Dam Brittle Stars

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tyler70

Guest
So I have a 240 gallon reef tank and a few soft corals. There is a ton of little black tentacles sticking out from the live rock all the time. They are brittle stars from what I understand and everyone seems to love them. There are some that have made it their mission to eat my Digitate Leather Coral. I have been killing the ones i catch on it but I'm losing the battle. I have gotten a harlequin shrimp, dotty back, six line wrasse, yellow wrasse to try and find something to eat the little buggers but nothing eats them. I need to figure out why they are doing this or how to get rid of them. HOPEFULLY SOMEONE CAN HELP ME. Water is good and temp stays around 79.6 t 80.00 degrees. I have a protein skimmer.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyler70 http:///t/393029/dam-brittle-stars#post_3493592
So I have a 240 gallon reef tank and a few soft corals. There is a ton of little black tentacles sticking out from the live rock all the time. They are brittle stars from what I understand and everyone seems to love them. There are some that have made it their mission to eat my Digitate Leather Coral. I have been killing the ones i catch on it but I'm losing the battle. I have gotten a harlequin shrimp, dotty back, six line wrasse, yellow wrasse to try and find something to eat the little buggers but nothing eats them. I need to figure out why they are doing this or how to get rid of them. HOPEFULLY SOMEONE CAN HELP ME. Water is good and temp stays around 79.6 t 80.00 degrees. I have a protein skimmer.
Hello, welcome to the site.
If the coral has dead tissue on it, and the eaters are doing what they do best...eat the dead. So now you know WHY they are doing this. They are not killing the coral, the coral is dying, and they are doing their job.
If the coral is not dying and the eaters are not eating it, just crawling on it...nothing is wrong. Leathers shed their skin, slime coat...whatever you call it, and strong water current will help wash away the old slime ...if the stars are eating the slime off the leather, they are doing it a favor. Leathers always look terrible when they shed.
 
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tyler70

Guest
I don't think that is what they are doing. They are in the arnpits of the coral and where they are turns white and stringy. I did put a little more flow to it to see if that solves it. This has been going on for months now. Do leathers like direct flow?
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyler70 http:///t/393029/dam-brittle-stars#post_3493619
I don't think that is what they are doing. They are in the arnpits of the coral and where they are turns white and stringy. I did put a little more flow to it to see if that solves it. This has been going on for months now. Do leathers like direct flow?
Yes they do like good strong direct flow...can you post a picture?
How long has the leather looked bad with stringy white stuff coming off of it.
 
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tyler70

Guest
It has looked like this for aproximatly two months now. I recently changed tanked from a 100 to my 240. I put a little more flow towards it and gave it a revive dip. It seems to be looking a little better now. I can't really get a good picture of the bad spots/ I am hoping that it will recover. It seems that you were right about what the brittle stars are doing.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyler70 http:///t/393029/dam-brittle-stars#post_3493732
It has looked like this for aproximatly two months now. I recently changed tanked from a 100 to my 240. I put a little more flow towards it and gave it a revive dip. It seems to be looking a little better now. I can't really get a good picture of the bad spots/ I am hoping that it will recover. It seems that you were right about what the brittle stars are doing.
Do you run carbon? Sometimes corals fight by releasing chemicals...the carbon will clear it from the water.
 

hdjoej8k2

New Member
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scsinet

Active Member
There are so many starfish species, it is not out of the question to consider that what you may be dealing with is a predator species that came in on this coral as a hitchhiker.
I cannot say for sure that this is what is happening, but if it is, the good news is that these predacious starfish are usually obligate to the species of coral that they are eating. Therefore, if you remove the coral for a while, you'll starve them out.
Do you have another tank or know someone who does that you can put the coral into for a couple months?
 
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tyler70

Guest
I run a carbon pad in my sump but that is all for now. Should I get some and put it in a bag in the sump. I did a revive dip and it seems to be doing much better the wounds are healing and it doesn't look as stressed. The stars are also staying off of it. I think I am getting it under control. If I need to the LFS will take the coral and treat it. I do have another question about copepods. I have successfully kept my mandarin alive in my 100gal on my pod population but with the other two wrasse's I think I might have to add some from time to time now or should the larger tank support them. I have a full grown yellow wrasse, a small six line, and my Mandarin.
 
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