Serpent Star and cold water

[BContos]

About a week ago I bought a serpent star and he was fairly visible coming out in the mornings for a snack. Two days ago we had abnormally cold weather for our area and the heater in the house just couldn’t keep up in the middle of the night bringing the tank temp down lower than normal. Since then we had the heater fixed and tinkered with the tank heater and all the other inverts (FOWLR but no fish yet) are back to normal. I haven’t seen my serpent star though and I’m starting to get concerned. Is it worth tearing apart the tank to put my eyes on him or should I just leave it be?

 

[IKD]

I would wait more time before taking the tank apart. If he’s alive, he will come out for food (watch at night with lights out). If you’re worried about a dead body causing water issues, then you could start searching. How big is your tank and how big was the star?

 

[MnFish1]

About a week ago I bought a serpent star and he was fairly visible coming out in the mornings for a snack. Two days ago we had abnormally cold weather for our area and the heater in the house just couldn’t keep up in the middle of the night bringing the tank temp down lower than normal. Since then we had the heater fixed and tinkered with the tank heater and all the other inverts (FOWLR but no fish yet) are back to normal. I haven’t seen my serpent star though and I’m starting to get concerned. Is it worth tearing apart the tank to put my eyes on him or should I just leave it be?

First - it could be coincidence - that the cold did not harm the serpent star - but it just 'died'
Second - I had one (or 2 actually) who I would see occasionally - then not for weeks - so its not necessarily a problem
Third - You can always check ammonia, etc - but if there is nothing in the tank - I'm not sure it matters at this point.

Lastly - congrats on your new tank - I'm sure everything will work out. It wouldn't surprise me that you see him in a couple days. The tank size and his size are also issues.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

mine lives in the rocks, I just see a tentacle hanging out once in a while, it rarely come out in the open.

 

[BContos]

It’s a 70 tall aquarium and all the parameters are still good! Ammonia last night was still at 0! We have a ton of live rock in there so it’s highly possible he’s just hiding it just made me nervous because he was active in the mornings when the lights first came on and I could usually locate him in the rocks. This is my first serpent star and as much as you can study them until you actually own one you don’t know what “normal” is ‍

 

[BContos]

I would wait more time before taking the tank apart. If he’s alive, he will come out for food (watch at night with lights out). If you’re worried about a dead body causing water issues, then you could start searching. How big is your tank and how big was the star?

 

[IKD]

Nice! In a 70g I would not worry about water quality if he did pass away for some reason. Keep watching for it and let us know!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Serpent stars are often found in deeper waters which have cooler temperatures BUT in particular, The red version fish (Ophioderma squamosissimus) tend to be more sensitive to changes in water conditions than other serpents. Still, their bright red coloration makes them a powerful addition to mature aquariums. They are mostly nocturnal and tend to avoid bright light.
Starfish in general are very sensitive to changes in water quality and conditions. If temperature, salinity or other water parameters change quickly, these starfish cannot regulate the change and are often damaged or killed. These Starfish hide most of the day and become more visible at night. One of the beneficial features of this star is their ability to turn the sand when they are active at night, which keeps algae from growing and removes detritus.

 

[vetteguy53081]

About a week ago I bought a serpent star and he was fairly visible coming out in the mornings for a snack. Two days ago we had abnormally cold weather for our area and the heater in the house just couldn’t keep up in the middle of the night bringing the tank temp down lower than normal. Since then we had the heater fixed and tinkered with the tank heater and all the other inverts (FOWLR but no fish yet) are back to normal. I haven’t seen my serpent star though and I’m starting to get concerned. Is it worth tearing apart the tank to put my eyes on him or should I just leave it be?

Also acclimation is extremely important with these stars in which the bag water has to be extremely close in parameters and temperature to the new water in tank. Theyre that sensitive, otherwise a great scavenger

 

[Cell]

Are you feeding it? With no fish, there are no leftovers.

 

[BContos]

Well I’m happy to report an hour after lights out last night I finally found him in the rock work moving his arms around!! Thank heavens I was so worried about the little guy!! I have been spot feeding him raw shrimp and I feed our crabs so they don’t get grouchy with the snails and make sure to add extra for him in between the shrimp feedings! Man I felt like a ton of bricks were lifted off my chest once we found him lol