Services will be held at noon Sunday ...

[mikegronholz]

Well, my large brittle star went to the big ocean in the sky today. We tried CPR, heimlich and anything else his insurance covered; but it was to no avail. Something (or someone) REALLY tore him up !!!
This afternoon, here was his status:
1 arm missing from 2 days ago
1 arm torn from the "socket" but he could still move it - it was barely hanging on
1 cut through his body - it looked like someone cut him with a knife
After quarantining him:
1 lost tip of another arm
He struggled to hang on, but finally his little arms stopped twitching.

What is odd is he was the largest star of the bunch !!! None of the serpents have been messed with and the two small brittles are climbing all over. If it is any consolation, the hermits that started it provided my buddy at work with the pleasure of catching a 5.5# large mouth. Revenge is sweet.

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

Yo! Do you have any three stripe damsels? They will KILL anything that gets into their living space. they especially like to KILL star fish, shrimp and crabs that slip into their area and take up too much space.
I've watched it on more than one occasion.

 

[mikegronholz]

Nope, just 4 percs and a cleanup crew. Here's a pic - this is not for the weak stomachs !!!!!!!

 

[almarktool]

perhaps u have a hitchiker that goes by the name of mantis ?

 

[mikegronholz]

The rock came out of a tank the was up for 7 years. It wasn't purchased from a "retailer".
But, just to be safe, what should I look for ?

 

[shadow678]

Have you tested all your water params lately? Or done any large water changes while the star was in your tank? Stars are extremely sensitive to water changes, and will deteriorate if any drastic change in water condition is sensed, sometimes so dramatically that it looks as if they exploded. If you could test the water and give us readings, that may help.

 

[mikegronholz]

Yep, been testing the water everyday. No water changes since he arrived Wednesday.
Ph - 8.3
Ammonia - .25ish
Alk - 270
Nitrate - 30
Nitrite - 0
That is today, when he arrived, ammonia was 0. I spent almost 2 hours acclimatizing him and his buddies. Noone else has had problems.

 

[chrisareston]

Does anyone have a pic of a mantis? I have a hitchiker that I cant tell what it is... It hies in a big cave and never leaves. It is black and has tenticals that come out once and a while, but I cant get a very good look at him at all. I was thinking its a snail but not sure.

 

[tigriss]

Mantis (also known as thumb breakers) are very colorful little creatures but dangerous to reef and other fish. I never knew it existed until I was in P.A in a fish store. I climbed up a ladder to look in a tank to see this beautiful, wild thing looking right back at me. He was watching me watch him. He kinda looks like a praying mantis(upper body) mixed with a lobster(tail) with the eyes like a fly. the one in P.A was red, purple,blue orange they called it a clown mantis.
The one I bought is blue, purple ,tan .
As for your star fish did you notice anything white starting on it?

 

[slick]

Mike your water levels are pretty toxic. You need to do wa water change as soon as you can.

 

[sandy]

I have a mantis in a species only tank. Do you hear clicking sounds in that dark cave? Mine clicks on the rocks all the time. Can't mistake the noise. Of course that is the smasher variety. Don't know about the slashers.
Anyway... go to www.google.com and click on the image tab. Type in mantis shrimp. Plenty of images. I doubt you will get that good of a look at 'em though. They prefer their burrows.