Something eating my sand star ?

[Captmcfly]

I have a sand sifting star and yesterday noticed a small bit off leash missing by the base of his leg and today I see this leg falling off is something eating him ?? Tank mate list is as fallows..
sailfin tang
Clown fish
Mandarin golby
Peppermint shrimp
Coral banded shrimp
And an assortment of snails.

 

[Brew12]

Its possible the shrimp are going after it if your tank is underfed.

It's also possible that the starfish itself is starving since it has left the sand bed.

 

[Captmcfly]

Lots of live critters in the sand far as I can tell. Tank gets fed a mix of frozen brine reef roids and reef bugs coral food every day. I have seen the peppermint grab the star and try to drag it before but not in months

 

[Brew12]

Lots of live critters in the sand far as I can tell. Tank gets fed a mix of frozen brine reef roids and reef bugs coral food every day. I have seen the peppermint grab the star and try to drag it before but not in months

How many times a day are you feeding the frozen brine shrimp?

 

[Captmcfly]

Evening only. One cube. Too little ??

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

It is dying. They begin to disintegrate like that after a period without food. Leaving the sand like shown in the pic is not normal behavior for that species. It's looking for food. Things like reef roids or brine shrimp will not help it. Sorry. These animals are best left in the Ocean for this reason.

 

[Captmcfly]

It is dying. They begin to disintegrate like that after a period without food. Things like reef roids or brine shrimp will not help it. Sorry.

From what I understand they eat the critters living in the sand bed? If that’s the case it shouldn’t be starving.. there are loads of pods and spaghetti worms bristle worms and the like in the sand.

 

[Brew12]

Evening only. One cube. Too little ??

My guess is yes, too little. You need to overfeed a fairly large system to keep these guys long term. Maybe not to the extent that I do (and boy, do I overfeed!) but you need to make sure you always have food/algae/yuck on your sandbed to feed the fauna that these guys need to survive.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

From what I understand they eat the critters living in the sand bed? If that’s the case it shouldn’t be starving.. there are loads of pods and spaghetti worms bristle worms and the like in the sand.

I'm sorry, but they do not eat pods or worms. Here:
"Will eat leftover food....and Sifting Sea Star will also consume small invertebrates, including shrimp, urchins, mollusks, bivalves, or other small sea stars. As such, the Sand Sifting Sea Star should be actively fed a varied diet consisting of natural food sources, especially in well-established marine aquariums. Otherwise, this voracious feeder will quickly clean your aquarium of detritus and then burrow into your substrate, starve, and eventually begin to decay."

They need a lot of food to stay healthy.

 

[Captmcfly]

My guess is yes, too little. You need to overfeed a fairly large system to keep these guys long term. Maybe not to the extent that I do (and boy, do I overfeed!) but you need to make sure you always have food/algae/yuck on your sandbed to feed the fauna that these guys need to survive.

Thanks man. Likely too late for this guy.

 

[Captmcfly]

I'm sorry, but they do not eat pods or worms. Here:
"Will eat leftover food....and Sifting Sea Star will also consume small invertebrates, including shrimp, urchins, mollusks, bivalves, or other small sea stars. As such, the Sand Sifting Sea Star should be actively fed a varied diet consisting of natural food sources, especially in well-established marine aquariums. Otherwise, this voracious feeder will quickly clean your aquarium of detritus and then burrow into your substrate, starve, and eventually begin to decay."

They need a lot of food to stay healthy.

Bummer.

 

[Waters]

I am not sure what mine eats but I have had him over a year and he has quadrupled in size. I never knew they were in the category of hard to keep. I usually fail at most of that stuff lol.

 

[Captmcfly]

I am not sure what mine eats but I have had him over a year and he has quadrupled in size. I never knew they were in the category of hard to keep. I usually fail at most of that stuff lol.

Mine has been in for a few months.

 

[Brew12]

Thanks man. Likely too late for this guy.

Unfortunately, it probably is unless you know someone with a large, dirty system. Sounds like you have had this guy for a few months which is better than most people do before this happens.

 

[Captmcfly]

Yea my system is far from dirty.. and I know zero other people that keep salt water systems. I run a 15ish gallon fuge with chato so I have no issue removing nutrients. Perhaps I should double up my feeding

 

[Brew12]

Yea my system is far from dirty.. and I know zero other people that keep salt water systems. I run a 15ish gallon fuge with chato so I have no issue removing nutrients. Perhaps I should double up my feeding

I feed 1/3 sheet of dried algae and 2 cubes of PE mysis every morning. Every other morning I add a cube of PE calanus. Every night I add a small piece of LRS fish frenzy. I'll throw in some coral food a few times a week. My system doesn't look too dirty for how much food goes in, but I am sure I should cut back on my feeding. So, you likely won't want to take advice from me along these lines!

 

[Captmcfly]

I feed 1/3 sheet of dried algae and 2 cubes of PE mysis every morning. Every other morning I add a cube of PE calanus. Every night I add a small piece of LRS fish frenzy. I'll throw in some coral food a few times a week. My system doesn't look too dirty for how much food goes in, but I am sure I should cut back on my feeding. So, you likely won't want to take advice from me along these lines!

Lol even at that rate I still think if I double my scheduled feeding I won’t see much negative impact

 

[Brew12]

Lol even at that rate I still think if I double my scheduled feeding I won’t see much negative impact

Probably not. You also don't have the fish load that I do. These are some of the 17ish fish I currently have.

 

[Captmcfly]

Yea I’m light on the fish at this moment. I’m around 80 gallons total volume so the few residents I have have plenty of room

 

[code4]

Yea my system is far from dirty.. and I know zero other people that keep salt water systems. I run a 15ish gallon fuge with chato so I have no issue removing nutrients. Perhaps I should double up my feeding

If you double up on food watch your ammonia really carefully. That much of an increase in any tank could cause a mini cycle. I keep several sand sifting starfish. I personally would not give up on him. Make sure you have some prime or amquel on hand in case of any ammonia spike.

Shelley