[Mr. Fishy Man]

I have been trying to catch a crab using the water bottle trap. All I have caught are hermits, and my orange serpent starfish. When I took the starfish out, he just went limp. I laid him down on the substrate and my peppermint stated to pick at him. So I put him in the sump for now. Any ideas what is wrong with the starfish? I know that that is not much to go by, but it is all I've got. Also, are there any simple, DIY, more effective crab traps?

 

[Dave's Not Here]

How about everytime you catch other crabs, put them in the sump until the only crab left is your bad boy.
If you exposed your starfish to air, it may be reacting to that. They are very sensitive to exposure. I had one or two over the years and never let them be out of water during acclimation and transfer. An extra step I don't take for other livestock.
Hope yours is ok.

 

[Mr. Fishy Man]

The starfish actually died. It was limp and dead looking before I ever took it out of the water, so my guess is that it possible over ate? I am not to heart broke over it though, as I never saw it and it didn't come it looking to good, so I didn't think it would even make it this long. I have decided to leave that crab in there as of now, since he is not bothering anything. Even when I had a trap set up and hermits didn't get in, the crab was still smart enough to avoid it.