Maxima Eaten By Serpent Star?

[COB650]

I came home 2 minutes before my lights went out to find my small 1.5 Maxima missing from his perch. Searching through the surrounding rocks I find nothing until I thought of my serpent star. Since I know star fish in the wild eat clams and mussels. So I searched by my serpent stars rock and found my half eaten Maxima. IS THIS TRUE OR CAN I BE PUTTING THE BLAME ON AN INNOCENT SERPENT STAR????

I have no other animals that will eat a MAXIMA unless I am wrong.
5 chromis
2 clowns
1 yellow tang
1 yellow head sleeper
1 clown goby
2 sand sifter stars
25 astrea
1 serpent star

for the future should I get rid of my serpent star? or have any other kind of stars if I were to get more clams?

 

[MiddletonMark]

What kind of serpent star?

Personally, I'd be darn tempted to think it's not that ... but there are a lot of different sea stars and I have no idea which one you've got.

Can you tell us more about your tank? How long have you had the clam? Is there any way it could have fallen?

You never know, but I've always heard that when/if a clam starts to die - you'll know it by the snails/crabs/etc going after it. That's just rumor / saying I've heard ... but sounds kind of like your story.

--- But to qualify, I've only had one clam, and it hasn't died. So I guess I really don't know jack anyway

Good luck figuring it out

 

[COB650]

Eaten Baby Maxima

Eaten Baby Maxima

I have a 100 gal tank with two 175 watt halides, knop reactor and a cheap soon to be to replaced berlin protein skimmer. Some LPS and soft corals. Couple fish that would probably never pick on the clam.

2 clowns
5 chromis
1 yellow tang
1 gold sleeper head
1 clown goby
2 sand sifting star
1 burgundy serpant star

I have no clue on to what did in my poor little baby clam. I found him burried in the sand half eaten?

Thanks for your inquiry.

 

[MiddletonMark]

How long have you had the baby clam?

What have you been feeding it?

They're really gorgeous, but IMO I've seen people have less luck with very small clams than with larger ones.

 

[MarksReef]

Judging on your other post.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=372033
You were having trouble and messing with the new clam, not letting him stay where it wanted to be.
I doubt it was the star who did it in.

 

[MiddletonMark]

Thanks Mark ... I bet that serpent star was just going after `rotting smell'.

Small clams seem to be a PITA. Require perfect siting the first time, require tank-pollution food, and are touchy.

 

[COB650]

Thanks

Thanks

Hey thanks all for the input.

 

[Peabody]

I agree...the serpent star was just eating the clam because he was dead. Clams that small require a LOT of live phyto.