Serpent Star ate my Royal Gramma!!!

[charlestonfish]

Got home from work and royal gramma gone. Serpent star's disc
was twice as big. It didn't eat at all last night. Anyone had this happen. RG was in perfect condition. Thoughts???

 

[tang_man_montreal]

Here's a pic of a Green Brittle star who just ate a cleaner shrimp.

 

[charlestonfish]

Mine didn't look quite that big but don't know when the feast happened. I've got a couple camel shrimp that haven't been touched. Should I feed the star more?

 

[kpogue]

I doubt seriously if the star killed it, it no doubt died then the star ate it.

 

[ophiura]

I want to echo kpogue. In situations like this I always fear people overlook any other possible causes. People put these sorts of brittlestars into tanks to scavenge for things, and this they will do. If a fish is dying or dead, they will take advantage of it. The green brittlestar however is a KNOWN predator in the wild, though personalities in captivity vary.
I strongly suggest not allowing these animals to scavenge. Keep them well fed, by spot feeding them with meaty foods, like shrimp, squid, shrimp pellets, etc. Even then, there can be no guarantees that something won't happen. That is the risk of keeping wild animals in captivity. But don't overlook any other potential problems that may have caused the fish to die (eg check ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, alk, specific gravity...how old is the tank). What kind of serpent is it?

 

[charlestonfish]

Green serpent star. Tank is 6 months old. All parameters are perfect. Royal Gramma seemed healthy. I only had it for about a week. It was eating and no physical ailments. Maroon clown didn't attack it. Oh well. Might try a six-line wrasse next.

 

[striker]

It would be pretty difficult for a starfish to entangle a healthy fish and make a meal out of it. Since your fish was only a week old my guess is that it died or was sick and the serpent did his job. I have a large serpent and two brittles in my tank. I only feed them directly maybe once a month. I believe that they shouldn't be fed on a regular basis. It's like directly feeding your snails, hermits and other scavengers. Every time you feed your fish there are leftovers. Let them clean up your tank. The only one I always feed is my cleaner and that's because he's my favorite .