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Emerald Crabs and Starfish????

T

tbone212371

Ok all my starfish are getting chopped to bits!!!
I had a Serpant Starfish and 3 other local species starfishs that have seemed to be getting chopped up!!! Legs missing first then chopped in half then totally gone!!!
The only additions to my tank were 2 emerald crabs and 3 red scarlet hermits that I purchased from the group buy... and a Dragon Wrasse but he only messes around with the substrate and some shells and rocks...
What do you think is doing this???
I believe it is the emeralds....But haven't seen them do it...
At first I thought it was my Lunar Wrasse because he will nip at everything... But I removed him and Isolated him in a tank by himself and it is still occuring...
Has anyone had this happen to them????
Any advise would be great...
Thanks in advance,
TR
 
dnov99

dnov99

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
It could be your serpent starfish. If it is large enough it will feed on the legs of other starfish, usually sand sifting stars.

I had the same problem with the legs missing off my sand sifting stars and one night I caught the serpent star pulling the SS into the rock work and feeding on it.
 
F

Finious

Could be the emerald crabs. I had one that killed three small fish before I narrowed it down to him. IMHO you can not trust them. I also had some that scraped off coralline algae.
 
magic

magic

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I had about 10 emerald crabs in my tank at once. They didn't eat anything other then each other!

Bob
 
T

tbone212371

Thanks for the responses!
Well I know it's not the serpant starfish because the same thing happened to it and it does not exsist anymore...
The LR came from many random places... So can't really pin that down...
But I haven't noticed a mantis shrimp in the tank... But you never know...
Hopefully I can sort this one out...
 
mfisher2112

mfisher2112

I wouldn't put anything past the dragon wrasse either. I had one once. And I caught him more than once with a hermit by the leg shaking it like a dog with a rope toy. Watch him with his "redecorating" too. He used to grab all my frag plugs off the rack and throw them all in one corner in the back of the tank. Knocked more than one rock over in the process too.
 
J

jonathan.

Dragon wrasses eat anything and everything from experience. Had one in the past that massacred almost every single invert in the entire tank. Was a stupid purchase on my end because I didn't think he'd be able to at such a small size!
 
T

tbone212371

Yeah I guess I'm gonna have to watch him...
He normally burrows himself under some rocks early in the evening and he is up bright and early in the am...
This starfish massacare only occurs at night when the moonlights are out...
But I will watch the dragon wrassee.. He hasn't touch any of my corals YET!!!
Just messes with smalls shells and rocks on the substrate....
 
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