4 those who know the starfish well...

azocean709

azocean709

Member
My 55 gal reef has been up for quite some time...I have about 75lbs of LR a 3" SB, a 30 gal fuge with 15-20 lbs of LR and a 6" SB in it. Question is, I got an Orange Linkia in there now for about 2 weeks, It came from a friends tank that is being redone <tank sprung a nasty little leak> I have noticed on this star that some of the orange between its arms is gone and it almost looks like it is melting off or something. I don't want the little dude to croak while in my care. I don't know if they do that naturally or what. I have no idea what it eats...my friend said it just roams around and chows down on this and that...he has had it for about 3 yrs. My water perms:
temp. 78.5
SG 1.26
ph- 8.3
alk- 4
cal. 450
trates 1
amm. 0
phos. 0
mag. 1325
strontium.9
I drip Kalk 24/7 in 24 hour lit fuge, other than that i don't dose anything.
water change is 5% every saturday
If light matters for these stars, I am running 2- 175 watt ushio 10,000k MH and 2- 80watt actinics. any info would be apprieciated. thanks
 
rubberduck

rubberduck

Active Member
yeah has it happened over the past 2 weeks or like the past couple days. that could be a sign of something bad but starvation seems not to be th issue. they take months to starve and usualy take a long time to show ill effects giving soem reefers the feeling the are having success only its dying. how long will u have him?
travis
 
azocean709

azocean709

Member
well...i will have it as long as it takes for his new tank to to get put back together, he shouldn't have much of a cycle spike, he's gonna put new sand in it instead of the old..he's still has all his old water .I would say im going to have it for a couple more weeks anyway, the star on the other hand ,, i have noticed it just in the last couple of days. is salinity maybe a factor...i just called him and he checked his water, and it is at 1.22. as mine is 1.26
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Your salinity is actually right where it should be for a star. It may be going thru osmotic shock from the short acclimation, especially considering the difference in salinity. It can take up to four weeks for osmotic shock symptoms to show up.
 
azocean709

azocean709

Member
maybe so, i just cant see how it is happening now to the little guy if that is the case, when all dan, <my friend> did was bring it home and throw it in his tank..LOL believe me...I gave him a bytchin for that. I have never acclimated anything over 2 hours of time and never had a problem with anything....although, I've never had a starfish either.....ok...next question.......How do i fix it if it is osmosis shock?
 
uberlink

uberlink

Active Member
Do you think that's such a good idea? It might just lead to a second round of osmotic shock, unless the salinity is exactly the same. Check with ophiura on this site first, if you can.
 
sw65galma

sw65galma

Active Member
NO DON'T MOVE IT!! If you move it...you will surely doom it!
Keep the water stable!! Add top off water 1 time a day or twice...little at a time..so water doesn't change salinity...
Actually these stars "should" for best chances be acclimated for 6+hours....veryyyyy slowly
1.026 is best for the star..but if it was used to 1.022 it might have been shocked.
Stars do not have a blood stream, the saltwater actually carries everything around in thier body...very wierd....so you affect the water it litterally affects thier blood (since it is their blood).
Osmotic shock is usually irreveseable, best and Only real thing you can do...is make sure your water doesn't change a bit..that means keeping up consistanlty with topoff...make sure your water is Buffered....
Good Luck!
 
azocean709

azocean709

Member
alrighty...I reckon lil red stays in the DT>>>LOL thanks alot yall. No worries on the water, I'm pretty particular when it comes to the quality. It has remained the same for a long long time. I drip my kalk with my auto top off. Everything stays the same all the time, Hopefully this is not the case with this star. I have been watching it closely, It moves all around, it is never still. hmmmm imma see if i can borrow my nieghbors digital cam and get a good pic...might help some to determine if this is the problem.
 
azocean709

azocean709

Member
ok...can't be osmosis shock...im confused as all hel. the spot i seen between its arms is no longer there....now it looks good....but on the tip of one of its arms il looks like its meltin' off..... any ideas now?
 
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