911!! Birttle star

[bronk&mac]

Hello we're new here and I need some help.
I came home from work to find my brittle star with a chunk missing from it central disc. The insides of the star is totally visible. We have had this 55 gal tank for 6 months, and have an x-mas wrasse, a 3 stripe damselfish, a royal gramma, Chocolate chip sea star ( that's doing fine) and about 12, 1/2" hermit crabs to help clean new live rock as be put it into tank.
The brittle star was doing fine and looking good on Monday, this was the last time I had seen its whole body, because it likes to hide in the holes of the live rock.
Could the hermit crabs or the other fish started eating it? Or could it have gotten stuck on the live rock? Or do they molt their disc? If anyone has any ideas please help.
The central disc is about the size of a quarter and the hole is about 1/2" by 1/4" in an oval shape.
Very worried
Amanda and Kyle

 

[iceemn360]

How long have you had it and how long did you acclimate it for?

 

[bailey52]

yea i had this same prob, i dont know if something ate at him or what, but there was a big hole that you could see right in him

 

[bronk&mac]

We've had the star for 6 months, and introduced it the same way we did everything else, float, fill bag with our water, then put in tank water. Before introducing fish we let the tank run for about 2 months.
bailey52 did your star die? or is it still living?
thanks Amanda

 

[bailey52]

no it was dead, they are so light, and the things pulling it makes it look like it is moving.. but think about it.. its central "pod" if you will, is the size of a quarter.. and every major organ the animal has is in there... so if there is a hole and you can see in.... bad news

 

[bronk&mac]

Well I was thinking along the lines that it might regenerate itself, you know like the legs do. It was still alive this morning but hidden in its hole in the rock. Did yours die immediately?

 

[bailey52]

I dont quite remember, but it was soon after

 

[ophiura]

Well, a true christmas wrasse would not be compatible with these animals. There are two wrasses known as "Christmas wrasses" and it is important to distinguish them.
I have posted on this before -
Just an FYI -
There are two species of wrasse in the hobby often referred to as the "Christmas wrasse" and it is extremely important to distinguish them. Thalassoma trilobatum is actually the "true" Christmas Wrasse and it gets huge (a foot or so) and is definitely not reef safe. Halichoeres ornatissimus is the reef safe variety, and is often more commonly referred to as the "ornate wrasse." It is more reef safe than the larger guy, but still a potential risk to smaller crustaceans and stuff.
When I worked in an LFS, the "christmas wrasse" we had was the one most people wouldn't want, except in a large fish only system! Just keep an eye out before buying!
If you type these names in at fishbase.org you may get some pictures.
What do you feed this brittlestar?
When was your last water changes?
Are other arms intact?
What are your water parameters with new live rock (was it cured live rock?)
FWIW, this sort of "hole" injury in the disk is not uncommon.
Please see my website:
http://home.att.net/~ophiuroid
Go to "Tabloids" section and scroll all the way down. In addition, there are pictures under the "basics" section. I'll see if I can post that here.

 

[bronk&mac]

Ophiura... thanks for the great information. It eats pellets and plankton that are on the bottom. The last water change was almost a week ago, and I just added more water to fill up tank from evaporation, normal things I do all the time.
We've been adding little pieces of live rock in like every two weeks, small pieces that we pulled out of our curing bin, so the rock has been curing for over a month in a separate container, and I always check the water parameters in both the tank and the live rock container, all are at zero or very near to zero.
All the arms are still attached. It was moving around last night but like I said before it was curled up in its hole this morning.
Do you think that it will recover? It looks very similar to the picture in the tabloids section on your website.

 

[bronk&mac]

Ophiura..We have the reef safe Wrasse, Halichoeres ornatissimus, the Ornamented wrasse. I read the two descriptions and looked at the pics and ours has the two ocelli on the dorsal fin. Thanks for the great web site recommendation.

 

[ophiura]

If the arms are intact, it is a good sign. The fact that it is hiding is also good. I noticed when the spiny one I have (in the picture link) basically covered the hole by curling its arms up. If you notice anything picking at it, I would encourage you to move it into a container within the same tank, eg getting one of those hang on breeder containers for mollies, or in one of the small "Critter carrier" things. This allows the brittlestar to stay clear of things that might take advantage of it. I would also be sure to get food to it at this time.
But so far, I think it might pull through

 

[jjpeterson]

Well i add a few new comers to my tank . and after a few days i noticed my brittle was badly chewed. I adaed a dog face puffer and a 3" red hermit crab im woundering witch one did it. I removed the puffer but im still woundering if my hermit crab might be the culperate please help....

 

[ophiura]

Neither of those animals are, IMO, compatible with brittlestars. Certainly not the puffer...but a hermit of that size is probably not safe either.