crab eating brittle star???

[johnnyd]

i added a sally light foot, and amemone crab to my tank along with a brittlw star fish. this morning the brittlw star had 3 of the 5 legs eatin off. i think the sally light foot did it because the anemone crab just stays in the rocl anemone. are these crabs aggressive it says there reef safe? should i take the sally light foot out? there on a 20G thanks

 

[reefmate75]

sounds like if you added all that at the same time to a 20 gallon at the same time you might be pushing your luck with the bioload added all at the same time
sally light foot is not mean, and if i was you i would look for a harlequin shrimp that might have stolen passage (id rather have the shrimp then the star haha)

 

[granny]

Do you have any angels in your tank? They are notorious for eating the legs off stars. They will decimate a serpent star and nibble away at the larger, tougher, brittles.

 

[johnnyd]

Originally Posted by Granny
http:///forum/post/2486452
Do you have any angels in your tank? They are notorious for eating the legs off stars. They will decimate a serpent star and nibble away at the larger, tougher, brittles.
i have an angel in my quartine along with a R.G. would an anemone crab eat the brittle star? are they mean. i can have from work tonight and the brittle star was dead and all its legs are gone??hmmmm? i also added a rock anemone and feather duster. had to be on eof the crabs im guessing

 

[ophiura]

This is likely acclimation shock. What are your SPECIFIC water parameters, especially specific gravity, and how did you acclimate it? Remember parameters that are perfect for fish can be fatal to these stars. They don't call them "brittle" stars for nothin'
It is possible, but unlikely that the crabs attacked a healthy brittlestar. It is far more likely the brittlestar is severely stressed.

 

[johnnyd]

Originally Posted by ophiura
http:///forum/post/2487343
This is likely acclimation shock. What are your SPECIFIC water parameters, especially specific gravity, and how did you acclimate it? Remember parameters that are perfect for fish can be fatal to these stars. They don't call them "brittle" stars for nothin'
It is possible, but unlikely that the crabs attacked a healthy brittlestar. It is far more likely the brittlestar is severely stressed.
SG-1.024
temp-80-82
ammonia-0
nitrates-20
i have to check the rest, so if the brittle star was stressed it would lose it legs like that? i floated it for 30 mins then added it to my tank. i have a red star fish in there that i added the same way a few weeks bakc and its been doing fine.

 

[ophiura]

Yup, they need more of an acclimation period. A stressed brittlestar will absolutely do that. They need a drip acclimation. YOur SG is as low as I would go with any star. Don't be so sure on the other star, it can easily take a month to show signs of osmotic shock. Not to mention the small red seastars - if it is a "bali star" or Fromia, will likely starve in a small tank within a year. If it is a red african star, then it can be spot fed.
But it can take time to show problems.
Your nitrates are also as high as I would recommend going. I would start getting concerned about those. How do you measure your specific gravity? If with a hydrometer, have you ever had it "calibrated" (eg checked against a refractometer) and how old is it? If more than a few months, when did you last soak in vinegar to clean it? What is your alkalinity and calcium?

 

[johnnyd]

Originally Posted by ophiura
http:///forum/post/2487924
Yup, they need more of an acclimation period. A stressed brittlestar will absolutely do that. They need a drip acclimation. YOur SG is as low as I would go with any star. Don't be so sure on the other star, it can easily take a month to show signs of osmotic shock. Not to mention the small red seastars - if it is a "bali star" or Fromia, will likely starve in a small tank within a year. If it is a red african star, then it can be spot fed.
But it can take time to show problems.
Your nitrates are also as high as I would recommend going. I would start getting concerned about those. How do you measure your specific gravity? If with a hydrometer, have you ever had it "calibrated" (eg checked against a refractometer) and how old is it? If more than a few months, when did you last soak in vinegar to clean it? What is your alkalinity and calcium?
ph is 8.2 lowesr and 8.4 highest doing a water change today to lower nitrates. everything else i put in the tank is doning good so far. i dont have a calcium tester and i use a hydrometer, so i could be innacurate. i will be getting a refractometer soon. the other start is just a red sea star they have one on here for 18 or 19 $.