Sand sifting star died.

[PAXpress]

I purchased a sand sifting star and it honestly only made it a few days and didnt move much. What would cause it to whither away so fast? I did have some bubbles under the sand could that have caused it?

 

[EleMental]

I would guess lack of food. May i ask how old is the tank?

 

[Roy 9121]

You are not suppose to expose these to the air, and need to be careful when acclimating them to your tank. They are very intolerant of swings in temperature, oxygen levels, and salinity. There are also a few different shrimp that will attack them.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Did it show any signs of disease or distress?

 

[PAXpress]

I would guess lack of food. May i ask how old is the tank?

Tanks been setup and cycled for maybe 4 months so probably a bit new. However theres tons of bugs and pods roaming around from what I"ve seen and in my fuge theres swarms of them. This tank got all of its rock and sand from a 75 that was up and running for 2 years. And some water.

You are not suppose to expose these to the air, and need to be careful when acclimating them to your tank. They are very intolerant of swings in temperature, oxygen levels, and salinity. There are also a few different shrimp that will attack them.

Hmm thats probably part of the problem too. I picked him up and he was in the air for maybe 10 seconds... Also the person at the LFS that sold him to me picked him up with their bare hand and put them in the bag which did expose it to air as well. I drip acclimated for 45 minutes or so like I do with most additions.

Did it show any signs of disease or distress?

Not that I could tell. It moved from where I originally added it, burried itself and disappeared for a few days. Saw it later in a spot that had very little sand and it stayed there until I noticed it was dead at which point I removed it.

 

[PAXpress]

The reason I thought the bubbles in the sand were the problem was because the place where it stayed for a day or more is the one spot in the tank that the fish have moved all of the sand away from to the point where there is bare glass there. The rest of the tank has sand an inch or more thick. I thought maybe it was avoiding the sandbed for some reason?

 

[EleMental]

I have had mine out of the tank in air through the transfer and I've had him 2 years. Air might be an issue, but a bigger issue with sand sifters is their ability to destroy a food source very rapidly. Only reason I would question age of the tank.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

What size tank? I think @EleMental Is on to something. I've heard that these guys can starve themselves out relatively quickly. Mine has been in my 75 gallon for almost two years. I feed very heavily though so there's plenty for him to scrounge though.

 

[DSC reef]

The sandsifter will clean out fauna in a sand bed extremely quick. Your tank most likely lacked a proper amount of food source. Try a couple nassarius for the time being and avoid a star.

 

[EleMental]

+1 on the snails [emoji1]

 

[DSC reef]

Just remember OP, the clean up crew has to eat too.

 

[Roy 9121]

I have had mine out of the tank in air through the transfer and I've had him 2 years. Air might be an issue, but a bigger issue with sand sifters is their ability to destroy a food source very rapidly. Only reason I would question age of the tank.

I wouldn't think it would starve to death I just a few days.

 

[Maritimer]

The star might not have starved to death in just a few days, but still may have starved to death.

How long was it in transit? How long did it sit in an empty tank at the wholesalers'? How long was it in the shop where it was purchased? With how many other sandsifters?

Sandsifters, as mentioned above, have a tendency to clean out their larders and then begin a steady decline.

~Bruce

 

[Ty Hamatake]

The sandsifter will clean out fauna in a sand bed extremely quick. Your tank most likely lacked a proper amount of food source. Try a couple nassarius for the time being and avoid a star.

If you want a ridiculous amount of snails, get some trochus... Lol I started out with six and now I have closer to 60 due to their breeding!

 

[Reefbuds]

To me it sounds like a combination of all things mentioned above. I have a sand sifter which has been in my tank for close to 8 months I think, my tank was about a year old before I had him tho, first sand sifter I had died withing a couple weeks. From this read it sounds like sand sifter need a very established tank for the amount of food needed, which is only acquired over time in the sand bed.
-wallace

 

[Ty Hamatake]

To me it sounds like a combination of all things mentioned above. I have a sand sifter which has been in my tank for close to 8 months I think, my tank was about a year old before I had him tho, first sand sifter I had died withing a couple weeks. From this read it sounds like sand sifter need a very established tank for the amount of food needed, which is only acquired over time in the sand bed.
-wallace

I wonder if the amount of sand in OP's tank had anything to do with it. My sandbed is between 2-4" deep, sounds like his is bare bottom-~1.5. Is that wrong @PAXpress?

 

[Reefbuds]

I wonder if the amount of sand in OP's tank had anything to do with it. My sandbed is between 2-4" deep, sounds like his is bare bottom-~1.5. Is that wrong @PAXpress?

If so this could be a possible factor, I feel like sand sifters need a decently deep sandbed as this is where they spend 90% of their life and get 90% of their food.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

If so this could be a possible factor, I feel like sand sifters need a decently deep sandbed as this is where they spend 90% of their life and get 90% of their food.

It only makes sense!

 

[Reefbuds]

It only makes sense!

It does! In nature they would have an unlimited supply of food stored in the sand beds of old ocean reefs. Which would only support that they need "old" sandbed that have the sort of food source they have evolved to ingest as a primary food source. Old being a very relative term of course.

 

[PAXpress]

Just remember OP, the clean up crew has to eat too.

I have to say that I HIGHLY doubt it burned through the fauna and starved. Possibly it was unhealthy and by the time it got to my tank it was already on the way out and it had no energy left to hunt for food... Possibly the depth of my sandbed was an issue. This tank is crawling with critters. As I was looking at him not moving I could physically see pods crawling on the sand near him and the rocks. There is a bit of algae possibly cyano on the sand etc.... The weird thing is it seemed that he went to the only spot where the fish had removed the sand (they seem to clear the sand in this spot because they go in and out of the rock crevasse constantly and it moves the sand) the tank has probably 1.5" to 2.5" of sand in some spots so maybe that accounts for the issue. I have a few nasso snails but they seem to do a crap job of stirring the sand. I see bubbles and algae build up on the sand bed and it doesnt seem to ever get stirred. Maybe I need more of them. They are alive I see them surface when I feed.

The star might not have starved to death in just a few days, but still may have starved to death.

How long was it in transit? How long did it sit in an empty tank at the wholesalers'? How long was it in the shop where it was purchased? With how many other sandsifters?

Sandsifters, as mentioned above, have a tendency to clean out their larders and then begin a steady decline.

~Bruce

From LFS (through drip acclimation and temperature acclimation) to being set on the sand in my tank probably 2 hours maybe a bit longer but not more than 3 hours. The tank it came from had several of these stars and is probably a 40gallon breeder. Has tons of snails crabs and some nems and a shallow sandbed probably 1.5" at max. This lfs keeps them in a invert type tank with just a bunch of their cleanup crew and a few nems so its possible that there was nothing for it to eat and the stress of the transfer caused it to kick the bucket. Good question on how long at the shop I havent the faintest idea on that one. Several other sifters for sure in the same tank.
Again though I have to insist that there is no way it cleaned out the fauna in my tank. I do feed fairly heavily but I didnt attempt to feed the star, would have had I thought it was necessary.

If you'd like to see possibly you can in my youtube video the sandbed. I wouldnt say its too shallow.
Its too bad that it didnt make it I hate being the cause of somethings demise in my tank thats mainly why I'm trying to learn why. I would like something that would sift the sand well and currently dont have a top on my tank so a jawfish probably wouldnt work for now. Guess I'll add some more sand sifting snails.
Heres the video I mentioned if you want to see. Even from the video's thumbnail you can tell its not super shallow...


I do appreciate the comments and everyone's help.