brittle star eating my peppermint shrimp

[PermaNoob]

This is in a 1 week old 14 nano. I put in a peppermint shrimp, brittle star and some snails a few days ago (Fri). Today, I noticed the peppermint shrimp going nuts like he was having a heart attack or something. Very frantic and erratic then over onto his back. Phone rang so I'd forgotten about it for about 20 mins. When I get back to the tank, I notice for the first time that the brittle star had moved. He's now under a rock near the top of the tank with the apparently dead peppermint shrimp clutched in his tentacles?

Should I remove the shrimp?

Does this mean the brittle is hostile?

Any idea what happened to the peppermint?

 

[Koshmar]

Describe the physical appearance of the brittle star (color and size). Try to get a pic if you can. Sounds like the peppermint died and the brittle just went to pick up a free meal. My sand sifter does the same thing all the time during feedings. In that size of a tank I would remove the shrimp after the brittle has had it's fill unless you have a very large filtering system.

 

[pagojoe]

The brittle star killed your shrimp, that's what they do. I had to remove one because he killed every shrimp I put in the tank, including a big coral banded shrimp. I watched him wrap his arms around the shrimp's legs, contract them and break off his legs, then eat him. I was about as stunned as you the first time it happened, but I finally figured out it wasn't happening by accident.

Cheers,



Don

 

[PermaNoob]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14036390#post14036390 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pagojoe
The brittle star killed your shrimp, that's what they do. I had to remove one because he killed every shrimp I put in the tank, including a big coral banded shrimp. I watched him wrap his arms around the shrimp's legs, contract them and break off his legs, then eat him. I was about as stunned as you the first time it happened, but I finally figured out it wasn't happening by accident.

Cheers,



Don

But the peppermint shrimp was flailing around like it was having seizure - very erratic then just basically croked it's way over. Only then did the starfish come out. You really think the starfish is the killer? I guess if he goes after the cleaner I just put in then I'll know for sure.

 

[pagojoe]

Nah, I don't know if he's the killer if your shrimp was acting crazy, and THEN the brittle star ate it. They are normally scavengers, but the big ones will kill shrimp (and some will kill fish). I guess you can just wait and see how your cleaner fares. I don't have any idea why the erratic shrimp behavior...

Cheers,



Don

 

[PermaNoob]

Thanks for the help Don. Maybe it was just a fluke thing. Cleaner shrimp seems to be doing ok although I was keeping an eye on him last night when he neared where the star was.

 

[EllieSuz]

I have a large brittle star that has never bothered any of my shrimp, including the tiny Sexy Shrimp. He will eat the molt and anything already dead. I understand the green brittle stars are more predatory, but the ordinary black or brown ones seem quite benign.

 

[Elysia]

Has your tank really only been set up for a week? Could it be that it is cycling, and your shrimp died from a spike in the ammonia from you feeding the animals? Is there cured live rock in the tank? Even using cured live rock and live sand and some "instant" filter bacteria in my tank, I didn't immediately add livestock to my tank, and when I did add livestock, the first thing I added were hermits, as they are pretty hardy animals. Are you testing your water? If not, you probably should start.

 

[Coreybg]

I have had m tank up for 6 yrs and I just added 2 cleaners and a blood shrimp. I removed the coral banded because I didn't want him attacking the other shrimp in my tank. after about 30 min to acclimate I put the 3 shrimp in. One was half way in a cave where my LARGE brown/black brittle shrimp likes to hang out. Cleaner after 10 min would start to go in then back out a few times then shot out of the cave like a bullet to the left and then behind the rocks. I found my brittle star eating my cleaner about an hour later. Not waiting to see if he eats the rest. He's getting served an eviction notice and will be trapped tonight.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I have lots of serpent and brittle stars in my tanks and none of them have ever bothered any shrimp, fish or other animal while they were still alive. Now if a shrimp or snail dies, they may go after it. But I've never had one kill anything. I think pagojoe's opinions about brittle stars is a bit extreme. He may have had a killer, but all mine have been collected in the wild (Florida Keys) over a number of years and none have been killers in my 4 tanks. And the first one I collected over 5 years ago is still alive in my 125g reef tank.

 

[pagojoe]

Well, I admit I had several different species of brittlestars that never bothered anything, but my shrimp killer was red and white, and about 6 inches arm spread. The first time it happened, I thought it was an accident, and the brittle had just got tangled up in the legs of the shrimp. But I watched as he wrapped up the legs of the shrimp, crushing them, which left the shrimp basically immobile and vulnerable, making him easy prey. He then proceeded to eat the shrimp. The next day, he did it again, this time a smaller cleaner shrimp. Same procedure, crushing the legs of the shrimp, then wrapping him up and eating him. Maybe I was just unlucky, but it looked like an effective and instinctive feeding strategy to me.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I believe you, and I would never make a blanket statement that all brittle or serpent stars are 100% safe. But it seems most everybody I've ever talked to or read posts from, have said green brittle stars are NOT reef safe as they eat fish. But I can't remember ever hearing or reading about any other issues like yours. Again, I believe you and my thoughts about stars is just anecdotal info and not scientific at all.

If I saw a star doing what yours did, it would find it's way into the refugium very quickly!

 

[seymour47]

I have a large black brittle star in my 10 gallon nano and I have a deep suspicion that he took out my peppermint shrimp. I have no direct evidence, but the shrimp hid it the rocks just above where the big star normally hangs out right after he got in the tank and I never saw him again. The tank has been up for a year and a half and with stable chemistry. It seems the most likely culprit, but the star leaves all my hermits and snails and fish alone, so who really knows.