Serpent Star eating Hermits and snails????

[apple5150]

Has anyone ever had their serpent star eat their hermit crabs? I got a serpent star about 3 weeks ago and ever since my hermits have started dissapearing and partial bodies have started turning up. My water is fine, and nothing is wrong with any of my fish, so I am thinking it has to be him eating them. What do I do about this? Anyone have any ideas?

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[ophiura]

It is possible, but it may very well be jumping to conclusions so we need to eliminate a few other things.
How old is the tank and what are specific water quality parameters (including specific gravity, pH, alkalinity)
Do you dose any additives?
How long have you had the crabs? Do they molt regularly (you would see partial bodies from this)?
What color is your serpentstar? What do you feed it? Are you missing snails as well or just the hermits? What other occupants do you have in your tank?
That should be a good list to start

 

[apple5150]

The tank has been running for over 5 years now, so it is very established.
Water quality is good, 1.022, 8.1 ph, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and nitrates.
I do not add any additives to my tank, except for phytoplankton for my mandarin.
My tank includes 1 male mandarin, 1 damsel (dont remember what kind), 1 maroon clown, 1 small dwarf lionfish.
The serpent star is just the common one, with white and black on him.
I have had the hermits for a few months now, I have noticed them molting yet. I am missing snails too, and they are the large snails, so I am not sure how he would have gotten to them?
Like I said, I never noticed any problems with my hermits or snails, but I have started noticing empty shells regularly now since I got him. I have found 5 empty hermit shells, and 3 snails. I just moved a few days ago and took all the empty shells out, but then yesterday I found 2 more empty hermit shells, and half of a body, including legs and actual body.
I think I answered everything.

 

[ophiura]

How much do you feed the tank in general? What do you feed the serpentstar? It would be unlikely to take the hermits out of a shell, and leave most of it. Hermits can kill one another if there are not enough shells as well...and they will kill snails for the same reason.

 

[snipe]

Ophuira I dont know why but I just felt like I needed to thank you for awnsering alot of us newbies ?'s. Also thanks to the other mods I know you guys "and gals" spend LOADS of time on here just to help ppl out that have the same questions over and over.
Just a big thanks!

 

[apple5150]

I feed Fresh Brine every other day, and 1 cube of either krill, formula one, or spirulina on the off days. I dont feed anything directly to the serpent, I was told that I did not need to. I dont buy my fish from the lfs, only from the specialized saltwater stores. They are the ones who sold him to me, and said he will just feed off of waste on the bottom.

 

[teen]

try spot feeding the serpent 3 times a week. i feed mine scallops, shrimp, squid, and fish and he excepts all. all of these should be uncooked too. just try putting it on a wooden dowel or sumthing and put it next to him, he will find it if he wants it.

 

[ophiura]

Unfortunately, I disagree with just allowing them to scavenge. We tend to have a lot of "clean up" critters in the tank, and there is often not quite enough to go around. Brittlestars are generally opportunistic and won't pass up a meal if available. I still am not sure the brittlestar is doing this. Something doesn't quite match. But I would ensure that the brittle does actually get food, whether you directly feed it or you are watching it eat. How often you do it depends on water quality and the behavior of your serpent, etc. But I would try to ensure it gets its fair share.
Do you have lots of extra shells for the hermits? I am still, BTW, leaning towards the hermits being a potential issue with killing each other or the snails.
And you are welcome Snipe