movingshadow Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 hello! I just set up my new nano last weekend: glass extreme-bowfront 5,5 gallon with 5lbs live rock, 2,8lbs sand, cycled water, some plants on liverock my lfs gave me to reduce nit. levels, a small powerhead for circulation and a Jäger 50w heater. Anyway, about 2 days after setup the red starfish (fromia I'm pretty sure) started to have open wounds on the ends of his arms. At first I thought the banded coral shrimp had attacked him but I took the shrimp back to my lfs yesterday (simply because I felt it was too big for the tank) and exchanged it for a small male of the same kind. This morning I found the small banded coral shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) dead in the tank... don't know why, all water levels are ok (had them checked electronically/digitally yesterday at my lfs) When I looked into the tank this afternoon, the starfish had what looked like a blister on his upper body, the tissue jus seems loose and some orange tissue parts are laying on the floor (don't have a cam right now, will try to post pictures if I can get around to taking some). Has anyone had similar experiences or can tell me what the $%&§' is up with my tank? Link to comment
Korbin Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 How long was the tank running before putting the starfish and shrimp in there? It sounds like you put them in right after starting the tank. In which case, I'm not surprised that they're doing badly. I think you missed the most important step in starting a nano - reading. Read all the articles and stuff on this site and read posts people have made until your eyes shrivel up. Then the next step is to read some more. After that, you can start the tank w/o livestock and then spend another 2 weeks reading about the animals you want to get while the tank cycles. The search button will become your best friend for the next few years. It will help you through all your problems and give you advice if you ask it the right questions. Link to comment
movingshadow Posted September 23, 2003 Author Share Posted September 23, 2003 no actually the tank was cycled and I checked all water levels before i introduced livestock... sorry if i was unclear, with setup I didn't mean the initial setup... the tank was cycled properly and waterlevels have been checking out ok.... Link to comment
Korbin Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 If your levels are OK, then I'd say acclimation may have been a problem. I know stars need a LONG acclimation. Other than that, its really hard to say. It could be copper, or an ammonia spike for some reason, or temperature spike.. Maybe your pH is rising fast after your lights go out? Or maybe there is some sort of predator like a predatory bristle worm or mantis shrimp. Link to comment
movingshadow Posted September 23, 2003 Author Share Posted September 23, 2003 ... when I got home from work today, I saw that the blister has ruptured and there are tiny pieces of starfish around the tank... He seems to be doing ok, still moving and still sticking his pores out... have read in other forums that some people tend to have that "dissolving" problem with starfish who were not acclimated long enough (though some have acc. for 8 hours and still had no success)... weird though since it was doing fine the first 2 days.... should I take him out of the tank (and those little pieces) because I'm afraid of nit. buildup... thanks again for all the info! I appreciate the help! Link to comment
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