Why does my serpent star has a crack on top.

TinyCoralReef · Apr 19, 2021

Why does my Serpent Star have a crack on the top of it? Is this the end for this guy? You notice some white tissue on the closest side to be showing here too.
Doesn't take food. My crabs are quick to steal it from him (usually) and especially today when I tried to feed it and it barely moves and couldn't hold its food.

Fish Think Pink · Apr 19, 2021

TinyCoralReef said:
Why does my Serpent Star have a crack on the top of it? Is this the end for this guy? You notice some white tissue on the closest side to be showing here too.
Doesn't take food. My crabs are quick to steal it from him (usually) and especially today when I tried to feed it and it barely moves and couldn't hold its food.

Welcome!

Deferring to others, but perhaps you might isolate him so he can get some food and take his time eating it if he isn't moving very quickly. Maybe you have a slotted container or even a plastic jar in your recycling you could cut up to make something with water flow thru it for inside your tank. If it floats when filled with water, just put a rock or something on it - its just temporary and just a thought... Deferring to others

Peace River · Apr 19, 2021

Not sure about the crab, but we're glad you're here. Let's see if we can get some help...

@Jay Hemdal #reefsquad

Fred2482 · Apr 19, 2021

Welcome! Hopefully someone with experience will help shortly .

TheDragonsReef · Apr 19, 2021

Most likely starved to death since you said he was having trouble getting food. Serpent and brittle stars rarely come back from decomposition of their main disk and its usually a death sentence. You can try to place some food underneath him but hes most likely passed the point of saving.

KJ · Apr 19, 2021

Welcome

monkeyCmonkeyDo · Apr 19, 2021

Im gonna say swings in salinity. Alk. And ph. Stars and serpants are very touchy to water chemistry. Most eat well. The serpants do.
D

CMMorgan · Apr 19, 2021

So sorry... I do not think he's coming back from that.

G Santana · Apr 19, 2021

Welcome to R2R sorry about the star

Jay Hemdal · Apr 19, 2021

I've seen that with starfish that accidently ingested an air bubble. Since the animal's mouth and anus is the same, and below the animal, there is no where for a bubble to go other than up through the tissue. I imagine it could also be caused by physical trauma from a tankmate. In either case, they usually do not heal from this. I also see some white material around the base of the arms, that looks like a secondary bacterial infection, not sure if it is related to the split or not.

Sorry!

Jay

Townes_Van_Camp · Apr 19, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
I've seen that with starfish that accidently ingested an air bubble. Since the animal's mouth and anus is the same, and below the animal, there is no where for a bubble to go other than up through the tissue. I imagine it could also be caused by physical trauma from a tankmate. In either case, they usually do not heal from this. I also see some white material around the base of the arms, that looks like a secondary bacterial infection, not sure if it is related to the split or not.

Sorry!

Jay

I once used red slime remover. I did it before bed and dropped an air stone in the tank to oxygenate as the directions indicate.
I woke up and found a floating serpent star. His central disk had filled with air to the point he was floating at the surface with his appendages dangling while the return flow had pushed him into the corner and was spinning him like a bobber in a tiny whirlpool.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I took him out, gently squeezed the central disk between my index finger and thumb. I put him into my nano where he lived for another 1.5 years.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 19, 2021

Townes_Van_Camp said:
I once used red slime remover. I did it before bed and dropped an air stone in the tank to oxygenate as the directions indicate.
I woke up and found a floating serpent star. His central disk had filled with air to the point he was floating at the surface with his appendages dangling while the return flow had pushed him into the corner and was spinning him like a bobber in a tiny whirlpool.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I took him out, gently squeezed the central disk between my index finger and thumb. I put him into my nano where he lived for another 1.5 years.

Yes - you can "burp" them, but once the bubble pushes through the skin, there isn't much to be done. Stars have pretty good regenerative powers, but not so much on the disk itself.

Jay