What's going on with my brittle star?

[sveOne]

Can someone tell me what's going on with my brittle star? All of a sudden he started acting weird... This picture was taken on xmas eve.
I thought he was dying, but boy was I wrong.. He still lives today, and the "holes" are almost gone now (cant get a good picture).. eating, and hanging
out in his cave as normal..

Anyone? Just curious

 

[sveOne]

Can someone tell me what's going on with my brittle star? All of a sudden he started acting weird... This picture was taken on xmas eve.
I thought he was dying, but boy was I wrong.. He still lives today, and the "holes" are almost gone now (cant get a good picture).. eating, and hanging
out in his cave as normal..

Anyone? Just curious

Anyone?

 

[Karen00]

I don't know anything about these guys so let's get some folks in that might be able to help. @Jay Hemdal and @vetteguy53081. I really hope this little guy is OK (or will be OK)!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Some of the things that affect them are :
Starvation - they require detritus and zooplankton type food, shrimp, mussel
Too much light. They are nocturnal and move about in the dark
High nitrates - This will make them very miserable or lead to death
Poor water quality- They require a stable environment and dont handle change well
Lack of regular water changes- This assures good water quality

 

[Saltyreef]

Normally thats how they die.
They just fall apart in pieces.
Hopefully it recovers but normally due to starvation.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Can someone tell me what's going on with my brittle star? All of a sudden he started acting weird... This picture was taken on xmas eve.
I thought he was dying, but boy was I wrong.. He still lives today, and the "holes" are almost gone now (cant get a good picture).. eating, and hanging
out in his cave as normal..

Anyone? Just curious

I usually lose them once holes like this have formed. One cause is when they get an air bubble trapped in their stomach. that presses against the tissue until it ruptures upwards and makes a hole like that. No doubt there are other causes as well.

Jay

 

[sveOne]

Finally caught him outside his cave, minus one leg, it seems all healed!??

Just wanted to follow up, sometimes it is
so irritating when you find nice threads but they end in ?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Finally caught him outside his cave, minus one leg, it seems all healed!??

Just wanted to follow up, sometimes it is
so irritating when you find nice threads but they end in ?

Is the big hole completely gone? That's great! The leg can regrow.

Jay

 

[sveOne]

Been observing it since last post. 100% healed up! Very hard to take picture of it in the other hand

He has never lost a leg before, how long does it take to regrow?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Been observing it since last post. 100% healed up! Very hard to take picture of it in the other hand

He has never lost a leg before, how long does it take to regrow?

IDK - I've never timed that, and I suppose it depends on species, and how much they are being fed. What you should see is a tiny point start to form on the end of the broken leg. That will then lengthen as the leg regrows.

Jay