what has happened to my Serpent Star?

Dustin75 · 08-12-2005, 10:42 PM

Look at this, is it a disease? Need help.

Birdlady · 08-13-2005, 05:08 AM

Do you feed the star? Perhaps he is hungry? What about your nitrate level, how is it?

I have never seen that before, I am just asking possible things..not really sure.

Jay · 08-13-2005, 08:49 AM

I had one that ate a large peice of seafood...so large that it poked right through the top of the starfish. It healed up in like 2 days and did not look white like that. Is that a hole?

Jay

Dustin75 · 08-13-2005, 11:18 AM

I ran a full line of tests results follow:
Ammo--0.0
Nitrite--0.0
Nitrate--4ppm
Calcium--280
Alk--5meg/L
pH--7.9!!! I know
Phosphate--0.03
Magnesium--1300
Copper--0.0
Yes, I do feed (brine shrimp) my stars but this one has not come out to eat in a week then last night I see this. Yes, I believe it is a hole. All of my shrimp died (eaten perhaps, banggai cardinal), now my serpent star with a hole, and three legs no my sand sifting star fell off. I have no luck with my inverts.

Jay · 08-13-2005, 12:20 PM

Does your temp swin from day to night? Perhaps you have plumbed something with a copper pipe or hose clamp and its leeching into the water? You should run carbon now. If you already do then change it today. It sounds like chemical in the water or have you put any medication in the tank by mistake in the past that may have copper in it? Where did you get your liverock? I just lookes at your tests and see the copper at zero.....huh. I dont know...sorry for your loss. Has this been the trend in your tank? Do you run a mudd filter or skimmer? Your calcium is low also.

Has your wife been dusting with the aerosol pledge or cleaning the tank glass with windex....vacuming with carpet fresh....anything like this?

Jay

Dustin75 · 08-13-2005, 05:12 PM

I use a protein skimmer always pulling stuff out of the water. She said that she has not used any windex on the tank since I caught her spraying it on the tanks 6 months ago. I don't know why me calcium so low it is usually high around 480. Temp stays fairly constant through the day, I run the air conditioner from about 11am until 1 am. Just shut it for while we sleep.

rayjay · 08-15-2005, 06:36 AM

I read the post with all the test data but didn't see anything specifying the specific gravity.
Some people like to run lower specific gravity to lessen problems with fish parasites, but the lower s.g. takes it's toll usually on inverts.
I like to keep mine at 1.025-6 and have no problem with my shrimp and serpent stars.
Sorry I don't have any other suggestions.

Dustin75 · 08-15-2005, 03:31 PM

My Specific Gravity runs at 1.023 to 1.024 depending on the amount of evaporation.

inwall75 · 08-15-2005, 05:01 PM

Rayjay is correct...inverts have a difficult time at the lower SG's that some FOWLR keepers use. I suspect that this might be part of the issue. I've spoken with people who have stars literally melt. This looks very different. I think that something caused an injury and the star was weakened due to having to live in a too low SG and is not healing well. Just a guess though.

rayjay · 08-15-2005, 06:35 PM

In any case, when no other obvious explanation is evident to cover your invert losses, it would be worth trying at the higher specific gravity to at least see if there is a difference.