Take the start out or the nem. Stars prey on nems.
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Anemone killed/dead by starfish?
- Thread starter Daimyo68
- Start date
Daimyo68
Active member
Well tonight when I got home, there was a pretty bad smell in the room with the tanks. Sadly, my anemone did not make it 
I wish that I had made faster reactions to save him, but unfortunately...
It's pretty saddening that this happened. A mistake that was made by the previous owner was my problem. I accept full responsibility though, for "assuming" that they were "OK" together.
Flightpipe - When this first started, Saturday morning, there was a couple responses, and I went with "he may be eating whatever the anemone is expelling" and "Keep an Eye on him". (not trying to blame anyone). I had little information of the cons of having the Starfish in the same tank.
When I got home that night from work, I seen that he was on him again and then removed the Starfish and put him into another tank. (Posts in-between were made from my phone while at work, and sadly, I could not see what was actually going on at home. I was on the web all day researching the issues).
As for the Lights, the tank came with what looks like an older Current Nova Extreme T5 X2, with a 10k and Atininc bulb/s. I ordered a new Current HQI/T5O 2x250 that should arrive tomorrow. I know the lighting was not up to par, even at the bare minimum of what this tank needs.
Water parameters are:
Temp - 78 ~1-2 Degrees
pH - 8.2 <---a little low
Salinity - 1.024-1.025
Alkalinity - 7
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 80ppm <---Still too high, but it is dropping
Nitrogen - less than 1 ppm
Phosphate - ~6 ppm
Strontium - ~7 ppm
Calcium - ~310 PPM
Magnesium - ~1150 ppm
Most of these these numbers are fluctuating as I am trying to make the corrections to the tank, as well as get to the source of the cause/s. I'm considering moving the livestock to the quarantine tank so that I can do more frequent water changes until the tank levels out. What are your thoughts?
BonsaiNut - I'll say it again, i hope you didn't take my response to your post the wrong way. I always have and always will accept answers/recommendations, whether I am wrong or right.
I wish that I had made faster reactions to save him, but unfortunately...It's pretty saddening that this happened. A mistake that was made by the previous owner was my problem. I accept full responsibility though, for "assuming" that they were "OK" together.
Flightpipe - When this first started, Saturday morning, there was a couple responses, and I went with "he may be eating whatever the anemone is expelling" and "Keep an Eye on him". (not trying to blame anyone). I had little information of the cons of having the Starfish in the same tank.
When I got home that night from work, I seen that he was on him again and then removed the Starfish and put him into another tank. (Posts in-between were made from my phone while at work, and sadly, I could not see what was actually going on at home. I was on the web all day researching the issues).
As for the Lights, the tank came with what looks like an older Current Nova Extreme T5 X2, with a 10k and Atininc bulb/s. I ordered a new Current HQI/T5O 2x250 that should arrive tomorrow. I know the lighting was not up to par, even at the bare minimum of what this tank needs.
Water parameters are:
Temp - 78 ~1-2 Degrees
pH - 8.2 <---a little low
Salinity - 1.024-1.025
Alkalinity - 7
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 80ppm <---Still too high, but it is dropping
Nitrogen - less than 1 ppm
Phosphate - ~6 ppm
Strontium - ~7 ppm
Calcium - ~310 PPM
Magnesium - ~1150 ppm
Most of these these numbers are fluctuating as I am trying to make the corrections to the tank, as well as get to the source of the cause/s. I'm considering moving the livestock to the quarantine tank so that I can do more frequent water changes until the tank levels out. What are your thoughts?
BonsaiNut - I'll say it again, i hope you didn't take my response to your post the wrong way. I always have and always will accept answers/recommendations, whether I am wrong or right.
That's too bad. Unfortunately there are people that are 'lucky' and assume that it will work. Been there done that. The anemone was bleached and I'm not sure the starfish had anything to do with it's demise at this point. Since it was a recently moved tank there could be a lot of factors in it.
Phoenix19
New member
Well good luck with your new tank. I will say that I worked for a LFS and the owner thought he knew everything about salt water. BUt he would do some of the dumbest things like putting a Longhorn Cowfish in a tank with zoanthids and other polyps and wonder why he had been moved the next day. (He was ripping polyps off the rocks.) Putting sand sifting gobies in barebottom tanks. And chocoloate chip starfish (that he advertised as 'not reef safe' in tanks with anemones. I watched one climb to the top of the glass and just 'jump' off and land on a Zebra Long Tentacle which he promptly began to eat. So I moved the star fish.
Point of the matter is yours wasn't the first to eat a nem and probably won't be the last either.
Point of the matter is yours wasn't the first to eat a nem and probably won't be the last either.
BonsaiNut
Premium Member
You will see a world of difference. (Figuratively and literally)
If there is one general mistake made in this hobby it is that 90% (or more) of reef tanks are too deep and not lit strongly enough. People should understand that they are trying to recreate a shallow water tropical reef environment, NOT the hold of the Lusitania.
Now you just need to deal with the heat
davelin315
10 & Over Club
FYI, I keep chocolate chip starfish for a touch tank and decided to run an experiment with one to see if it would eat an Aiptasia. It mowed over the hair algae that was on the rock with the Aiptasia, sat on the Aiptasia for a day or so, ate the majority of it, then moved on. They will eat anything and everything and are voracious predators. Watch out for your fish...
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