Fromia starfish done for?

dugthefish · Oct 7, 2019

Recieved from LA 2 days ago. Drip acclimated for 1.5 hrs, and took great pains to avoid exposure to air.

Immediately upon release I saw the tips of his arms beginning to melt. First pic is from +24 hrs, second is from +48. He did move a few inches since last night, but he sure ain't looking good.

reef lover · Oct 8, 2019

Doesnt look good.
Shipping causes large amounts of ammonia to build up...which isnt so bad until you open the bag and air hits the water. Im not sure what ammonia burn looks like on a star but i would suggest for future shipments to temp acclimate only before release. If going into qt i would match my qt to the suppliers parameters temp acclimate and release.

jd371 · Oct 9, 2019

Even if healthy you'd be lucky to get a full year out of them, they will eventually starve and start to melt. You might hear about a few instances of some surviving longer but it's rare, they don't do well in reef tanks. They should be left in the ocean.

dsinsocal · Oct 9, 2019

I've had mine for about 8-9 months and I just noticed the tell-tale arm disintegration. Is it best to just remove him from the tank since the inevitable decay of this critter will only degrade the water quality?

DuckSlayer627 · Oct 9, 2019

Yep he's a goner. I had mine for a little over a year and then one day he started losing the tips of one arm and within a few days he was dead. Not sure what there natural life span is, I've heard around 2 years. Not sure if this is correct but if so 1 1/2 years would be about what to expect.