Does this guy eat fish?!

[melev]

Hey, a friend of mine has been losing a fish at a time in a relatively healthy reef set up.

55g, DSB, 100lbs LR, CPR Bakpak.

A Sixline Wrasse and a Tomato Clown have vanished.

Inhabitants include a Arc Eye Hawkfish (viewable at http://www.melevsreef.com/id/ in the fish category), a Peppermint Shrimp, Yellow Tailed Blue Damsel, a couple of ricordias, xenias, feather duster and a flower anemone.

Could it be this starfish perhaps? The tank the fish was purchased from came with this starfish and the hawkfish as well.

[Clownish]

I have known many people have problems with green brittles eating inhabitants and such

[Cody M]

I would say the star. I have lost a few fish to them and many people at the store have too.
Cody M.

[Big_Don]

melev -
There is no doubt in my mind that the starfish is what is giving your friend problems. I had a very similar situation last year and lost several fish before I found RC and talked to Dr. Ron. The following is a quote from what he told me:

green brittle starfish

Well, the problem is solved. These are your predators.

Here is some information....:
Ophiarachna incrassata is the only green brittle star sold commonly to hobbyists...

Echinodermata - Ophiuroidea
The Green Death = Ophiarachna incrassata

This species of brittle star is one of the most voracious and destructive of predators that can be put into a reef tank. Ophiarachna incrassata have been documented to eat several species of aquarium fish, including fire fish, damsels, mandarin fish, blennies, small gobies, and cleaner wrasses. Additionally, they have been observed tearing other brittle stars apart to eat their gut contents, and they may have the same habit with sea anemones and corals. If that weren't enough they have also been observed to eat cleaner shrimp and other crustaceans.

They are beautiful animals, their base color is light green to olive, and they have a fine patterning of light, white or yellow, spots and dark, black or dark green, bands on the surface. The disk may be large, up to 5 cm across in a large animal, and relatively thick. When ingesting a large meal, the disk may assume the proportions of large marble or golf ball. A large specimen would be 50 cm across the arms. Animals about half this size are often seen for sale. The arms are relatively stout and highly muscular, for a brittle star, and there rows of evident spines running down the length of each arm.

These animals are harmless to aquarists, but literally appear able and willing to eat just about anything else in their tanks.
Their predatory habits notwithstanding they are interesting and quite striking in their coloration. If maintained in small species tank dedicated to their care, they will be excellent pets, however, they should not be maintained in a community tank.

As with most Indo-Pacific animals, they require normal reef conditions of temperature and salinity. As with most ophiuroids, they like a place out of the bright light to lurk in. They typically forage for their food at night.

Needless to say, I would suggest you remove these animals. Still raise the salinity, too. The low salinity may have also accounted for some of the other mortality (such as the loss of the mushrooms).

Sorry for all the excess work, I should have asked about other tank inhabitants right off the bat.


__________________
Cheers, Ron


I hope this information helps you as much as it did me! I got a store credit at a local LFS a day or two after talking to Dr. Ron!

Good luck!
Lara :)

[melev]

Thanks for the reply, y'all. Guess it's gonna get a new home at the LFS.