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FAQs about Green Brittlestars,
Ophiarachna incrassata Systems
Related Articles: Brittlestars, Sea
Stars, An
Introduction to the Echinoderms: The Sea Stars, Sea
Urchins, Sea Cucumbers and More... By James W. Fatherree,
M.Sc.
Related FAQs: Green
Brittlestars 1, Green Brittlestars
2, & FAQs on: Green
Brittlestars Identification, Green
Brittlestars Behavior, Green
Brittlestars Compatibility, Green
Brittlestars Selection, Green
Brittlestars Feeding, Green
Brittlestars Disease, Green
Brittlestars Reproduction, & Brittlestars 1, Brittlestars 2, Brittlestars 3, & Brittlestar ID, Brittlestar Behavior, Brittlestar Compatibility, Brittlestar Selection, Brittlestar Systems, Brittlestar Feeding, Brittlestar Disease, Brittlestar Reproduction, &
Seastar Selection, Seastar Compatibility, Seastar Systems, Seastar Feeding, Seastar Reproduction, Seastar Disease,
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| Green Brittle Star 9/30/05 Hi, recently
I bought a green brittle starfish last week on
Tuesday. The pet store had a display tank which they
took down and put in separate tanks to be sold. The
brittle starfish I bought was from that display tank. <The most
common cause of problems with these animals is shipping
stress. If this animal was already established in
captivity, then it has to be something else...> My point is that
now my starfish is like eating it's legs or something of the
sort. It's folding it's legs under him and I
don't know if he's just cutting them off or eating them
(maybe both -.- ). Is he doing this because he's
stressed from all the moving around or what? <Most likely,
yes. These animals are very sensitive to changes in
salinity and pH. It is most often recommended to
acclimate them to a new tank over several hours and many folks
actually use a "drip method" where a piece of airline
with a loose knot is used to drip tank water into the bag water at
a rate of one drop per second or so.> One more thing, my dad
also moved the starfish from one side of the tank to the other
because we were afraid it was going after the damsels since he was
in their hiding place. Since we moved him, I feel he has
been depressed or something. They told us to feed him
once a month. Is he just hungry? I hope you
can help, I really don't want him to die.
<Usually, when these animals start losing arms, they are
doomed. If it does recover, I would suggest small weekly
feedings. I would also watch it carefully for signs of
predatory behavior, as they are quite capable of capturing
fish. Best Regards. AdamC.> |
| Green Brittle Star part 2 10/3/05 Hi again, Thx for
taking time out of your day to help me out. I have one
more question, that I didn't think about asking.
=P Since this is happening to my starfish, do I have to
take him out of the tank? Will he get the other fish
sick since he is sick? <When it becomes clear that it isn't
going to survive (it doesn't look good), I would remove it so
that it does not foul the water, but the condition is not
contagious.> I also attached two pictures of what he looks like
now. What is that white stuff that seems to be oozing
out of one of his arms? Thanks again for taking the time
to answer my questions. <Glad to help! The
white stuff is simply dying tissue. Best
Regards. AdamC.> |
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