Serpent star was Eaten!!

[benihuma]

Well, I thought since my tank has so much sand and live rock that a serpent star would have plenty of places to hide. Well, I guess my triggers found him. This morning when I checked on the tank I noticed that the water was really cloudy, and then I saw serpent star fragments all over, and two triggers with bulging stomachs.
Should I do a water change to get rid of the cloudiness? Can this dead starfish harm my tank and fish in any way?
Thanks for the help.
Ben

 

[dugan]

Any dead animal in your tank will decompose and cause an ammonia spike. Of course a lot will depend on the size of your tank and what kind of a cleanup crew you have.
You should remove whatever parts you can find. Keep an eye on your ammonia levels and if they creep up I would do a water change.
Personally I think I'd do a water change anyway.
Katie

 

[saltwater4me]

Why would you want to get a starfish if it would hide all day? But, i'd do a water change just in case, and dugan is right the starfish will make an ammonia spike, if you do see parts of the starfish on the bottom( which i don't think will be there, because the trigger probibly fot the whole thing) i'd pick it up.

 

[goldfish]

Another thought--I'm not sure that triggers and starfish mix. I have been warned about putting any kind of inverts or anenomes with triggers just for the fact they will make lunch out of them.
You can stick with certain kinds of snails--cowrie snails I believe are ok. They have a pretty tough shell and are too big for your triggers to munch on. Mexican turbos are ok too for the most part. Their shell is pretty sturdy and the trigs will not try too hard for them.