What's wrong with my starfish???

[lulu1228]

I came home from work today and I found a gash on my starfish. Is he gonna be okay??? What should I do??

 

[Timfish]

Sadly it's not advisable to do anything. Many ornamental starfish appear to have very specific diets and do poorly in aquaria. Messing with them usaully only adds to their stress level. You might try reading up on @livinlifeinBKK threads.

 

[Pistondog]

He'll be fineif the cause of the gash stops.
I have a chocolate chip star in the fiuge the grew 2 of his legs back

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Sadly it's not advisable to do anything. Many ornamental starfish appear to have very specific diets and do poorly in aquaria. Messing with them usaully only adds to their stress level. You might try reading up on @livinlifeinBKK threads.

I agree...there's not much to be done at this point. Do you know what caused the gash or did it just sort of "appear"? If the gash was caused by something such as a loose rock rumbling down on him or something of that sort I would expect it to heal just fine. If, on the other hand, it's a mystery why this gash or lesion appeared, I'd be more concerned it could be a type of infection which may continue to spread (possibly rather quickly). If it does continue to spread quickly and you have other stars in the same tank, I'd separate them to minimize risk of them becoming infected as well since its unclear what the nature of the possible infection could be.
How big is the tank? If it is a bacterial infection, although unlikely to make a big difference, I'd do a good size water change, add an airstone to increase oxygen levels (again this won't increase oxygen levels much if it's a bigger size tank), and if it does continue to spread as a last resort I might try to dab some peroxide on the affected area (I've never done this though and it would just be a last resort if it became clear that it was in fact a bacterial infection). In regards to increasing oxygenation, my reasoning behind that lies in the fact that starfish exchange gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide across their body walls which can be inhibited by a buildup of bacteria so increasing oxygen levels may help facilitate healing.
For now all you can do is monitor him closely for any signs or changes. My guess based on the limited information given is that he's going to be just fine though.

 

[lulu1228]

I agree...there's not much to be done at this point. Do you know what caused the gash or did it just sort of "appear"? If the gash was caused by something such as a loose rock rumbling down on him or something of that sort I would expect it to heal just fine. If, on the other hand, it's a mystery why this gash or lesion appeared, I'd be more concerned it could be a type of infection which may continue to spread (possibly rather quickly). If it does continue to spread quickly and you have other stars in the same tank, I'd separate them to minimize risk of them becoming infected as well since its unclear what the nature of the possible infection could be.
How big is the tank? If it is a bacterial infection, although unlikely to make a big difference, I'd do a good size water change, add an airstone to increase oxygen levels (again this won't increase oxygen levels much if it's a bigger size tank), and if it does continue to spread as a last resort I might try to dab some peroxide on the affected area (I've never done this though and it would just be a last resort if it became clear that it was in fact a bacterial infection). In regards to increasing oxygenation, my reasoning behind that lies in the fact that starfish exchange gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide across their body walls which can be inhibited by a buildup of bacteria so increasing oxygen levels may help facilitate healing.
For now all you can do is monitor him closely for any signs or changes. My guess based on the limited information given is that he's going to be just fine though.

It kinda just appeared. I noticed it this afternoon. It's a 90 gallon tank. There's a serpent star in here with him. He's still acting normal, he just has this gash thing.