Do you think this is what happened?

[kristic]

I had the coolest little 2 incher emerald crab named Jake. He was awesome and super active and had quite the pincher. He was fine yesterday - today, he died. I know, I know ... he could be molting. He's not. We took him out of the tank and did a thorough examination --- he's sadly gone. The odd thing to it -- I also have a red brittle star named Kraken. This star has not come out except for just arms since we got him. In the past, Jake has been all up in Kraken's business. Jake will get right next to his legs ... and be in or very close to Kraken's rock to hide during the day. I've never seen Jake bother him actually but certainly not be shy of him either. Last night, Kraken came out fully and was crawling all over the place. Crazy looking creature. When Kraken came out - Jake crawled up a big rock and stayed away. I watched Kraken for a very long time. Then I finally went to bed. This morning, Kraken came out again - (this time during the day which was odd) and now he is one leg less and Jake is dead. Do you think some serious fight broke out?

We are very sad. Jake was our favorite. Do you think he was more of a lover than a fighter? I attached photos. Excuse the tank. It's cycling.

 

[FairbanksReefer]

Sorry you lost the little guy

 

[jsker]

A couple of questions

How long has your system been setup?

Your parameters

Have you check your ammonia levels?

 

[kristic]

A couple of questions

How long has your system been setup?

Your parameters

Have you check your ammonia levels?

My tank is a month 1/2 old. I have a 36 gallon tank. I check levels about every three days. And I’ve had the aquarium store check it three times for me during this time. So far they’ve given me thumbs up. This morning it was: ammonia .25, phosphate.25, nitrate and nitrite both at 0 or very close to it, ph 8.2, but my calcium unless I’m reading this thing wrong is very high around 500.

 

[kristic]

Maybe this is relevant, I don’t know but the tank has been so clear and pretty until last couple days and now we have some brown algae. We’ve been told to just let it run it’s cycle. It’s really not that bad. My corals (a couple zoas, bubble and a leather coral) look good. We have a couple clowns, a six line wrasse, and a bicolor blenny … they all seem healthy.

 

[jsker]

Thank you.

Star fish have a hard time finding the right kind/amount of nutrients/food in a newer system. Your emerald crab may have pass from the same fate. Your system is very new and there is not much food for a large crap or a star fish.

until last couple days and now we have some brown algae.

Your system is going into the ugly stage. This brown algae is diatoms and next will be some green hair algae. This the time to introduce a clean up crew while your phosphates adjust also your Ca, Mg, and Alk will be moving around. This part of the cycle.

 

[MaxTremors]

I agree that your tank is just too new to provide adequate food for both of these animals. Brittle stars will drop arms to conserve energy if they are starving. Seeing it out and about during the day is also a sign that it is hungry (could’ve detected the dead crab and was out looking for it). Emerald crabs aren’t terribly active, so if you were seeing it moving around and out in the open a lot, it was also likely searching for food. I would wait a few more months before adding any more inverts besides a CuC.

I would also hold off on getting anymore corals until your tank is stable and you have quality test kits (based on the numbers you listed, I’m guessing you’re using API, which are inaccurate and not specific enough for reefing applications). Your bubble coral needs stable alkalinity and calcium levels, the API Alk test only gives you whole numbers (7, 8, 9, etc), you need to know whether the ‘8’ (or whatever) you’re getting is 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, etc, you could be having fairly large swings without even knowing it. I would recommend Salifert, Hanna, Red Sea, Tropic Marin, or Aquaforest.

Also, it’s more of a risk with the large green brittle stars, but all largish brittle stars are capable of catching and killing fish. They stand up on all their legs and wait for a fish to swim under them, and then twist down (in a fraction of a second) and trap the fish. Just something to be aware of when you have small fish with brittle stars. If you want a safer alternative, get a serpent star.

 

[kristic]

It sounds like I may have made a colossal error. Having them not fed well enough makes me sick. I only buy from two shops and we go over my tank, test results that day and all my inhabitants before buying. I’m upset that I wasn’t better advised when I asked specifically those questions.

I am using API tests. Again … recommended. Ugggh. It wouldn’t be so bad but I really liked Jake and feel terrible I did that to him.

So in order to keep Kraken well fed, should I get some fresh fish from the market and feed him? I’d like to keep him from going War of the Worlds on my other inhabitants.