Epic Battle: Plate versus Brittle Starfish

[Mental1]

Never a dull moment! On Sunday I saw a starfish leg sticking out of my plate coral's mouth. I was tempted to pull it out as I could see both ends but decided that may damage the plate so left it be. It went on all day. The plate looked weird yesterday -- the mouth was distended. Then this morning as I was leaving to get kids to buses I saw a small brittle starfish with a disc about the size of a dime scrambling across the tank away from the plate and it was missing three legs. The plate's mouth still looked weird. I don't know if both will survive. Not sure how digestible starfish legs are ...

 

[minipolyp]

I wouldnt worry about your plate or starfish. My plate eats an asterina starfish at least twice a week. The coral doesnt expand much for a day after eating the starfish.