FAQs about Green Brittlestars,
Ophiarachna incrassata Health
Related Articles: Brittlestars, Sea
Stars, An
Introduction to the Echinoderms: The Sea Stars, Sea
Urchins, Sea Cucumbers and More... By James W. Fatherree,
M.Sc.
Related FAQs: Green
Brittlestars 1, Green Brittlestars
2, & FAQs on: Green
Brittlestars Identification, Green
Brittlestars Behavior, Green
Brittlestars Compatibility, Green
Brittlestars Selection, Green
Brittlestars Systems, Green
Brittlestars Feeding, Green
Brittlestars Reproduction, & Brittlestars 1, Brittlestars 2, Brittlestars 3, & Brittlestar ID, Brittlestar Behavior, Brittlestar Compatibility, Brittlestar Selection, Brittlestar Systems, Brittlestar Feeding, Brittlestar Disease, Brittlestar Reproduction, &
Seastar Selection, Seastar Compatibility, Seastar Systems, Seastar Feeding, Seastar Reproduction, Seastar Disease,
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Going, going... gone.
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Sea star injury 5/12/16
Hello,
<Hey there!>
A friend of mine recently sent me pictures of this brittle star.
She was stumped as am I as to what this could be.
<Yikes... the insides of this Ophiarachna incrassata?>
The protrusion is not moving apparently.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
<Likely soon to perish. I'd keep a vigilant eye on it; remove before it
badly decomposes. Please have your friend peruse this file:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/grbritstrdis.htm
Bob Fenner>
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banded serpent star concerns,
hlth., env. 7/26/09
Hi! My name is Michelle and I have a 55gal. saltwater tank with a mated
pair of black percula clowns, 4 yellow-tail damsels, 3 green Chromis,
one blue urchin, some assorted hermits, a few mushrooms and buttons,
and (one of the first additions to my tank besides the clowns) a banded
serpent star. I've had my tank for a couple of years and everyone
in the tank has been there for several months( or longer), except for a
couple of the Chromis. Anyway, lately, we've noticed some strange
things going on with our serpent star. Normally, it hides in the rocks
and you can barely see it; but recently it has come up to the front of
the tank and is in plain view. I also noticed that parts of its arms
are missing and I've found a few of the pieces in the tank this
morning. The ends of his arm are white, but nothing seems to be oozing
out or anything. The starfish is still moving and I believe it's
still eating( usually eats pellets or bits of mysis, brine, or daphnia
that falls to the bottom of the tank). The disc looks fine and I was
wondering if you could help me figure out what was going on.
<Mmm, something amiss with water quality almost certainly...>
No one is bothering the starfish, but about a month of two ago we did
have a problem with pop-eye with the female clown. She was treated
<With what? Might be the Ophiuroid cause...>
and is better and everything has been stable since. We just added 2-3
Chromis because a couple of ours died while treating the clownfish( I
was told it was die -off from treatment) and I didn't want to leave
just one Chromis in the tank, since they're schooling fish. My
water quality reads fine( the ph reads at 7.8, but that is still in
acceptable range according to my test strip)
<Mmm, no... borderline toxic... Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marphalk.htm
and the linked files above>
I use Quick Dip test strips by Jungle. My salinity was a bit high(1.26,
but I usually keep it at between 1.25 and 1.26 for our mushrooms and
corals). Do you have any advice?
<See WWM re Ophiuroids...>
Depending on your response, I was considering moving him to my sump for
better observation and to some what quarantine him. Thanks for your
advice and speedy response!
Thanks again,
Michelle
<The trouble here is very likely environmental. Bob
Fenner>
Sick Seastar I have a green brittle star
that i just recently purchased...his legs are starting to fall
off...first they are turning pink and then the spines are falling
off and then his leg falls off. he is still alive but i want to
make sure there is nothing wrong with him...i do have a horseshoe
crab but the star is in a hard to reach cave...is there a
bacteria eating him or is this normal. please help i am very
worried. Thanks >> Not normal, and not a good sign... I
suspect your brittle star was/is infected and its health impaired
from collection, shipping and handling... It will either
self-heal or perish... if the latter, do try and remove the
remains from your system. Bob Fenner
Sick Serpent Star Hi, I read your responses
to other peoples questions and they were very helpful. <Ah,
good> I have a green Serpent Star named Pepe that is about 4
years old and he has recently become quite sick. I noticed that
one of his legs has detached from the socket and then later that
day, a piece broke off of another leg. <Not good signs> I
recently had an algae problem and my water quality is not the
best right now. I have a 33 gallon hex tank with only have one
other fish in the tank with some live rock. I thought if I slowly
changed the water over a period of time to improve the water
quality, it may help him. I vacuumed and changed only 4 gallons
of water. The next day he broke off half of another leg and the
next day another half. He is still trying to eat but he is having
a hard time getting food. I also noticed that he has two large
vertical openings underneath his disc on each side of one of his
legs where I can see his insides. I can't tell if those are
the only openings. Also, where he lost is full leg, now there is
an opening to inside his disk. <Time to make much more
concerted attempts at improving water quality...> I read all
of your responses to related questions and was hopeful that he
may recover but now I am not so sure. Should I continue to change
a few gallons of water everyday to help improve his conditions or
will that make matters worse? I also don't know what to do
with the detached leg pieces. The are still moving and although I
know they can't live forever, it seems weird to flush them
when there are still alive. <I would make a massive (like
half) water change if you can be sure the new water is
"okay"... better if it were pre-made up and stored
ahead of use... but I wouldn't wait even if it had to be made
now and used... And do gravel vacuum the bottom in removing the
present water. Also, I would add some activated carbon to your
filter... And clean out whatever filter gear you do have in the
process. Do you have live rock?> I'm sorry to send you
such a lengthy e-mail and I appreciate any information that you
can give me to help save Pepe's life. <The length of these
messages is of little concern. Supplying enough information,
expressing yourself is. Good luck my friend. Bob Fenner>
Thanks, Gina
Re: Sick Serpent Star Wow - I can't
believe you responded so quickly. You are so sweet for sharing
your knowledge with me. <An honor m'lady> I do have
live rock in my tank. What percentage of water should I change at
a time without hurting my other fish but still helping my Serpent
Star? <Perhaps 20-25 percent.> You're the best. Thanks,
Gina <Again, good luck my friend. Be of good life. Bob
Fenner>
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Wounded green brittle starfish
7/18/03 I have a green brittle starfish that has opened on the top
and it looks like a bunch of yellow seeds .It is still alive and doing
well. what happened? <the creature has a wound caused by injury or
septic infection. You may need to QT it... but do maintain superb water
quality in the meantime and feed as best as you can to help it recover.
Best regards, Anthony>
-Brittle star infection- Hi All!!
I am wondering about the different types of diseases for green brittle
starfish. I have one that is having some major problems
right now and don't know what is going on or how to treat
it. Two days ago, I noticed some brown fungus looking
"stuff" on the body of the star. I paid no
attention as I figured it was algae that happened to settle onto
it. The next day however, there was a chunk of skin missing
from the star. <Oooh, sounds like it's getting an infection> I
could see the orangish red coloring of its insides and to top it off,
today was worse. It has since lost one arm which is
wriggling about the aquarium and I can see down to the bone of the
star. It still has the brownish colored stuff on it, but the chunk
seems to be getting bigger. I don't know if some
tankmate has been beating on it or if it is some sort of
disease. Any type of help would be greatly
appreciated. Star is quarantined, but I don't know how
to help it. <That's great that it's quarantined, but
unfortunately, it's very rare that they survive infections such as
you're experiencing. Attempting antibiotics would be risky at best,
so the best you can do is keep the water quality in tip-top shape by
removing any dead/half-dead parts of the star should they begin to fall
off. -Kevin> Thanks again, Todd
Dying Brittle Star? (2/17/04)
Bob, <Steve Allen tonight.> I have a green
serpent star and have had him for about 4 months now. He has been
doing well up until this AM. I was feeding him small dead frozen
fish from a local saltwater dealer. <Are these fish that died of
some unknown cause or fish that are intended as food?> He would
eat that no problem, then about 2-3 weeks ago he stopped eating
them. I assumed the fish were no good (freezer burn?) and pitched
them. I have been trying to feed him some freeze dried food to no
avail. <I generally feed mine a cheap fresh seafood assortment
from my local Albertson's.> Today I noticed he
has two holes on the top of his body. <Uh Oh!> He still seems
to be moving about normally but I can't get him to eat. <Not
good. These creatures are usually voracious eaters.> I recently
did do a move of the 55 gallon aquarium that he is in along w/ four
perculas, 1 Sailfin tang, and two green Chromis. At the current
moment my salinity is a little low and in the process of raising
it. <If you did not slowly acclimate the starfish to the
salinity, temp and pH of the new tank, he may be suffering from
shock.> Temp at about 75. any suggestions or ideas on what this
might be. <Some sort of toxic effect. Once they start to
disintegrate, they almost never survive. You could try putting him
in a QT (starting with tank water) and keeping the water pristine.
A broad-spectrum antibiotic might be helpful, but I am not
optimistic for the survival of a Brittlestar with a deteriorating
central disk, sorry to say.> |
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Green brittle star loses all legs 29
Jun 2005 Hi my green brittle star just lost all of its legs over a
period of 2 days. <....> I have him and his legs in
their own one gallon tank now. <?> All system parameters are were
they should be. do you have any idea what's
happening. in the tank i have one Koran Angel (left the
starfish alone), one Clarkii Clown (left the star alone), one Scooter
Blenny (very peaceful), one Lemonpeel Angel (didn't bother the
starfish that i know of) No rock collapses either any idea thanks
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brittlestardisfaqs.htm and the
linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Green Brittle Star
11/10/05 I have a green brittle star and a black brittle star. We
did a water change a few days ago. Everything stayed pretty consistent
as far as pH saltwater etc. However a few days after the change my
Green star disk started swelling it looks like he swallowed a rock and
he's going to explode. Then a few days after my Green star did this
my black star started as well. What is going on? <... Mmm,
maybe a reaction to the water change... but possibly from eating,
reproductive products?> Does it have anything to do with the water
change (I was thinking it might but wouldn't they have started
showing this right after the change not days later)? <Not
necessarily> Could it possibly be air bubbles? <Doubtful> I
have a bubble tube under the gravel to emit little bubbles to float to
the top is it possible they swallowed air bubbles and can't get rid
of the air? They are still moving and everything but the green one just
yesterday had a arm come off. Both the Green starfish and his severed
arm are continuously moving. Let me know what I should do.
<... keep on keeping on...> I also just read on your website that
the green brittle star can eat sleeping fish (can the black one
also?) <Mostly Ophiarachna amongst commonly kept
Brittlestars...> Maybe that is what has been happening to my fish. I
have a well established maroon clown who always hangs out in his
anemone but when I try to add any new fish like tangs they are fine
during the day and then mysteriously over night they are dead with just
their skeleton floating around or with crabs and starfish eating the
body in the morning. <Oops... time to get a flashlight out, check
during the night...> I thought the starfish and crabs were eating
them after they died. Is it possible that either the crab or the
starfish actually caught the fish and killed them? <Oh yes>
Please get back to me as soon as you can. This is beginning to quickly
become an expensive project. Sherri Berg <Bob
Fenner>
Re: Green Brittle Star
11/10/05 Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. The Black
star fish looks like his stomach came out and he was eating something
last night. This morning I checked on him and he looks fine his big
hump is gone. However my green one is not looking so good. He has lost
another leg, still has his hump and is not coming out during feeding
time. Sherri Berg <Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brittlestars.htm
and the linked files above, particularly "Disease". Bob
Fenner>
Green Brittle Star 9/30/05 Hi,
recently I bought a green brittle starfish last week on
Tuesday. The pet store had a display tank which they took
down and put in separate tanks to be sold. The brittle
starfish I bought was from that display tank. <The most common cause
of problems with these animals is shipping stress. If this
animal was already established in captivity, then it has to be
something else...> My point is that now my starfish is like eating
it's legs or something of the sort. It's folding
it's legs under him and I don't know if he's just cutting
them off or eating them (maybe both -.- ). Is he doing this
because he's stressed from all the moving around or what? <Most
likely, yes. These animals are very sensitive to changes in
salinity and pH. It is most often recommended to acclimate
them to a new tank over several hours and many folks actually use a
"drip method" where a piece of airline with a loose knot is
used to drip tank water into the bag water at a rate of one drop per
second or so.> One more thing, my dad also moved the starfish from
one side of the tank to the other because we were afraid it was going
after the damsels since he was in their hiding place. Since
we moved him, I feel he has been depressed or
something. They told us to feed him once a
month. Is he just hungry? I hope you can help, I
really don't want him to die. <Usually, when these
animals start losing arms, they are doomed. If it does
recover, I would suggest small weekly feedings. I would also
watch it carefully for signs of predatory behavior, as they are quite
capable of capturing fish. Best
Regards. AdamC.>
Green Brittle Star
Dying? 10/6/06 Hi, <Hello> I have a 45
gallon saltwater reef tank and have had a Green Brittle Star in there
for about a year now. He is rather large and today I noticed
one of my small anemones affixed itself to the brittle star's body
(on the top). <!> Well, when I came home, all I saw was a little
bit of the anemone's tentacles protruding from the upper part of
brittle star's body.... Obviously he penetrated it's skin and
had moved INSIDE the brittle star. <Mmm, likely the two were/are
caught in a predaceous act... to the detriment of the Serpentstar>
Well, the brittle star has continued to develop more "holes"
on its upper body and is "hiding" by the filter versus behind
the live rock (where it has remained for the last X months). Any
advice.... Is the anemone eating the brittle star from the inside
out... or is it the other way around?? <A bit of both. Please read
here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brittlestardisfaqs.htm and the
linked files above. BobF> Thanks,
Craig Donnelly
Green Brittle Star 9/30/05 Hi, recently
I bought a green brittle starfish last week on
Tuesday. The pet store had a display tank which they
took down and put in separate tanks to be sold. The
brittle starfish I bought was from that display tank. <The most
common cause of problems with these animals is shipping
stress. If this animal was already established in
captivity, then it has to be something else...> My point is that
now my starfish is like eating it's legs or something of the
sort. It's folding it's legs under him and I
don't know if he's just cutting them off or eating them
(maybe both -.- ). Is he doing this because he's
stressed from all the moving around or what? <Most likely,
yes. These animals are very sensitive to changes in
salinity and pH. It is most often recommended to
acclimate them to a new tank over several hours and many folks
actually use a "drip method" where a piece of airline
with a loose knot is used to drip tank water into the bag water at
a rate of one drop per second or so.> One more thing, my dad
also moved the starfish from one side of the tank to the other
because we were afraid it was going after the damsels since he was
in their hiding place. Since we moved him, I feel he has
been depressed or something. They told us to feed him
once a month. Is he just hungry? I hope you
can help, I really don't want him to die.
<Usually, when these animals start losing arms, they are
doomed. If it does recover, I would suggest small weekly
feedings. I would also watch it carefully for signs of
predatory behavior, as they are quite capable of capturing
fish. Best Regards. AdamC.> |
Green Brittle Star part 2 10/3/05 Hi again, Thx for
taking time out of your day to help me out. I have one
more question, that I didn't think about asking.
=P Since this is happening to my starfish, do I have to
take him out of the tank? Will he get the other fish
sick since he is sick? <When it becomes clear that it isn't
going to survive (it doesn't look good), I would remove it so
that it does not foul the water, but the condition is not
contagious.> I also attached two pictures of what he looks like
now. What is that white stuff that seems to be oozing
out of one of his arms? Thanks again for taking the time
to answer my questions. <Glad to help! The
white stuff is simply dying tissue. Best
Regards. AdamC.> |
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Problem with my Green Serpent
Starfish (The Headless Starfish) I have had my serpent starfish for
well over a year and he has doubled in size and has been such a
joy to us. We had him in a 150 gallon tank
full of live rock and he would always get behind it and make
other rocks fall...so about a month ago we started a small 55
gallon tank just to add him and a few pieces of rock along
with one male and one female clown. We tested
the waters before adding the things to the new tank and made
sure it was established. We put him in my sons
room because he loves to watch him. He has
been crawling all over the tank, and has been eating very
well. On Saturday night when I went to bed I fed the clowns
and I also fed him. When we woke up on Sunday Morning... his
central disc had completely blown up... I could see everything inside
his body the whole top is gone. He was
still moving all about the tank. Today is Monday
night and all the brown stuff that was inside him is now a white
color but he is still very active and moving about the tank.
I have noticed that his all attached 5 limbs are still
trying to catch food but he has nowhere to
put it. Could you please tell me what I should
do. <Nothing much "to do"... but hope that this animal
will self-cure> I immediately removed the
clowns from the tank and added them to the 150 gallon tank so he is
all alone. I read that they do not have brains so
they do not experience pain......but I am experiencing
enough pain for him. My son WILL NOT let me flush
his as long as he is still moving around the tank. <I agree... leave
this animal be> I just do not see how he is going to
recover. Please send me any information that will
be helpful. Thank you so much in your quick response. Brandi
Vickers <Ophiuroids, Brittlestars have remarkable "powers of
regeneration"... Am hopeful yours will recover. Do your best to
"leave it alone" (not add "medicines"), keep water
quality stable... Bob Fenner>
Re: Problem with my Green Serpent
Starfish (The Headless Starfish) 9/16/05 I am sorry to report
that I had to flush the starfish. His legs became
detached from his body and he began to have a foul
odor. He was still moving two of the legs that
were attached to nothing. I do plan on getting
another one, he was very interesting and I loved to watch
it. And he did last over a year before we lost
him. I am hoping I did not make a bad decision to
flush him now. Do you really think he could
have "regenerated" himself? <Not at this/that
point... I would have done the same> Thanks for all your
help. Brandi <Very important to "match" the
water quality... even better to actually move a good deal of existing
water to new systems with this species, other echinoderms. Bob
Fenner>
Brittle Star... rotting -- 09/17/07 Uh oh..
I am starting to worry again. I have attached some pics so you can
see what is going on with my "green monster" (that's
what I call him ) I think he is dying as he looks like he is
rotting! What do you think? Gilma <Hmm, read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/brittlestardisfaqs.htm and the linked files
above. BobF> |
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Green brittle star...is it dead?
02/02/2008 I have a had green brittle star for about a week. The
middle is the size of a quarter. LFS said it would be a good bottom
cleaner. Parameters ok, temp 78. It ate a piece of shrimp from my hand
last night. After it ate the shrimp it crawled on top on of a boat
decoration and today when I went to check my parameters I bumped the
boat and the star fell off in the same position that it was in on the
boat. It is rather stiff. I placed it on my live rock as that is where
it has preferred to hide. I am watching for movement but I am seeing
none. It has never really moved much that I have seen but I do not
think that it should be stiff like this should it? Any help would be
great. Thanks. <<For all intents and purposes, I would class this
as dead.. Yes, they are not a big mover in the aquarium, however, being
knocked of a perch like that, I would certainly expect a reaction from
it. Sorry confirm your thoughts.>> Jessica <<Thanks for the
question. A Nixon>>
Green Brittle Star 'Sick Or
Reproducing? -- 04/1/08 I have had a green brittle star for 9
months in a 120 gallon tank. It has been healthy & grown well!
<<Mmm'¦ Ophiarachna incrassata? Can indeed get
large 'and is known to ambush and eat fish>> Without any
indication of being sick, in a matter of less than 24 hours, it rubbed
itself against a rough piece of live rock & sawed itself into 4
pieces (all but one have a chunk of the body on it). <<You
actually saw this? Strange'¦>> How can you tell if it
did this because it is sick or reproducing? <<Don't know that
you can 'though this seems extreme for reproductive
behavior>> What are the chances any of the pieces will survive?
<<Not uncommon for those pieces with bits of the oral disc
attached to grow in to/become whole animals again 'in the
wild. Not so much 'in captivity>> All four are moving
about the tank with ease. <<About all you can do is keep an eye
on them 'remove if they 'die' and begin to
decompose>> Thanks for your advice. Kristie <<Happy to
share. EricR>>
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