Sea Star Wasting

[KSUChemist]

Picked him up a week ago at the wife's request. He's an orange sea star. Acclimated for around 2 hours. He has mostly lost 2 legs since Friday night, and half another is on the way out.

Tank usefuls:
45g cube
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
pH 8.0-8.2 depending on time of day (no fuge)
Nitrate 15-20 (API kit so grain of salt)
Phosphate no test kit yet
Salinity 1.026 (I top off every other day and make sure it stays pretty stable)
Calc 425
Mag no test kit
Alk 8.2-8.4
Temp 78-79 stable

I was doing seachem aminos 4 days 5ml a day, but I cut back to twice a week as I think it was contributing to a minor GHA outbreak.

I made sure when acclimating he never got exposed to air. When I added him he climbed to the top of the glass and just chilled there. Accidentally knocked him down cleaning Thursday and put some seaweed under him to munch on. By that night he was back to his spot. Wife is sad that "everything she picks dies." I did warn her that sea stars can be tough to keep, but I figured he shouldn't starve iny tank as it's generally not lacking for detritus, etc.

 

[Hemmdog]

The Orange Linckia is one of the harder to keep starfish, as they are very sensitive to changes in pH, temperature, and salinity changes. Because of this they are susceptible to bacterial infections that can quickly cause the decomposition of the leg portions of the Linckia. Care should be taken to inspect Linckia frequently for parasitic snails, which usually take on the color of it’s host. Remove them immediately upon detection as they suck out fluid and tissue. Linckia need a very long and slow acclimation period prior to introduction into the display aquarium. These starfish grow to 6 inches in size and should be kept in very large aquariums. Linckia starfish consume bacterial films, and sponges. Because of this, they should be introduced into well established aquaria of no less than 1 year.

Diet

If introduced to a large well established aquarium, very little needs to be done to supplement Linckias. Occasional offerings of clam, mussel or scallop may be appreciated but rarely accepted. The bacterial film that comprises the mainstay of the Linckias diet usually appears in abundance in well established and seasoned aquariums. Supplemental feedings of meaty foods is usually not enough to sustain them.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Looks like an Echinaster. Im sorry to say They have very poor survival rates. If hes losing limbs and tissue hes on his way out. In all but the largest and mature tanks i would stay with brittle stars only.

Linkia and fromia have slightly higher survival rates than the one you have but still are better left in the ocean.

 

[KSUChemist]

Well dang. He never seemed happy from the moment he was introduced. I forgot to check the salinity from the LFS and probably should have done a 3-4 hour acclimation instead. The tank is nearing 5 years old with a good amount of LR, bit he never did anything but head straight to the glass.