Something ate my electric scallop

[Msmith88]

I woke this morning to find something ate my electric flame scallop in my seahorse tank. I fed him yesterday and he was completely fine. As you can see this is not the case now. When I first setup the tank I got a piece of live rock that was infested with tiny starfish. I have been removing them as I've seen them and haven't seen one in a while. But during the hight of the problem I had two maxima clams in the tank that the starfish never touched. I have since move the clams to my reef tank.

The only difference I can think of is I added 3 nassarius snails after I removed the clams. I got the scallop and snails around the same time and they've been in there for months. I know nassarius snails are scavengers and will eat meaty foods but have never heard of them killing something to eat. I have no crabs of any kind in the system so they are the only ones that I can suspect. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[the_fish_man]

You might have an unknown predator in your tank hiding in the rocks, if not it probably died overnight (obviously) and it look alike the snails ate it because they were eating the dead part.

 

[Msmith88]

That's why I'm confused about the whole thing. I never saw anything eating it. I fed the scallop yesterday and it was completely fine. This morning the shell was open and empty. I really don't think it was sick or anything. I know starfish have the power to open and clean a scallop quickly but if there are any left in the tank, which I'm sure there are a few, they are extremely tiny. (Im talkin about only an 1/8th of an inch max) And like I said, they always left the clams alone, even when there were a hundred of them.

I'm convinced the scallop didn't die of natural causes, I watch every living thing way too closely. (I'd much rather sit and watch my tanks than tv, I'm a fish loser) I'm starting to think that the snails ate everything they could out of the substrate and went after the scallop. I never supplemented their diets at all, thinking there'd be enough food for them in substrate and whatever was left over from the fish.

But there very well could be a hidden predator in tank. I bought the live rock for my reef tank 5 years ago and still find new crabs I've never seen. And it's only a 35 gallon tank. Either way I dont want to be buying anymore bivalves until I know whats goin on.

 

[the_fish_man]

What color where the starfish? There called asternia starfish an are really tiny. Some are great to have in a tank some are bad, and you tell that by the color

 

[Msmith88]

I believe them to be asterina starfish. They are white