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#1
04/11/2005, 04:29 PM
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Ailing Serpant Star
A few days ago for some reason my clown fish decided to attack my serpant star. The clown fish saw one of the arms waving about and grab it and pulled the star out behind his rocks. And then before I could do anything took a bite out of the side of the star. I did stop the clown fish from doing any more harm but the harm was done. The 3 year old serpant star is now in a QT tank but has a quite a bit of damage where the star was bitten. One arm is almost ready to fall off....is there any hope for the star? The star has been eating a little bit but doen't look all that good.
Thanks Steve
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50 Gallon tank 2 Clown Fish 1 ten year old Yellow Watchman Goby 3 Pepperment Shrimp One Brittle Star Lots of Various Snails 54 Pounds of Live Rock 40 pounds of Live Sand Lots of Cheato Macro Algae Various Zoos Many Mushrooms 195 Watts of Light( |
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#2
04/11/2005, 04:43 PM
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Starfish regenerate. So long as the water is free of infectious elements, the leg can grow back without any worry. If the area gets all yucky white, then it's as good as harlequin shrimp food. Do the clowns look like they may be protecting eggs or preparing to lay eggs? That could be a reason behind the sudden attack. Starfish can be a threat to eggs. Brittle stars, depending on the type can be predacious on fish as well. Those green brittle stars I know do.
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We, as a people, know so much more about space than we do our own oceans. This lack of knowledge may very well spell the havok that lay in wait for us. Surely the oceans would swallow us before a rock comes down to smite the planet of it's life. Nov/2004 |
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#3
04/11/2005, 04:52 PM
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No, the clown fish as far as I can tell wasn't protecting anything. The two clown fish as far as I can are still just wandering the tank as usual. The serpant star rarely ever came out behind the live rock other than a few arms waving around. Brittle stars seem from what I've read, more unpredictable than serpant stars.
The bite isn't isn't white but the edges are yellow. The arm is still wiggling around after two days and it's edge is now sealed. How would it grow another serpant star without being able to eat? Serpant stars are a little about that standard star fish in the evolutionary ladder so it may not be able to heal itself or grown back a body from the leg as opposed to growing a new leg. First it would need to heal the gash and then the leg. Well, the QT is safe and the water is fine so perhaps the serpant star will recover. if not, I will miss him as I bought him from a friend who had since has the size of a pea years ago. Steve
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50 Gallon tank 2 Clown Fish 1 ten year old Yellow Watchman Goby 3 Pepperment Shrimp One Brittle Star Lots of Various Snails 54 Pounds of Live Rock 40 pounds of Live Sand Lots of Cheato Macro Algae Various Zoos Many Mushrooms 195 Watts of Light( |
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#4
04/11/2005, 05:06 PM
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Keep the arm around and see what happens. If the arm is still showing signs of life, then it may well regenerate a new body. Never know for sure until you get the opportunity to watch for yourself.
As of for the body...touch the edges to see if anything is mushy or disintegrating. You could brush off any loose pieces with your fingers. A little bit of stress coat may be helpful in sealing the wounded area to help keep any infection causing bacteria from getting into the wound. Hope it pulls through 
__________________
We, as a people, know so much more about space than we do our own oceans. This lack of knowledge may very well spell the havok that lay in wait for us. Surely the oceans would swallow us before a rock comes down to smite the planet of it's life. Nov/2004 |
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