Help! I think my starfish is dying.

[dck108]

Hello

I bought a blue Linkia from the LFS two days ago. Yesterday it started hanging on to glass with three arms and hanging the other two down. It looks like something is coming out of its central mouth. Just now i found it lying on sand bed and it still looks like something is coming out of its central mouth. Its not dead yet. Is there something i can do?

Thanks
Duane

 

[that novice guy]

Pictures would identifying whats wrong

 

[Jake1]

Did you do a slow acclamation?

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

How did you acclimate the starfish? What are the tank parameters and age? Pics would be a huge help.

 

[dck108]

Thanks for the quick replies. I have attached a picture.

Unfortunately I did not drip acclimate him. I let the bag sit in aquarium for 15 minutes and put him in the tank. I have two other stars that i have had for a while.
Not sure about water. I check the ammonia every weekend and it is always 0 ppm, but i havent tested nitrates or nitrites in a while. My tank has alow bio-load, only 10 critters in a 240 and i do a 10% water change every weekend.

thanks for any help.
duane

 

[that novice guy]

Thanks for the quick replies. I have attached a picture.

<img src="https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=46062"/>

Unfortunately I did not drip acclimate him. I let the bag sit in aquarium for 15 minutes and put him in the tank. I have two other stars that i have had for a while.
Not sure about water. I check the ammonia every weekend and it is always 0 ppm, but i havent tested nitrates or nitrites in a while. My tank has alow bio-load, only 10 critters in a 240 and i do a 10% water change every weekend.

thanks for any help.
duane

Is that a worm on him!

 

[dck108]

I don't think it is a worm. It has been slowly coming out of him for a few hours.

 

[Mstansbery]

Linkia's are a tough specimen to speak about. Mainly because little information exists on proper husbandry and their diets are vaguely understood. Proper acclimation (and extended periods of acclimation) are highly recommended for hobbyists that wish to give these sea stars a shot. Their collection techniques can be quite detrimental to their health prior to export. Some get lucky and have one survive for years. Others are not so lucky. I would highly recommended taking that star out of your tank as I am sure he is on his way out already. I have never seen a star come back from something like you're posting.

Also not to bash but from the pics it looks like a relatively new system. Sea stars have the best chance of success in large, fully established reef tanks.

 

[dck108]

Mstansbery

You are right, bash accepted. The tank is only about 6 months old, but it is large (240 gallon..300 with sump). After searchng on the internet, I wonder if he is in shock from poor acclimation

 

[Mstansbery]

Mstansbery

You are right, bash accepted. The tank is only about 6 months old, but it is large (240 gallon..300 with sump). After searchng on the internet, I wonder if he is in shock from poor acclimation

Oh yeh fair assessment. Although if he is expelling his guts it's doubtful he will recover. Consider him a loss but give your tank a year and try the species again! Thankfully their plentiful in the wild and relatively inexpensive. -Not to say that is a proper mind frame to operate with within this hobby! :wink:

 

[AlexG]

Unfortunately this starfish looks like a goner I would remove it from the aquarium.

I agree the best method to acclimate them is slow over 24 hours. The best method that worked for me was the take the bag and make a few small slices with a razor and hang it in the tank in a very low flow area. Leave it for 24 hours and then the star fish can be released. (Never expose linkia starfish to open air aways keep them in the water) When I introduced this method to a LFS I worked at years ago our starfish survival rate went way up. Blue linkias were always the most difficult.

 

[kes]

that's a beautiful starfish. once settled, it can be fairly hardy. don't give up on it.

 

[Cepanca]

How did this play out? I have had one for 2 weeks and it is starting to look like yours did.

 

[Snuffy The Seal]

I had a small serpent star in my old 14 gallon nano.(He got moved when he got bigger) But like everybody said acclimation is very important. Did you drip acclimate him? And for how long?