Did my serpent star eat my fairy wrasse?

[DrinkLiquid]

I have a female ruby finned fairy wrasse about 3 inches and a red smooth serpent star around 12 inches, this morning i went and checked on my fish they where all there but when feeding time came my wrasse was missing and my serpent not responding to feeding. I checked around my tank and the wrasse did not jump i also checked in my filter but no luck finding it there. Also my serpent star us slightly bloated i am worried but from what i read only the green stars eat fish.

 

[lmforbis]

It very well may have. I had one that took my small tomini tang. I saw it grab the fish and retreat into the rocks.

 

[novahobbies]

All serpent stars are opportunistic carnivores, but it's true that red serpent stars are usually less of a threat to fish than green demons. That said, if yours is as big as you say, I wouldn't be surprised if it snuck up on the fish overnight. Was the wrasse acting sick in any way, was it injured at all? It's possible your sea star was able to catch the fish because it was compromised in some way. Either way, sorry for your loss.....I know that it sucks.... :-/