Star fish cut into little pieces

[trying4reef]

I just got back from a bussiness trip to find my star fish all hacked up in little pieces!! His main 'body' is at the front of the tank an pieces of legs all over?! I have a green emerald grab that came in a rock from my LFS, could he have done it? He is usualy seen eating stuff off my LR (he also just eat a small section of filter feeds that started to grow on LR so he's in my, just started, QT tank which is probally a death sentance, sad to say). One other thing that happend was the water level in the wet/dry filter ran low and the pump was pushing a bunch of air into the tank. I didn't think that would hurt anything but thought i would add it. Sorry for the long post. any adivse is welcome.

 

[brian'sreef]

i had a huge brown brittle that got hacked up by a stone crab that hitched a ride in my LR.. let him slide till i saw him dining on my bicolor blenny .. needless to say he P*ssed me off and i fed him to an octopus.. which was fun to watch ahha revenge.. anymore i don't trust larger crabs.. i say good job getting him out of there..
Brian

 

[trying4reef]

do u thing he did it? why would he just chop him up and not eat him?

 

[gailen]

Sorry to here about your star, I had a tiger star about a year ago that went through a tank crash, the star was losing peices so we quarinteened (sp?) him trying to save it but it was too late within 2 days I had a tank full of tiny starfish peices (each about 1cm in length). No other fish or invert in the tank with him, he just literally fell apart over 2 days and left peices everywhere. Not saying this is what happened to yours but I have seen this happen.
Gailen

 

[yammer]

Starfish are very sensitive to pH changes. Your pump churning air may have increased the CO2 into your tank which would lower the pH considerably. Starfish, especially brittle stars will start to disintegrate. I have a red serpent that lost one of his legs shortly after introducing him to my tank. The leg just fell apart into several pieces, sort of like what you described. I acclimated him over an hour, but even this was evidently not enough. Happy to say that he is currently doing fine and the leg is growing back.
This could be what happened to your star.

 

[heavenly damsel]

My emerald crabs are really docile. They eat stuff off the LR and occasionally a piece of shrimp the anemone spits back out, but no hostile behavior has ever been noted. I would look to another cause...not the emerald crabs.

 

[uncle fester]

Yammer, aeration of water would, more than likely, raise pH not lower it. The aeration of the water would drive CO2 out and raise pH.

 

[yammer]

True. Either way, however (raising vs. lowering), an effect on pH could effect the breakdown of the starfish tissue.

 

[uncle fester]

Very true, Yammer.