have hermits and a emerald crab. i would think the emerald, but it eats nori before any shrimp. in fact it has never taken a piece of shrimp but will take nori right from your hand. i have removed a few stone crabs. i have a lot clicking form the tank. several clicks in a row. would a pistol shrimp do something like this. man, my wife is going to be upset. that star was her pick and she really likes it

steve r

 

[steve-s]

It could be one of the crabs but given the size of your tank is most likely due to lack of nutrition. These guys are eating machines and will descimate the fauna in the sandbed fairly quickly. Detritus and leftover foods in a small tank have no hope of keeping this star healthy. You can try target feeding the star by placing small pieces of fortified seafoods under the sand beside it. Typically once this type of wasting starts, it's not good.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve r]

crap! many online fish stores recomend one for a 30 gallon tank :? . i wish i would have known, i never would have put the poor guy through that. it was one of the first animals we got a few months ago and i thought i did my reasearch

so you would lean torwards a wasting away as opposed to an attack.

he is the fuge right now. i will try to put some food in there for him.

thanks for the advice.

steve r

 

[steve-s]

so you would lean torwards a wasting away as opposed to an attack.

IME, yes. There is plenty of conflicting info on the net concerning star care so I wouldn't beat yourself up too much. The only star I would recommend for a tank that size if a banded serpent or small brittle.. black, orange or red. They are easily target fed/reef safe and will help keep surface substrate tidy.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve r]

thanks for the advice. i have several small brittle and serpent stars that came on my live rock. i have even seen 2-3 very small new stars recently. the are easy to target feed. hopefully he either goes quickly or gets better so i can donate him to a bigger tank

as always thanks for the info

steve r

 

[steve r]

you were right steve-s. the starfish perished today. i put him the fuge yesterday and this morning he looked even worse. today when i got home three legs were decay to stumps! i know nothing was in the fuge eating it.

well, thanks for the advice. a hard lesson learned.....always ask on this forum before trusting an online LFS's info

steve r

 

[steve-s]

Sorry for your loss...

Cheers
Steve