Serpent Starfish

[houndhome1]

I have a serpent starfish that I introduced to my tank about 3 weeks ago. He's (she???) has been doing great but this morning, I noticed that this starfish has lost everone of it's tips off it's arms. Is this a stress issue? or a reproduction issue?:help:

 

[ophiura]

Definitely not reproduction. Brittlestars do not reproduce in this way, nor do many seastarsall considering.
First need to know a lot more about your tank:
Specific water parameters especially specific gravity, pH, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, temperature readings.
How old is the tank?
What color is the brittlestar? Is it large and bright reddish?
What are your tank inhabitants (specifically if you keep triggers, puffers, wrasses or large hermits, crabs, etc)
Is there any damage to the disk of the animal? How much, percentage wise, of the arms are lost?
Have you tried feeding it, and if so does it take food?

 

[houndhome1]

We've tested the water and all of our levels are in the "acceptable" range. The Serpent Star is about 3 weeks old. Everything else in the tanks is doing great. He seems to be losing "sections" of his tenticles. I have a few damsels, a baby Hippo Tang, a tomato clown in the tanks as well as a few invertibrates. No crabs. The starfish is brownish grey but there is a pinkish/purplish spot on his main body.

 

[ophiura]

I know it doesn't seem so, but it is really important to have specifics on water quality...what is OK for some animals is not for others. For example, the specific gravity often listed as "good" is somewhere between 1.019 -1.024 but this is really too low for invertebrates like brittlestars...if you are on the lower end of this range it may be fatal. The same is true for most other parameters...but I am especially concerned with specific gravity, pH and alkalinity as brittlestars are very intollerant of certain conditions related to these.
Additionally, they may not do well in younger tanks, less than 6 months old, due to issues that are beyond our ability to test. So the age of the tank is important.
How long did you acclimate this brittlestar and what method did you use? Generally echinoderms need a longer acclimation - in this case a good hour or so using a drip method, but longer if there was a signficant difference between the store salinity and your tank.
Feeding is crucial for these animals...does it respond to feeding? Is it hiding under a rock or out in the open?
Have you recently done any water changes, or experienced a temp spike or other fluctuation?
FWIW, death from acclimation shock usually occurs within a month after introduction.
I don't rule out "attacks" by other animals but in most cases this situation at this time is related to acclimation, young tank, or water quality issues.

 

[houndhome1]

My serpent star died after 2 days of looking strange. I brought water samples to 3 well know salt water stores and they told me that everything they tested was fine. (I'm color blind and can't read the dang test strips). I'ts tough to rely on someone else to interprit the readings but I just can't see the color differences. I can see colors but not distinguish shades. The tank is fairly new and everything else is doing ok.
I acclimated the serpent start for 3 hours using the "drip" method but he died within a week of putting him in the tank. He hid under the rocks and I tried feeding him at night (read that they only come out in the dark) but he wouldn't take the food.
Should I try again? Or wait until the tank gets a little older?
:happyfish

 

[ophiura]

In order to answer, I really need to know things like pH and specific gravity....what is OK for some animals is not for these.
But the star probably died of some sort of acclimation shock, not necessarily from introduction to your system but perhaps even to the LFS system.
Also what color was this star? Some are more delicate, notably the bright red serpent Ophioderma squamosissimum.
But in general, they are not the best additions to young tanks, at least under a few months old. The bright red one named above does not belong in a tank under 6 months, and the water quality is especially important.

 

[neon]

I am having the same problem with my serpent star. It is a green and we have had it for two month. Our water gravity is about 1.022 the tank is 8 months old and the Ph is 8.2. Any ideas. We also just found out that we have fire brissle worms. Could that have something to do with the problem.

 

[ophiura]

Your bristleworms are normal and are not a problem.
Your specific gravity, IMO, is fatally low for these animals, and I would suggest SLOWLY raising it by topping off with saltwater instead of fresh, until you get to 1.025-1.026.