Blue Starfish

[Sea Turtle]

I just picked one of these up yesturday. He's about 3 inches across. The guy at the lfs gave it to me half off the price. One of its legs was messed up from a previous owner that brought him back. Seemed to be heeling up well though. Anyway, put him in last night and he's still just lying in the sand in the middle of the tank. Do you think that he's ok? What should I know about these guys? Do they normally stay out in the open to bask in the sun or will he go and hide most of the time never to be seen?

 

[Anonymous]

Is it a Linckia?

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Careful when buying things you don't know that much about :wink: I speak from experience, I was at the beach once and brought home a beaded starfish I found on the beach. I thought I was doing it a favor but it slowly starved in my tank. Theres many 'a blue starfish out there, Im guessing a Linkia too. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... pcatid=568

 

[Mike612]

How did you acclimate the starfish?

 

[Unarce]

Best way is to drip acclimate them. I'd say an hour minimum, depending on the size of the container. Some do it for several hours. Blue Linkia's especially. They're very sensitive to fluctuations, but once established, it's smooth sailing from there.

 

[Anonymous]

An hour drip would be a minimum recommendation from me as well. But I believe he's already dropped it, whatever species it is, into his system. So, beyond that what I want to see is that the central disc is completely and totally blemish-free. I want to see its tiny sucker-feet moving, even if it doesn't move from its spot. I want to see its skin clear and healthy looking.

 

[Unarce]

Sea Turtle - There's not much you can do now, other than observe it for a few weeks and keep conditions stable. If it becomes necrotic (spread of white or black decay), you'll want to remove it from your system.

Even in a closed system, there's still a chance a starfish can recover from a missing leg. Whether or not you want to take chance on one, depends on how it lost it's leg. If a trigger bit it off or some LR fell on it, that's one thing. It's a completely different story if it rotted off.

Good rule of thumb is to ask the LFS to turn it over on it's back. Serpents and brittles will flip over in seconds. The others should be able to do it in 3-7 minutes. Health is an issue, if it can't. Also, if the LFS will allow it, you can ask to touch the starfish. If the body is firm, that's a good sign. If it's spongy, skip it.

Am I missing anything else, Marina?

 

[Anonymous]

Not at all that I can think of.

I'd even forgotten the flip-itself-over trick (it's been a long time).

 

[Sea Turtle]

Is it a Linckia?

Yes.

 

[Sea Turtle]

How did you acclimate the starfish?

I set up a drip system from my tank for about an hour. Then floated him for 20 minutes. Then put him into the tank. He looks ok, but he's not moving at all.

 

[Sea Turtle]

Do you think that I should try to flip it over now and see if it can right itself? I know from putting it into the tank that it was very hard, not soft and spongy. His color is beautiful and other than the arm, has no signs of hardship. His arm is still there. I'd say about the outer 2/3 of the arm shrunk in a little (got a little skiny) and turned a pink in color. Some of the blue is starting to come back to it.

I've read that you really can't feed it. Is this true, and if not what can I give him to eat and how?

 

[Unarce]

Don't stress him out anymore than you have to. He needs all the energy he has for healing. If he's not developing more lesions and the wounds aren't getting worse, just let him be.

You could try moving it to a spot on your live rock, where it might start grazing.

 

[Sea Turtle]

Is it normal for him not to move for days? He's out in the middle, in the bright light.

 

[MartinE]

I had a maroon starfish (Tamarin?) for a while and it stayed out in the open all the time. Moved pretty slow, slower than a snail does probably more like the urchin I have does.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I moved him up on the rocks so that he might start to graze. He slumped over them like he's dead. One of his arms are all bent too. I hope that he makes it though this, but to be honest, it doesn't look good.

 

[Anonymous]

You're growing corals and the like, yes? As I recall you had some issues with coloration, but nothing else (sorry if I'm off, it's been a rough morning). So, assuming that your water quality is pristine, and I'm going to make that assumption, I say as long as you see no decay, let it be. Don't lift it out of the water, but if you're worried that there's decay you're missing, go ahead and gently check him out. They don't become more firm or rigid as they're dying, they tend to become mush.

Wait a minute..! You say he's slumped over the rocks? Would you say that its body and arms now follow the rock's contours? If the answer is yes, then I am going to suggest that it's getting itself acquainted with your live rock.

Remember, as long as there is no decay it's still a viable organism.

 

[Sea Turtle]

You're growing corals and the like, yes? As I recall you had some issues with coloration, but nothing else (sorry if I'm off, it's been a rough morning). So, assuming that your water quality is pristine, and I'm going to make that assumption, I say as long as you see no decay, let it be. Don't lift it out of the water, but if you're worried that there's decay you're missing, go ahead and gently check him out. They don't become more firm or rigid as they're dying, they tend to become mush.

Wait a minute..! You say he's slumped over the rocks? Would you say that its body and arms now follow the rock's contours? If the answer is yes, then I am going to suggest that it's getting itself acquainted with your live rock.

Remember, as long as there is no decay it's still a viable organism.

No, there is really no sign of decay, although, I really wouldn't know what this would look like on a starfish. I would assume that if it was decaying, I would know it!!! His arms are hanging over the rocks, and one is wrapped into a crevice between two rocks. Check out the pic from last night. Also, you can see his one arm that was damaged from the previous owner. It looks like its getting its color back though in the arm. Is there a way to check if the arm is in fact decaying or not? I checked on him a little while ago and he hasn't moved an inch.

 

[Anonymous]

Decay on most starfishes look like an ulcerated or open "wound", except the "flesh" is usually whitish or grey. The edges tend to be very, very ragged, and often you can see fibers or filaments waving in the current. I'd watch that leg very closely, and IF it's not stuck itself to the rock I might turn it just to take another look at that central disc. Once the disc is invaded I've not seen them recover.

FWIW, when at LBAOP I worked under a fellow who routinely used antibiotics, broad spectrum, to treat many starfishes that I would have said were goners. I would only try such a thing in a small quarantine tank that I could control very closely (many water changes, etc.).

 

[MartinE]

Looks ok in the pic to me except for the one bad looking arm, I agree with seamaiden on this one wait and see what happens. They look mushy when they are dying (necrotic).

 

[Sea Turtle]

Ok, thanks for the info. This morning he was most of the way off the rock. Almost like he melted off it. He really is not looking good. I felt him though and he feels like he's still prety hard to the touch. I put him down on the sand bed to rest.