Acclimating serpent star

[lilfish717]

I bought a serpent star from lfs last night. They told me it doesn't need acclimated. I thoughtaybe I should but they said not to so I didn't. He was moving everywhere when I first put him in. They he found a spot and has barely moved at all. Is this normal?

Thanks

 

[James M]

Seastars are very sensitive to changes and should be drip acclimated. You might of ended up killing him but your lfs is giving really bad advice

 

[OREGONIC]

My serpent star does not move much. Usually only really active when feeding the tank. If your water parameters are similar to the tank he came from he will probably be ok. Definitely should have acclimated tho.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

Yeah, you’re LFS doesn’t know what their talking about. Definitely should have acclimated in one way or another. Starfish are very sensitive. I’ve lost three in the last year. I’m on my last one I will ever get. It’s a Chocolate Chip doing real good for a year. Mine likes fresh clams in the shell. Good luck!

 

[Nokiaec11]

Yeah, if it's a living thing it should be acclimated to your tank, even if just to adjust to the temperature of your water.

 

[mort]

Starfish have a pretty delicate hydro vascular system which is how they move and it can be damaged by swings in water chemistry, so they do need careful acclimation. The fact your isn't moving isn't out of the ordinary but damage can take weeks to show. Brittlestars can be remarkably hardy and I've had them hitching on dry rock (live rock wrapped in wet newspaper and shipped halfway round the world for up to a week) but they should be treated properly.
If your lfs doesn't bother to acclimate these then the chances are if you are buying more sensitive creatures like fromia or linkia stars, snails etc, then they are already doomed. Personally I'd educate the shop and find a new one.

 

[OREGONIC]

Its good practice to always at least temp acclimate. I drip acclimate most everything after temp unless I know the parameters of the water that livestock came from matches mine very closely, or if it has been in a bag for over 24 hours I will temp acclimate the popand drop due to ammonia.

 

[lilfish717]

Starfish have a pretty delicate hydro vascular system which is how they move and it can be damaged by swings in water chemistry, so they do need careful acclimation. The fact your isn't moving isn't out of the ordinary but damage can take weeks to show. Brittlestars can be remarkably hardy and I've had them hitching on dry rock (live rock wrapped in wet newspaper and shipped halfway round the world for up to a week) but they should be treated properly.
If your lfs doesn't bother to acclimate these then the chances are if you are buying more sensitive creatures like fromia or linkia stars, snails etc, then they are already doomed. Personally I'd educate the shop and find a new one.

Yea I wish I would've looked it up before I just did what they said. He's been in the same spot now. I picked him up this morning to smell test and he didn't smell but he didn't move and his body was limp, compared to it being hard when I knew he was alive. :/ a little sad about this. He was a cool dude too. Hopefully he's still alive, but I'm not too sure.

 

[408Dartfish]

I’m pretty sure all invertebrates need drip acclimated and are sensitive to big water quality changes and high nitrates.

 

[lilfish717]

Thanks for replying. He still hasn't moved but he doesn't smell- atleast not yet. But when I picked him up he was limp instead of the hardness he had when I knew he was alive. Is he dead? :/

 

[lilfish717]

I bought a serpent star from lfs last night. They told me it doesn't need acclimated. I thoughtaybe I should but they said not to so I didn't. He was moving everywhere when I first put him in. They he found a spot and has barely moved at all. Is this normal?

Thanks

Seastars are very sensitive to changes and should be drip acclimated. You might of ended up killing him but your lfs is giving really bad advice

My serpent star does not move much. Usually only really active when feeding the tank. If your water parameters are similar to the tank he came from he will probably be ok. Definitely should have acclimated tho.

Yeah, you’re LFS doesn’t know what their talking about. Definitely should have acclimated in one way or another. Starfish are very sensitive. I’ve lost three in the last year. I’m on my last one I will ever get. It’s a Chocolate Chip doing real good for a year. Mine likes fresh clams in the shell. Good luck!

Yeah, if it's a living thing it should be acclimated to your tank, even if just to adjust to the temperature of your water.

Starfish have a pretty delicate hydro vascular system which is how they move and it can be damaged by swings in water chemistry, so they do need careful acclimation. The fact your isn't moving isn't out of the ordinary but damage can take weeks to show. Brittlestars can be remarkably hardy and I've had them hitching on dry rock (live rock wrapped in wet newspaper and shipped halfway round the world for up to a week) but they should be treated properly.
If your lfs doesn't bother to acclimate these then the chances are if you are buying more sensitive creatures like fromia or linkia stars, snails etc, then they are already doomed. Personally I'd educate the shop and find a new one.

Its good practice to always at least temp acclimate. I drip acclimate most everything after temp unless I know the parameters of the water that livestock came from matches mine very closely, or if it has been in a bag for over 24 hours I will temp acclimate the popand drop due to ammonia.

I’m pretty sure all invertebrates need drip acclimated and are sensitive to big water quality changes and high nitrates.

Thanks for replying. He still hasn't moved but he doesn't smell- atleast not yet. But when I picked him up he was limp instead of the hardness he had when I knew he was alive. Is he dead? :/

 

[OREGONIC]

I dont think limp is good, haven’t touched mine since I put it in but I believe he was pretty stiff. I dont know enough about star fish to tell you dead or stressed.

 

[James M]

As soon as you see it start to fall apart pull it from tank

 

[mort]

As above, they tend to fall apart pretty quickly when dead. Their arms are very muscular as it's how they get around, so being limp isn't great as it likely means it has died or is recovering from significant damage. I would observe it as handling could damage it further but closely watch to see if it begins to disintegrate and if it does remove it.

 

[OREGONIC]

Thanks for replying. He still hasn't moved but he doesn't smell- atleast not yet. But when I picked him up he was limp instead of the hardness he had when I knew he was alive. Is he dead? :/

Any update?

 

[lilfish717]

Any update?

He died. :/

 

[OREGONIC]

He died. :/

Sorry dude, that sucks. We have all lost some things in the learning process of reef tanks. The nice thing is the more experience you gain the less it happens. You should see my SPS graveyard.