[ramous]

Hello everyone! I came home today and noticed that my feather duster worm was completely out of its tube and in the jaws of my serpent star. Is this normal?

75gal reef. Fish: Yellow tang, yellow-striped maroon, 5 assorted damsels. Inverts: 2 brown serpent stars, 2 feather duster worms. Coral: yellow zoanthids, button polyps, toadstool leather, pulsing xenia, green star polyps, anchor coral, sea rods, sea mat, mushroom anemone.

Hobby Experience: reef/3yrs
Current Tanks: all glass 75g
Interests: fish/reefs

[REEFVETTE]

I have noticed that my sand sitting star sometimes climbs over and around my feather dusters. I have never had a problem with Starfish and feather dusters

[zhenya]

Well,

I must say that it is nothing unusual in that your brittle star was trying to consume bailed out Sabellastarte magnifica, if that is indeed what you had.
Without its proteinaceous tube for protection the Polychaete is exposed and is a fair game for something like your brittle star.Those starfishes are good scavengers but as all stars(if hungry enough) they could be an apportunistic predators if apportunity presents itself.
The reason why your feather duster worm bailed out is unknown to me but more than likely it was starving. Most of the time this particular type of feather dusters don't persist for any length of time in the tanks, simply becouse there are just not enough food available to them.
Here's and article describing them in greater detail.

[ramous]

Originally Posted by zhenya

Well,

I must say that it is nothing unusual in that your brittle star was trying to consume bailed out Sabellastarte magnifica, if that is indeed what you had.
Without its proteinaceous tube for protection the Polychaete is exposed and is a fair game for something like your brittle star.Those starfishes are good scavengers but as all stars(if hungry enough) they could be an apportunistic predators if apportunity presents itself.
The reason why your feather duster worm bailed out is unknown to me but more than likely it was starving. Most of the time this particular type of feather dusters don't persist for any length of time in the tanks, simply becouse there are just not enough food available to them.
Here's and article describing them in greater detail.

Thanks. I have had that feather for about 2yrs now so maybe it's demise is a sign of things to come. I hope not.