Banded serpent starfish losing bits of legs?

[CannaJake]

Hello fellow reefers! I recently acquired 2 nice sized Banded Serpent Starfish. Today i was checking the tank (doing the rounds that Im sure most of us do 100 times a day) and I noticed some small pieces of legs under the rock one of them usually hides under. I dont have any predatory babes in my tank per say. The tank has one small yellow tang, corals, anemones, one emerald crab thats tiny, a couple small hermits, and a variety of snails. Tank parameters are as follows... ph 8.2, salinity 1.026/33.9ppt, temp 78.9, ammonia 0 ppm, nitrite 0 ppm, nitrate 0 ppm, calcium 430 ppm, kh 11.4, phos .1. The numbers seem ultra clean to me as I do 25% water changes weekly and Im running a refugium, can filter, backpack filter, and a reef octo protein skimmer. I feed heavy and clean heavy. Any ideas what would be causing the loss of bits of a leg? Im stumped

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The tank seems new and super clean, I would guess that they might be starving to death. Have you fed them?

 

[Dburr1014]

Need to see them eat. Tank feeding doesn't mean they are eating if it's going over the wier.

11.4 is super high alk. Is this where you want to run? That's higher than anyone would recommend.

 

[CannaJake]

The tank seems new and super clean, I would guess that they might be starving to death. Have you fed them?

Yes I feed heavy, I use sinking kelp pellets, SF Bay Brand Coral Cuisine, and the Saltwater multipak. They get about 2 cubes a day of food plus the pellets multiple times daily throughout the day. I know its a lot of food but the filtration really cleans house. The tank is pretty new. About a month in I believe.

 

[CannaJake]

Need to see them eat. Tank feeding doesn't mean they are eating if it's going over the wier.

11.4 is super high alk. Is this where you want to run? That's higher than anyone would recommend.

I was told anywhere from 10-12 alk. What do you recommend? Im new to this hobby.

 

[Dburr1014]

I was told anywhere from 10-12 alk. What do you recommend? Im new to this hobby.

I run at 8dkh.

Natural salt water is 7ish.

I have seen most people recommend 7-11dkh.

 

[CannaJake]

I run at 8dkh.

Natural salt water is 7ish.

I have seen most people recommend 7-11dkh.

Oh man, that is high. I was told 10-12 and cal at 420 with ph of 8.3 is ideal for coral growth. Thank you for this info! Im grateful for this community!

 

[i cant think]

I was told anywhere from 10-12 alk. What do you recommend? Im new to this hobby.

I kept my alk at 11-12 and never saw an issue but it does require higher levels of everything else.

I also found 11-12 was ideal for keeping clams as they grow in spurts and well, if they surprise you with a growth spurt it will drain alkalinity in a smaller tank.

 

[Dburr1014]

Calcium is good @ 400-500
PH 8-8.4 but don't sweat if it is lower. Mine swings 7.9-8.1

 

[CannaJake]

I kept my alk at 11-12 and never saw an issue but it does require higher levels of everything else.

I also found 11-12 was ideal for keeping clams as they grow in spurts and well, if they surprise you with a growth spurt it will drain alkalinity in a smaller tank.

My tank is only 75 gallons so def not a big tank.

 

[CannaJake]

Calcium is good @ 400-500
PH 8-8.4 but don't sweat if it is lower. Mine swings 7.9-8.1

Mine keeps dropping to 7.8 and I have quizzed people on it and I cant figure it out. Everything else stays pretty good but my ph keeps dropping. I think its because I spend so much time in the room its in working on it the co2 adds up and I dont have a co2 scrubber... yet

 

[Dburr1014]

Mine keeps dropping to 7.8 and I have quizzed people on it and I cant figure it out. Everything else stays pretty good but my ph keeps dropping. I think its because I spend so much time in the room its in working on it the co2 adds up and I dont have a co2 scrubber... yet

I once had 2 serpent stars fall apart like this. I tried my hand at nopox and way overdosed the first time using it. Tank was cloudy and the serpants fell apart like this.

I don't have anything else for you, sorry OP, good luck.

 

[CannaJake]

I once had 2 serpent stars fall apart like this. I tried my hand at nopox and way overdosed the first time using it. Tank was cloudy and the serpants fell apart like this.

I don't have anything else for you, sorry OP, good luck.

Thank you for your knowledge and sharing experience. I have since moved them both to a quarantine tank for observation. Time will tell.