Basket starfish

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smartorl

Guest
I acquired a basket starfish quite by accident and am doing research on them to find out that there really isn't alot of information out there. It has dropped a few of it's "branches" but appears to be active and healthy. It is eating and slowly exploring the qt. Does anyone have any advice or input on how to keep this guy happy and healthy? It is amazing to watch, not to mention very beautiful and I want to provide it the best shot at long term survival.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
most of them starve a slow death and the action of eating most of the time they arent eating anything. These guys only do good if left in the ocean or giant aquariums. and if its dropping arms that is not a good sign for them.
sorry about the grim outlook but they have a 99.9% fatality rate if I had to put one on them.
Mike
 
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smartorl

Guest
I went to look at a tank for a seahorse tank and he was in there and looked pretty bad, skipped the tank and brought him home. I pretty much knew out the gate that he may not make it but I thought it was worth giving it a shot. He actually ate some scallop a while ago, I moved his rock so that I could see his mouth and he did actually eat it. He acts very hungry. Thanks for the input, I guess time will tell.
Here are a few quick shots of him, he is very hard to photograph because he looks like a pile of seaweed but you get the idea.
http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=HPIM0440.jpg
http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=HPIM0439.jpg
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Very unfortunate purchase, sad to say

You have it in a QT? That is a problem if it is low salinity, not established or has ever been treated with any medications.
In actuality, they are not likely to starve necessarily, but they require EXTENSIVE care. They are nocturnal, and need VERY large tanks. The amount of food required can tank the water quality of smaller systems, plus they get very very large. HUGE, actually, well beyond the means of most people to keep them.
They need stuff much smaller than scallop (did you chop it up?) and a diversity of foods - brine, mysis, cyclopeeze, rotifers, etc, etc. LOTS of food.
How old is your tank - how large? What is the flow like? What are the parameters?
You will want to search for threads by Sterling, who cared methodically for her star until giving it away due to the high maintenance.
Beautiful animals I am afraid that have no business whatsoever in this hobby :(
 
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smartorl

Guest
This one is about eight inches or so, if it were to spread out, maybe even bigger, it is hard to tell as right now it is partially in and out of the rocks. The QT is a 55 gallon, with alot of live rock, established for about six years. The scallop was finely chopped and I turned off the power heads and spot fed it. I have a 210 that I will move it into, if it makes it through this period, until I can get a handle on it or find someone better qualified to care for it. Thanks for the input, I am open to all advice on it. I will up the diet as well. How about water temp?
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
They are tropical so 78-82 should be OK. It will likely curl up out of the way during the day...the real show is at night. It should find a spot in the current and open up. In all likelihood, it is a juvenile.
You are in reasonable shape on tank size, thank goodness. Do you have a refugium?
I would make a slurry of a variety of stuff as mentioned above, or make your own with chopped seafood and lots of other things. I recommend feeding after lights out, once you see it opening up in general. Watch and see how it behaves after lights out.
Hey - at least it is not a crinoid (feather star) which have downright dismal survival rates. These can be fed, they are just high maintenance. Definitely look up sterling and basket star!
 
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smartorl

Guest
It looks like I have a project! I am watching it now, it is certainly alot bigger than I first thought. I may have nightmares, lol. Thanks for the input, I'll start concocting his new menu and let you know how it goes.
 
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smartorl

Guest
Thanks for directing me to Sterling's posts. Today, we have no more dropped pieces so hopefully, it was from the transit and stress of all that. Last night he opened up right in the full flow and is about 10 inches across, his actual body is about four inches across. One major concern is that there seems to be some deterioration of the top of his body, I am trying not to bug him but it looks as if I can see his mouth through his body. I don't think that is cool. He has wrapped himself up on a rock in a strong current. Hopefully, he will pull through this and I can find him a suitable home. It is a shame really that he was collected in the first place. I went shopping today and got him a nice mix of goodies to entice him, worst case scenario, I will try the baby guppies but baby guppies are cute.
 
mscarpena

mscarpena

Member
Good luck with your critter. Don't have much to add, but it is a shame that certain things are sold in this hobby. Things that are beautiful, but will never make it. One thing we can do as hobbiests are to do our research and do not buy things with very poor survival rates. We've all made that mistake once or twice though. Well like I said good luck.
 
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smartorl

Guest
Not good news. I took a nap and when I got up it looks as though something has eaten his body but there is nothing in that tank and he has dropped a leg. He is still alive, feeling around but I know he is dying. Very sad. I hate to see him suffer. Such a strange and beautiful animal and it sucks to see it die.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
The disintegration is common for shipping/acclimation shock. Specific gravity should be 1.025-1.026, and ideally a pretty long acclimation time (several hours) but a lot of damage is done in shipping.
I am not quick to give up hope so long as it is eating and "acting" - moving.
 
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smartorl

Guest
I thought it must be dead and was going to remove it from the tank and it would not let go of the rocks and actually started feeling around for better handholds, so it is very much alive. I have turned off the lights, it is still pretty active, strange considering it looks like the hosts in alien, um, after the alien hatched. I am going to feed or attempt to feed it in a few minutes. I will keep trying as long as it is alive, starfish are pretty amazing, hopefully, it will be ok. Expect the worst and hope for the best.
 
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smartorl

Guest
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