green brittle star got attacked?

[liz50138]

About three or four days ago we purchsased a horseshoe crab and a green brittle star. As of last nite, everything was fine, but this morning I noticed my starfish wasn't doing so well. It almost looks like he and the crab got in a fight. On top where it is normally all green, his skin is peeled back and there is this cobbly peachy stuff showing and doesn't appear to be moving around...just moving his legs. Is it possible that he and the crab got in a fight or is it from something else? Has this ever happened to anyone before.
I have a 75 gallon tank FOWLR with a green chromis, yellow tang and a blue hippo. Also one horseshoe crab and one green brittle star. The tank has been set up since June.
Nitrates - 20
Nitrites - .5
Total hardness - 250
Total Alkalinity - 180
pH - 7.6
Specific Gravity - 1.024
Ammonia - 0

 

[oregonbud]

How did you acclimate the brittle star?

 

[sebae0]

also you have a little nitrite showing up and that will harm the brittle as well as everyone else. your ph should be up around 8.2 also.

 

[oregonbud]

Sebae0 has some really good points, and I honestly overlooked those readings when I first replied, but still would tend to believe that your star is stressed due to the new tank. Typically skin discoloration is more of a sign of sickness rather then aggression from another animal
Especially since your readings (ph,trites and trates) are a little off, I would tend to say that the star came from a tank with a higher ph, and lower trite and trate levels, if acclimation was not done correctly, the different levels in your tank could cause the star to go into osmotic shock (hopefully one of the star experts on here will chime in with more advice)
I would seriously suggest doing at least a 25% water change to see if you can't get your trites and trates down, as well as slowly raise your ph (this needs to be done very slowly or you could cause more damage to the star)

 

[ophiura]

Your brittlestar is suffering from osmotic shock, most likely. You are looking at the stars internal organs. The pH is very low, and brittlestars are very sensitive to this. How did you acclimate the star? Is it out in the open, or under rocks? You definitely need to get the tank parameters in order.

 

[liz50138]

Well, the starfish didn't make it, but i did do a 25% water change and will be raising the ph. Thanks for all the help though.

 

[ophiura]

I'm sorry to hear that. I would suggest waiting for the tank to mature a few more months before trying any other seastar. In addition, you will want to read up on acclimation for them. Even if your tank conditions are ideal for seastars, improper acclimation can result in stress.