Something Eating My Starfish

[tat2life]

i noticed my starfish had chunks out his body today and he has been on one rock for 2 days... the rock he was on is home to a big bristle worm... would the worm of tried to eat the starfish ? theres nothing else in the tank wich could of done it, no snails, crabs etc just a few bristle worms. is there any other reason the starfishes skin would like break off ? it looks like it has been bitten away to me though. any ideas ? im gonna try to kill all the bristle worms just incase

 

[n3ont3tra]

im gonna try to kill all the bristle worms just incase

I wouldn't do that.. bristle worms are good scavengers. They only eat dead stuff.

 

[tat2life]

what else could if bit the starfish then ? i only have bristle worms in there, never seen crabs, snails etc and i looked ALOT lol

 

[n3ont3tra]

Are you sure the starfish isnt' dead?

What are your water parameters?

 

[chrissaysyes]

Dont kill the bristles, and it doesnt necessarily have to be a bite, the star fish could be dying and dissentigrating, keep a CLOSE eye on him because when he dies he'll nuke the tank.

 

[1entra]

Yea the chunk missing could be a sign the starfish is on it's way out and is starting to disintegrate! I would remove it from the tank before it pollutes the whole system!

The bristleworms shouldnt attack it unless it was already dead!

 

[tat2life]

water stats are all ok and starfish is still alive, do they disintegrate when they are dying then ? it looks like bite marks to me though just the shape of it and sizes, it has 3 chunks missing 2 are tiny like a bite mark, the other one is pretty big and all on underside of its legs. i have no spare tank to put him in though so cant take him out unless he is 100% dying. il test waters again tonight if theres any rise then i will just have 2 remove him

 

[tat2life]

checked water stats and are all ok, fed the starfish about 3 days ago so it cant be he isnt getting any food, and doubt he is dying cus the water is all ok. il just leave him be and feed him tommorow, hopefully the missing bits will grow back. still want to kill the bristle worms though im sure it was one of them cus he was on the rock it lives in covering the hole of the worm and all the chunks missing are on the spot his leg was on on that rock

 

[1entra]

I still have doubts about it being the bristleworms. If something is indeed taking bites out of your starfish the I suspect it to be something else like a hitchhiker crab or shrimp that may have got into your tank in your LR!

 

[tat2life]

yeah i would think so too but i have never ever seen a crab or shrimp in my tank and i move the rock about all the time and always looking in at night lol

 

[chrissaysyes]

Bristleworms arent eating him, he's probably dying naturally. How long have you had him.

 

[n3ont3tra]

and how big is the tank?

 

[tat2life]

had him since november i think. tank is 3ft long, 2ft high and 1 1/2 wide. 120 litres i think.

 

[babeasel]

There are some small snails called Thyca crystallina which can take bites out of Linkia starfish, might be worth checking these out if it is a Linkia starfish your having problems with, Good luck.

 

[dilbert]

I have definitely read postings from people saying that bristleworms have attacked and eaten starfish and the starfish were healthy and alive.

At first, there seem to be a great variety of bristleworm species and at second they might be harmless when small but that seems to change when they get bigger.

Also, I don't know what those "detritus eaters" do when there is not enough detritus in the tank to feed on.

I would get an ax and a shotgun for those bristleworms.