My starfish is dissolving please help
- Thread starter mahadazad
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The tropical Starfish we keep eat A LOT they are constantly grazing around your tank day and night. If your starfish has not been roaming the tank for any long period of time its because it hasnt had enough food.
Sadly loss of tissue and movement are the first signs of starvation that is already well on its way. Personally i would see if anyone you know with a more established tank would be willing to rehome him.
Edit
Also if just added how was he aclimated? Starfish take a very long time to adjust to water chemistry. At minimum would suggest a 3 hour minimum drip acclimation.
Sadly loss of tissue and movement are the first signs of starvation that is already well on its way. Personally i would see if anyone you know with a more established tank would be willing to rehome him.
Edit
Also if just added how was he aclimated? Starfish take a very long time to adjust to water chemistry. At minimum would suggest a 3 hour minimum drip acclimation.
USMC 4 LIFE
Valuable Member
Hey guys,
I put a red white spot star fish in my 7 months old tank. The star fish has started to dissolve. What could be the cause? Please help
There could be a thousand things wrong. You’re inexperienced, the parameters are not where they should be at/inconsist, lack of food, acclimation issues....but since you failed to provide any information to draw up a reasonable conclusion who knows.
Bob Loblaw
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I'm betting acclimation shock. Starvation usually starts with limbs dropping
cristata.reef
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Fromia monilis (the type of star you have) are very hard to keep even in well established tanks. Considering you tank is only 7 months old I wouldn't even consider putting a sea star in there. These guys along with several other species of tropical sea star feed exclusively on bacterial films, often there is no way to actually feed them and they starve in a matter of weeks. This only adds to what others have said, your parameters probably aren't where they need to be and I'll bet you didn't drip them long enough (most sources say an hour but I find that 3 or more is often necessary)
Rispa
Valuable Member
If you want a starfish there are these little bitty ones that are very hardy and a good addition to the clean-up crew. This one may be hard to keep, but not all are. There are several others that you could try at this point in time too. I haven't been very into starfish, so I may be wrong, but I believe bristle and chocolate chip stars are hardy.
mahadazad
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I am new to this hobby and only guided by the guy who sells me this stock. The guy claims to be an experienced person but he never told me it would take 3 hours to acclimate. I only did it for hardly 30 mins
That is a lot of tissue loss, but starfish can be amazing creatures. Personally i would give back to place of purchase. Echinoderms need to acclimate every cell individually. So there was not just surface cells that were damaged but internal you can not see.
For the benefit of future tank additions. I would pick up.
-A drip acclimation system(~7) on amazon.
-2 small heaters
- 2 small powerheada
Every new arrival fish or invert needs at least 1 hour acclimation. Longer for things like starfish and snails, that ime take the longest to acclimate to water chemistry.
The other heater and power head are for a bucket of new salt water to replace what you removed acclimating.
In a perfect world all arrivals will then be quarantined as well. Which can quicken this process if you match your qt to the point of purchase water. Then over the next 4-6 weeks bring to your display tank parameters.
For the benefit of future tank additions. I would pick up.
-A drip acclimation system(~7) on amazon.
-2 small heaters
- 2 small powerheada
Every new arrival fish or invert needs at least 1 hour acclimation. Longer for things like starfish and snails, that ime take the longest to acclimate to water chemistry.
The other heater and power head are for a bucket of new salt water to replace what you removed acclimating.
In a perfect world all arrivals will then be quarantined as well. Which can quicken this process if you match your qt to the point of purchase water. Then over the next 4-6 weeks bring to your display tank parameters.
cristata.reef
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I am new to this hobby and only guided by the guy who sells me this stock. The guy claims to be an experienced person but he never told me it would take 3 hours to acclimate. I only did it for hardly 30 mins
Sorry that this is one of your first experiences with the hobby. I just want to point out that some people will sell you things for the wrong reasons. Sometimes they just want money and sometimes they don't want it in their system because they know they can't take care of it so they want to pass it on so it's not they're problem. Generally speaking stay away from tropical sea stars, nudibranchs, and crinoids/feather stars and remember - RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. If you need to the best thing to do is to ask here before you buy. Hope the sea star recovers
Greg’s_525xl-Reefer
Active Member
Hello,I am new to this hobby and only guided by the guy who sells me this stock. The guy claims to be an experienced person but he never told me it would take 3 hours to acclimate. I only did it for hardly 30 mins
Agree with the others on acclimation shock. These guys are pretty finicky in my experience. Salinity, ph, and O2 changes are not tolerated well. As others have mentioned, the acclimation process takes time and they are NOT supposed to be exposed to air at all. I had two of these guys in my tank. One is still kicking after 4 months, the other melted pretty quickly after a slight misshap with my alk at month 3. I do mean slight, as no Acros or other corals were affected. He was moving around great then melted the next day.
Long story short, these are pretty delicate creatures and need to be handled with care in a stable established environment.
I had the same issue with my starfish. I agree that acclimation is part of the problem, but all the responses seem to be telling you what you did wrong instead of any possible solutions. Further, if you just added the star, the starvation would not be your fault being that it was being housed at the lfs. Thus, you never had the chance to feed it feed it before it started to melt. Now to some potential solutions...
First, yes, the starfish is starting to "melt." The fact that the melting is starting in its central disc means that it is in big trouble. Again, I had the same issue with the same star, however, my star dropped two legs in the process. That being said, food is key at this point. I would try to spot feed the star some shrimp ASAP. I would literally just take a baster and squirt some shrimp on top of it. I would also add a little phytofeast into the tank to give the star another potential food source.
Long story short, after spot feeding my star for two weeks, keeping the inverts away when I could, and ensuring that my parameters were consistent, the star regenerated both legs and is alive and well. This kind of success is rare, but at least it will give you a fighting chance...
First, yes, the starfish is starting to "melt." The fact that the melting is starting in its central disc means that it is in big trouble. Again, I had the same issue with the same star, however, my star dropped two legs in the process. That being said, food is key at this point. I would try to spot feed the star some shrimp ASAP. I would literally just take a baster and squirt some shrimp on top of it. I would also add a little phytofeast into the tank to give the star another potential food source.
Long story short, after spot feeding my star for two weeks, keeping the inverts away when I could, and ensuring that my parameters were consistent, the star regenerated both legs and is alive and well. This kind of success is rare, but at least it will give you a fighting chance...
