Kaplanm Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I had a pair of lovely serpent stars, one of which has already kicked the bucket and I'm not certain why yet. (water panel to follow this afternoon)The other one however dropped an arm last night. Is this something they're known to do when threatened, or is this a sign of predation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Generally it's a sign of bad water conditions, or stress to the starfish (not acclimated properly). When I first started I had one literally dissolve in front of my eyes until all that was left were particles in the shape of a starfish on the sandbed. That happened in less than 30 mins. How long had you had it? Do you see any other damage on the disc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaplanm Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Only had it since Tuesday. No other damage, Ran a water panel, Ammonia spike. Looks like the bloody flat worm that's killing my snails isn't cleaning up after itself. Went on dead things hunt, pulled what I could find. Is it worth trying Zeolite to get me through the crisis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Are you on the Zeolite system? If so, which products do you use? The ultra-low nutrient system is designed to have a basis of Zeovit, Zeobak, Zeostart, and Zeofood. Of those four, Zeovit and Zeostart are the only ones that I think would help. Zeovit is media, used in a media reactor. Zeobak is essentially a bottle of bacteria. Zeostart is similar to dosing nitrates to keep bacteria multiplying at an elevated level. I've never heard of anyone having ammonia while on the Zeolite system, even with decomposing matter in the tank. A couple of dead snails probably wouldn't cause a problem in an established 60g. I'm guessing there is more to this story. How long has the tank been set up? What kind of equipment do you use? For now you have to get the ammonia down by exporting it through a water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaplanm Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 That's on the menu. The tank's been cycling for about 3 weeks. 40lbs dry rock 46lbs live rock. I'd added snails, the 2 stars and a coral banded and peppermint shrimp to try and take care of some nuisance hitch-hikers. What I did do, that I just recognized is I changed out my filter sock and removed my activated carbon at the same time I added the critters, that filter sock must've been holding some of the worst of it at bay. I'm running a reef octopus nwb100 for a protein skimmer, other than that I'm not running anything with any regularity. (Occasional activated carbon when desperately needed to clarify the water some) So what was a barely stable system, just tipped over the edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 You stocked too early. The starfish and snails die first when the water quality is bad. http://www.chucksaddiction.com/cleanupcrew.html http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm As hobbyists we have a need to try and control the cycle of a new tank. We think we can add things and manipulate the environment to achieve the desired result. Normally, we just make things worse and waste money. It's tough to look at an ugly tank, but patience is a virtue. Truthfully, you should cycle without the lights unless you have corals as hitchhikers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Agreed, I feel any additions at this time were a little early. Just the bioload of the additions alone probably caused an ammonia spike which in turn killed your serpent stars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 +1 on rushing things, take a break, slow down. The snails and hermits will help you condition and cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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