Damaged Serpant Star

[smnw10]

Just got back in the office after the weekend my serpant star looks like this

I have 2 striped eel catfish about 5 inches long each, a yellow tang, 2 clowns, and then my cleanup crew (shrimp, hermits, snails, sand sifting star, brittle star).

A) Is the starfish going to make it with this type of damage?
B) What would have caused this? Got caught on a powerhead but was still able to get away??

He's not dead so...?

John

 

[melosu58]

I`m pretty sure he`s dying. Keep a close eye on him.

 

[austinsdad]

Oh yeah. He's a goner I believe.

Are you sure eels and starfish are compatible??? All it takes is one knick/cut in his body and the crabs will pick at him further.

Looks like a bad case of cyano too?

 

[smnw10]

They aren't eels....it's a striped eel catfish Striped Eel Catfish
They are getting bigger and I want/need to find a new home for them.

I've been spot feeding the star silversides 1-2 times a week and he seems to enjoy them. A couple weeks ago there was a small hole after he ate but it healed over and I didn't think much about it. Fed him Friday before I left work and then this was what I came back to.

From what I know that isn't cyano either. It's more like a "red turf algae". I had a green hair algae issue and that cleared up then this stuff showed up. That picture is a bad showing of the quality of the tank overall but I can't seem to figure out the cause of it (something for another thread).

 

[newfound77951]

If your star hasn't expired already I'm afraid he will soon. That pic looks like something out of a horror movie! Stars (and echinoderms in general) are very very sensitive to changes in salinity. Any chance the salinity got out of whack over the weekend? I've seen a star literally self destruct in minutes due to being moved into lower salinity water.

 

[smnw10]

I did a PWC Friday but no different than I have been for the past year. Mix water 2 days before adding, bring up to temperature, mix in slowly, RODI water

SG is 1.024

My sand sifting star and brittle star are both fine. No one is in the office on the weekends except housekeeping and there's no auto top off or anything that could have caused a problem.

The previous owner had some fish that didn't get along with it and ate nearly all of his legs off just leaving about an inch each and he came back from that.

Still alive...
Fingers crossed but understand the unlikelihood of making it.

thanks for the feedback

 

[austinsdad]

They easily come back from damaged or missing legs. Not too optimistic about the central disk though. Hoping for the best!

 

[smnw10]

Just an update.

I figured by the responses that he'd make it a few more hours or a day at the most. He's still alive though but I haven't been able to see his disk since Monday. He got himself wedged behind a rock high on the aquarium so the crabs aren't able to get to him. His legs do stick out though which is how I know he's alive still as they will move around from time to time or if I touch his leg he'll move it.