Reef Discussion

[Susan Bates]

Hi i just noticed something appears to be eating the legs off my starfish, i have had him for nearly 2 years

 

[MagicJ]

Did you actually see anything eating it?

More than likely, and this unfortunately happens with a lot of stars, they gradually starve over a long period of time before they begin to disintegrate.

 

[Wazza22]

How big is he and in what size tank?
I think MagicJ is likely correct.
Starfish take a long time to die.
Having him for 2 years means he was able to survive in your tank for a while.
Sand Stars generally eat the fauna in the sand and by all accounts quite voraciously.
I'd guess he has wiped out his food source (worms, pods etc) in the sand and has starved from that point.

 

[Susan Bates]

Did you actually see anything eating it?

More than likely, and this unfortunately happens with a lot of stars, they gradually starve over a long period of time before they begin to disintegrate.

no, it just looks that way

 

[Susan Bates]

How big is he and in what size tank?
I think MagicJ is likely correct.
Starfish take a long time to die.
Having him for 2 years means he was able to survive in your tank for a while.
Sand Stars generally eat the fauna in the sand and by all accounts quite voraciously.
I'd guess he has wiped out his food source (worms, pods etc) in the sand and has starved from that point.

He would be 4-5 in, the tank is 400 lts, that is so sad, for him to die that way

 

[MagicJ]

At a guess, I would assume that a sand sifting sea star would roam over a fairly large area in the wild - whilst a 400l tank is relatively large to us, 8 square feet does not really compare to what is available in the ocean.

From http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+2857+572&pcatid=572 (emphasis added by me)

This peaceful omnivore will effectively clean even the largest home aquarium of detritus and left over food. Like other starfish, the Sand Sifting Sea Star will also consume small invertebrates, including shrimp, urchins, mollusks, bivalves, or other small sea stars. As such, the Sand Sifting Sea Star should be actively fed a varied diet consisting of natural food sources, especially in well-established marine aquariums. Otherwise, this voracious feeder will quickly clean your aquarium of detritus and then burrow into your substrate, starve, and eventually begin to decay.

Burying some food in the sand after lights out is advisable, but I suspect that it is already too late for yours.