How much damage can a dying brittle star cause?

[fatoldsun]

I'm holding all my livestock in a 110g stock tank - still trying to get things set up after we moved last month. I noticed about 2 weeks ago that my brittle star was in bad shape. It had a large chunk missing from the body and the rest is very sunken-in. I thought it was dead but when I went to remove it I saw it was clearly still alive so back in it went. I didn't know if it could recover but I thought I'd see if it could hang on until I can get it back in the tank so I've been watching it. Not sure it will make it. Tonight I saw that the body is in worse shape. Some (I think 2) of the arms are white at the base where they connect to the body. Also it lost at least half of one leg - although oddly, what broke off is still alive and has been separated a couple says it seems. I didn't think euthanizing the star was necessary but if it could crash this already shaky ICU I'm trying to float, well it may be time to put the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the one...
Can they reproduce by splitting?

 

[Xavier613]

Not sure about the reproductive question but I know stars decay somethin nasty when they die, and I'd imagine it would be Berri bad for your situation, id get it out unfortunately

 

[jose7878]

This might be a silly question. But have stay on top of the evaporated water? When was the last time you tested the parameters in the stock tank?

 

[fatoldsun]

The only thing I'm checking is salinity - with a meter. I'm adding between 1 and 2 gallons a day. I'm doing periodic water changes of about 15 gallons

 

[jose7878]

Dave hows the tank coming along any updates?

 

[fatoldsun]

Sadly Jose I'm embarrassed to say VERY little has happened. So far my big accomplishment was sweating some copper and getting my RO/Di set up. It has been living in my driveway. BRS order is in transit (missed the group buy by 3 days- doh!) and I will soon start making water to fill the tank. I'm still ironing out the plumbing plan. I picked up a MAG 24 to use a manifold to run all my reactors and such. Anyway I had to scrap plan A because it didn't fit.
Oh, and I never got the brittle star out. I haven't seen it in a few days. But the stock tank ICU is limping along. Everything but the SPS 2 of 3 anemones and possibly my coral banded shrimp are accounted for.

 

[fatoldsun]

I finally took the star out. Not sure it was a risk to damaging anything but I didn't see any signs of it improving. I think the arms were alive but the body was dead and j don't know how it was eating anything.