Mutilated Starfish

[shornik]

I was away for the weekend. I just got home and this is all that's left of my sand sifting starfish.

It's still alive because when I poked it it starting moving though not very far. What could do that to a starfish? I don't have any harlequin shrimp and have had this starfish since November. Could fish do it? I have a breeding pair of Occelaris that are always keeping snails away from their eggs and they fight with my starry Blenny but could they chew up a starfish? Yikes of all the strange things to come home too!

 

[ritter6788]

It likely starved. They fall apart and dissolve like they when they die.

 

[kschweer]

It's more than likely that the star is starving. Sand sifting stars have a pretty low survival rate in aquariums due to the fact that there is not enough for them to survive on or they go through it quicker than it is replenished. They eat micro fauna in the sandbed which they can deplete very quickly. They are also very sensitive to salinity changes so that's another possibility. But I would say it's lack of food. Sorry about the starfish.