Bristil worms eating my star fish.

coryjones · 03/31/2013, 04:24 PM

I have a blue staurfish and i looks like he tried to eat a bristil work and it eat right through him out the other side. Is there anything i can do for him? He is still alive will he heal up or do i just have to let what happens happen?

Anemone · 03/31/2013, 05:08 PM

I doubt your star tried to consume a bristle worm. More than likely, your star is dying and disintegrating on it's own, and the bristle is cleaning up the mess.

Why your star is dying would determine whether there is anything you can do to save it. These stars generally die form one of two causes - 1) the are acclimated poorly and they "fall apart" within about 3-4 weeks of entering a a tank due to osmotic damage, or 2) they starve to death and begin falling apart (this one can take anywhere from 6-18 months to occur, depending upon the size of the tank. If your star is starving, transferring to a different tank may provide the necessary nutrition to keep it alive (but we really don't know what blue linkias eat, so it's a hit-or-miss proposition).

Good luck,
Kevin

Sk8r · 03/31/2013, 07:49 PM

Linckias die quite readily and should not be in any tank under 100 gallons and a very mature tank with a lot of rock at that. The bristleworm could save him by eating the dead tissue, if he weren't so sick, but I fear it's a goner unless you take it back to the store and it finds an environment where there's food for him. He can't eat fish food, just certain stuff that grows on rockwork.

coryjones · 03/31/2013, 08:03 PM

He was not dieing and was doing great he would eat algae sheets and krill. He seemed very content. I noticed he was in the same spot for about 24 hours in between a couple of rocks i planed to move some stuff around so i moved them and found a worm had went in through his mouth and out the other side. he is still a live but not moving much. i have had blue and orange ones in past tanks and had really good luck never lost one before. I even had one stick his foot in a tunze in my 150 and loose part of his foot and he lived.

03/31/2013, 04:24 PM	#1
coryjones Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Decatur Posts: 489	Bristil worms eating my star fish. I have a blue staurfish and i looks like he tried to eat a bristil work and it eat right through him out the other side. Is there anything i can do for him? He is still alive will he heal up or do i just have to let what happens happen?

03/31/2013, 05:08 PM	#2
Anemone Cloning Around Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Valencia, California Posts: 25,267	I doubt your star tried to consume a bristle worm. More than likely, your star is dying and disintegrating on it's own, and the bristle is cleaning up the mess. Why your star is dying would determine whether there is anything you can do to save it. These stars generally die form one of two causes - 1) the are acclimated poorly and they "fall apart" within about 3-4 weeks of entering a a tank due to osmotic damage, or 2) they starve to death and begin falling apart (this one can take anywhere from 6-18 months to occur, depending upon the size of the tank. If your star is starving, transferring to a different tank may provide the necessary nutrition to keep it alive (but we really don't know what blue linkias eat, so it's a hit-or-miss proposition). Good luck, Kevin __________________ Back in the pool, swimming with the sharks... Current Tank Info: Red Sea 425XL w/Kessil AP700, Vertex 180i Skimmer, 2 x Vortech MP40s

03/31/2013, 07:49 PM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Linckias die quite readily and should not be in any tank under 100 gallons and a very mature tank with a lot of rock at that. The bristleworm could save him by eating the dead tissue, if he weren't so sick, but I fear it's a goner unless you take it back to the store and it finds an environment where there's food for him. He can't eat fish food, just certain stuff that grows on rockwork. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/31/2013, 08:03 PM	#4
coryjones Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Decatur Posts: 489	He was not dieing and was doing great he would eat algae sheets and krill. He seemed very content. I noticed he was in the same spot for about 24 hours in between a couple of rocks i planed to move some stuff around so i moved them and found a worm had went in through his mouth and out the other side. he is still a live but not moving much. i have had blue and orange ones in past tanks and had really good luck never lost one before. I even had one stick his foot in a tunze in my 150 and loose part of his foot and he lived.