brittle star problems??

I have 1 very large brittle star that I have had for about 1 year. It has doubled in size since i purchased it.

I noticed today that my brittle start was up along the front glass of the tank.

The center part of its body where all the legs attach to appears to have been ripped open. The entire shell or skin that covers the center is ripped...its not just a little. Its center is about the size of a $1 coin and the leathery looking skin covering the center is all peeled up and looks like the center was eaten out.

The brittle star is still alive and has retreated to the cover of the LR.

I was hoping someone could tell me if this is something the brittle star is doing to its self...i.e he's molting or if something is preying on it.

I have been having problems keeping inverts lately like something is wiping them out. I use to have alot of hermits...now very few. My cleaner shrimps, and fire shrimp have also been eaten or killed off.

I found this:'Toxic' the flatworm. Watch in HD for best quality. - YouTube

a pericelis SP polyclad flatworm in my tank. I know it is a predator and I believe it is the cause for my dwindling snail,hermit,and shrimp population.

i am also concerned as 1 chromis has dissappeared....

I need Help bad! I think it may be large enough that it will try to eat a sleeping fish. I have not seen it in a long time and i do look often.

Aside from ripping my reef apart what can i do??? I really dont want to tear it apart because the LR is now all one big piece....I have tunicates and sponges that have stitched the rocks all toghether an large zoa colonys that are holding everything together.

I am desperate for some help! what should i do? what can i do??

 

Wow, I feel for you. I really want to offer some advice, but I don't have any. Mr. Bill comes to mind, but I'm sure if will be able to help either. I believe there a various traps for like flat worms and stuff of that nature. I'm not sure if something like that would help you out. Do you know of a natural predator of the "pericelis SP polyclad flatworm"? I want to say maybe a wrasse, but again I'm not really sure. I wish you the best of luck and this will also serve as a bump for you.

 

If the brittle star is still alive then it will eventually come out for food and look at night as they seem to be nocturnal.

A large dead or dying brittle star will sometimes cause a ammonia spike so if things look stressed check your parameters.

I have only had problems with polyclad worms eating snails, I imaging they will adapt to other foods. With that said snails/shrimps and star fish can be very sensitive to swings in pH and SG. When you see a tread of those types of inverts dying off it maybe be water parameters.

As you mentioned a larger brittle star may take to eating sleeping fish if it has figured it out.

 

well the brittle star is gone...it was moving about yesterday at lights out...today all was left of him was the legs....something has been feeding.

Also, i had sea hare to help with my hair algae....i think it was preyed on too as i found a little chunk of him today too.

I think the flatworm has grown to the size where it now is feeding on larger prey....it was forsure knocking down my snail population, but since I added my fuge, my snails replenish themselves rapidly....i almost have more than needed and could start selling them!

I think i need to tear my reef down!

any advise on doing this??

I have 2 40gal rubbermaid storage containers that i plan to transfer my water into from the DT. I was then going to piece by piece transfer my LR to the rubbermaid container.

Since i mentioned i have a small problem with hair algae invading my substrate i think i will replace the vast majority of it with aragonite as i have a 50/50 mix of aragonite and crushed coral now.


I think when i pull the LR the worm will retreat into a hiding place inside a rock. here's my big question.. can I FW dip the softy corals? how long should it take for this worm to come jumping out of my LR?? well how long should i submerge the LR in FW??

what if I dip the LR in FW and no worm comes out and i do it to all my LR??? I know i have one in the tank probably many of them by now...

I have 3 weeks off from work before i start my new job that will take me on the road for 3-4 weeks at a time. I want to get everything setup and good again before i leave!

 

Check your salinity. I bet its low.

 

i got 1.025...
temp 76
amonnia 0
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
phos is always hard to read...somewhere between 0 and 0.25

any advise before i start to tear this reef apart?