help i have a bully

dima96

dima96

Member
I have a fairly young 75 gal reef tank to be. This morning i found my orange knobby star beaten up badly and when i got home he was in far worse shape. also a few days ago basicaly the same thing happened to my arrow crab. here is what is in my tank, 1 percula, 3 yellowtail damsels, 1 peppermint shrimp, 10 scarlet reef hermits, 25 left-handed hermits, 2 Mithrax Crabs, 2 Impatiens Cucumbers, 1 Black Hawaiian Brittle Star,1 Black Banded Serpent Star, 10 Cerith Snails and what ever might have hitchhiked on the live rock. if find out what killed the crab and probably is going to kill the star
thank for your help
 
worm

worm

Member
welcome to the board!
i don't know exactly what's happening to yours, but i can tell ya what i did about mine.
i had a star that would get hung on corners of LR. it would scratch itself making an open wound. when my hermits and shrimp got scent of it, the buffet table was open.
i have a 10gal sump that is used mostly to hide my skimmer and heater. i sectioned it off and put some LS in it and used it as a hospice. worked pretty well. the only problem was, the star was damaged too bad so i had to discard it. i won't be getting stars anymore :(
HTH
 
buzz

buzz

Active Member
When you say the star was beaten up badly...what happened to it? It may not have been beaten up at all...stars tend to decompose when they are dying, and that can be caused by a few things, including water conditions, and starvation. Does it have enough to eat? How is your water quality?
I had a friend who lost a brittle star...it looked like something took a huge chunk out of its side. We thought it was attacked. It wasn't.
OK, I know this is basic, but sometimes simple is better. Are you sure the crab died, and what you found in your tank wasn't a molt?
 
dima96

dima96

Member
first of thanks for the welcome, this board has been a great source of info. this morning there was a chuck missing from between two arm and it was halfway up the glass and when i got home there was maybe a 1/3 of him left. as for the water the tests are all right on. i have to belive there was enough food for the star b/c my other 2 stars apear to be doing fine and the star now dead star would move aound the glass and i didn't notice anything until this morning. about the arrow crab he lost 2 legs and then about 3 or 4 days later it was dead, there was meat in the shell ,so i don't think it was a molt.
 
buzz

buzz

Active Member
Hmm...
Was the star half way up the glass the whole time? I ask because if so, that pretty much rules out the mithrax crabs, and, unless I am mistaken, it would rule out the hermits too.
Did you find any other pieces to the star? If it was eaten, 2/3 of the star is a heck of a lot to chow down on. Seems to me that would take something with a pretty big appetite.
I suppose the arrow could have gotten into it with some hermits or the mithrax crabs.
From your description of the star however, it still sounds like decomposition. The chunk missing between the arms is exactly how my friend's looked. Perhaps it was just sick to begin with.
Anyone else have any other suggestions? I'm fresh out...
 
buzz

buzz

Active Member
Can't rule that out I suppose...
Heard any clicking/popping noises in the tank?
If it is a clubber, from what I understand, you probably would. I have been told it is very rare to get a

[hr]
type of mantis.
If it is a mantis, unfortunately, I am also told they are really hard to catch.
It may not be a mantis however...
 
dima96

dima96

Member
thanks for the suggestions. and no i haven't heard any popping or clicking, nor have i seen anything i didn't buy. buzz maybe the star was sick or got wounded and from there it was meal time for everybody. i just paniced b/c these were the first two loses i had in this tank plus they happened within 3 days
 
buzz

buzz

Active Member
I can't say for a certainty that something didn't attack it - only that it may have been coincidental that your star died shortly after the arrow. Sorry you lost 2 like that.
I'd keep a close eye on the tank for anything out of the ordinary with the rest of the critters you have. If nothing else has any problems, it may have been just that...a coincidence.
Sorry I couldn't offer more answers...
 
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