What ate my Red Knobby?

[ccoakley]

I have two large Engineer Gobies, two Pajama Cardinals, a Coral Beauty and Chocolate Tang. I had a Red Knobby starfish in there and after about a week something nibbled the tip of one its legs. I figured since nothing happened after something was just curious and then left it alone. It was fine and moved all over the tank. Fast forward about a month to this evening and it’s dead with about a quarter of it obviously eaten. I googled compatibility before purchasing and everything listed seemed to be fine as tank mates. Do you all have any ideas on what ate it?

 

[KrisReef]

Google needs full credit for this failure.

 

[ccoakley]

Google needs full credit for this failure.

Any idea?

 

[SquidwardTentacles05]

I have two large Engineer Gobies, two Pajama Cardinals, a Coral Beauty and Chocolate Tang. I had a Red Knobby starfish in there and after about a week something nibbled the tip of one its legs. I figured since nothing happened after something was just curious and then left it alone. It was fine and moved all over the tank. Fast forward about a month to this evening and it’s dead with about a quarter of it obviously eaten. I googled compatibility before purchasing and everything listed seemed to be fine as tank mates. Do you all have any ideas on what ate it?

Is sea star wasting disease, or sudden changes in water parameters.

 

[exnisstech]

I've never kept starfish but most of what I've read says they tend to starve and waste away in most tanks.

 

[ccoakley]

Is sea star wasting disease, or sudden changes in water parameters.

I don’t think it was either of those. Based of pics of the disease and what my star looked like, it looks like it was eaten, not rotten. And my parameters haven’t changed hardly at all since having the tank setup.

 

[Reefering1]

Post pics please!

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

What’s in your clean up crew?

 

[ccoakley]

Post pics please!

Yeah no pics is my bad. I disposed of him before I thought about it.

 

[ccoakley]

What’s in your clean up crew?

Some snails and hermits.

 

[bluemon]

I don’t think it was either of those. Based of pics of the disease and what my star looked like, it looks like it was eaten, not rotten. And my parameters haven’t changed hardly at all since having the tank setup.

It can looks like that too.

If it’s any consolation, your sea star was doomed from the beginning. Bar the biggest tanks in public aquariums, most sea stars just can’t survive long

 

[SquidwardTentacles05]

I have two large Engineer Gobies, two Pajama Cardinals, a Coral Beauty and Chocolate Tang. I had a Red Knobby starfish in there and after about a week something nibbled the tip of one its legs. I figured since nothing happened after something was just curious and then left it alone. It was fine and moved all over the tank. Fast forward about a month to this evening and it’s dead with about a quarter of it obviously eaten. I googled compatibility before purchasing and everything listed seemed to be fine as tank mates. Do you all have any ideas on what ate it?

Which parts of the starfish were eaten.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

If it’s any consolation, your sea star was doomed from the beginning. Bar the biggest tanks in public aquariums, most sea stars just can’t survive long

I see this sort of comment posted here from time to time, and it seems to be made on the basis of hearsay at best. I have not kept the sort of setup these guys require in quite some time (basically, a decent FOWLR), but I have kept them (that is, red knob -- P. linckii -- and chocolate chip -- P. nododus) for extended periods without issue. My wife kept a chocolate chip in a 10 g for, I don't know, five years or so until she broke the tank down.

I recall that in the past the overall hobby understanding was that these two species were pretty bulletproof, if undesirable for other reasons (not reefsafe; cheap/common). I recall more keeping of mixed motile invert tanks in the past, where these sorts of critters fit in well.

"Most sea stars" -- brittle stars tend to do very well in reef tanks, too. Linkias and fromias succeed only occasionally, but I don't think lumping all stars together with them makes a lot of sense.

 

[SquidwardTentacles05]

I see this sort of comment posted here from time to time, and it seems to be made on the basis of hearsay at best. I have not kept the sort of setup these guys require in quite some time (basically, a decent FOWLR), but I have kept them (that is, red knob -- P. linckii -- and chocolate chip -- P. nododus) for extended periods without issue. My wife kept a chocolate chip in a 10 g for, I don't know, five years or so until she broke the tank down.

I recall that in the past the overall hobby understanding was that these two species were pretty bulletproof, if undesirable for other reasons (not reefsafe; cheap/common). I recall more keeping of mixed motile invert tanks in the past, where these sorts of critters fit in well.

"Most sea stars" -- brittle stars tend to do very well in reef tanks, too. Linkias and fromias succeed only occasionally, but I don't think lumping all stars together with them makes a lot of sense.

How did a chocolate chip starfish survive 5 years in a 10 gallon tank?

 

[ccoakley]

The tip o

Which parts of the starfish were eaten.

The tip of one arm and then when it died it was the same arm but little closer to the middle.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

How did a chocolate chip starfish survive 5 years in a 10 gallon tank?

I'm not sure I understand the question. They eat chunks of meaty food, like krill or squid or silversides. They survive just like a pair of clowns survives -- would be better if there was more room, although I'm not sure a star needs much in the way of environmental enrichment so probably a better situation than with clowns.

 

[bluemon]

I see this sort of comment posted here from time to time, and it seems to be made on the basis of hearsay at best. I have not kept the sort of setup these guys require in quite some time (basically, a decent FOWLR), but I have kept them (that is, red knob -- P. linckii -- and chocolate chip -- P. nododus) for extended periods without issue. My wife kept a chocolate chip in a 10 g for, I don't know, five years or so until she broke the tank down.

I recall that in the past the overall hobby understanding was that these two species were pretty bulletproof, if undesirable for other reasons (not reefsafe; cheap/common). I recall more keeping of mixed motile invert tanks in the past, where these sorts of critters fit in well.

"Most sea stars" -- brittle stars tend to do very well in reef tanks, too. Linkias and fromias succeed only occasionally, but I don't think lumping all stars together with them makes a lot of sense.

That’s why I said most.

Chocolate stars are easy but people don’t have them in their tanks because they eat all your coral.

And brittle/serpent stars are different.

We’re talking about the stars that eat biofilm

 

[Malum Argenteum]

That’s why I said most.

Chocolate stars are easy but people don’t have them in their tanks because they eat all your coral.

And brittle/serpent stars are different.

We’re talking about the stars that eat biofilm

Respectfully, you said this:

If it’s any consolation, your sea star was doomed from the beginning. Bar the biggest tanks in public aquariums, most sea stars just can’t survive long

We're talking about (= this thread is explicitly about) a red knobbed star, which to the best of my knowledge (I've kept a couple, but not for years -- they are in the same genus as choc chips, anyway, and I cared for mine the same) is relevantly similar to chocolate chip stars.

The difference between the various groups of stars is why I said this:

Linkias and fromias succeed only occasionally, but I don't think lumping all stars together with them makes a lot of sense

To explain away the death of one star as an expected result based on 'most stars' is neither reasonable nor helpful when the dead star is not in the group that you imply sets the standard for the expected results.

 

[bluemon]

Respectfully, you said this:



We're talking about (= this thread is explicitly about) a red knobbed star, which to the best of my knowledge (I've kept a couple, but not for years -- they are in the same genus as choc chips, anyway, and I cared for mine the same) is relevantly similar to chocolate chip stars.

The difference between the various groups of stars is why I said this:



To explain away the death of one star as an expected result based on 'most stars' is neither reasonable nor helpful when the dead star is not in the group that you imply sets the standard for the expected results.

Well you don’t want a red knobbed sea star anyways in a reef as they can eat coral.

So my point stands that most of the ones we want in our aquariums will not thrive.

Not sure why are you trying to die on this hill. It’s well documented that the reef safe linkia and fromias will not thrive

 

[Malum Argenteum]

I did not see that this thread is about a reef tank. This thread is in the general invert subforum, and the OP said nothing about corals. If your claim is "most reef safe stars won't survive long", then it is irrelevant in this thread since this thread is about a non-reef-safe star species.

It’s well documented that the reef safe linkia and fromias will not thrive

Yes, I mentioned that in my first post.