[holiday]

I was just checking out my smaller tank and found a crab chewing on my and sifting star. This is not unusual since the crab cleans the star but he was chewing on his one leg that had about 1 cm of it missing. Looks like its dissolving.

Did water check and all is fine but PH was only 7.9 today. So what gives? Do I qt him or is he toast?

Noel

[Fishhead Junkie]

really?? is it just a hermit crab? i have a sand sifting star and none of the other creatures every bother him at all. i also have another type of star fish but to this day have never seen any LFS or website even show a pic of it. got him when he was tiny with only 3 legs, now the damaged ones all grew back and he is always on the move. i wouldnt count your sand sifting star out yet....maybe you can move him to another part of the tank give him some space??

steve

ps..is it one of the normal green colored sifters?

[e_baer]

I would seperate the two inverts. This is one of the times you dont let nature takes it course.

[reefnoob1991]

Separation would be best in this situation...but sand sifting stars don't belong in tanks that small. They're like mandarins and sift finding food all day in the sand until the sand bed is completely eaten of all life and then they die.

[holiday]

This starfish has been in this 29 gallon tank for over 2 years without any trouble at all. I can't put him in qt - what would he eat?

Noel

[joeydunn]

I have had problems with my blue legs messing with eerything. They have killed seeral snails and two start fish. I took them out of the tank two weeks ago.

[R-e-D]

noel . qt the crab then

[reefnoob1991]

What color is it? Most sand sifters, like mandarins, perish in less than a year due to starvation

[holiday]

It's the normal color. Same as always, dark grey, light grey and white.