Blue star out of water for 30 minutes!!

[jester805]

Some of you remember my past couple posts as having insanely high nitrates. Tonight I did nearly a 50% water change on my 75 gallon FOWLR.
I have a blue star in the tank that I just got a week ago. I figured he was hiding in the rocks while my tank was draining. I went to turn my powerheads back on after putting water back in and found him stuck to the glass behind one of them. He was there for probably half an hour before I realized it. I know that stars shouldn't be in contact with the air so am I doomed???

 

[dburr]

No, your not doomed, but your star is. That really sucks, I'm sorry to hear about that. If it really starts to die quick, you should pull it out before it stinks up your tank.
Sorry.

 

[ophiura]

It is not necessarily fatal, IMO. This is an "old wive's tale." Stars may be exposed in the wild as well. However, I don't recommend doing that for half an hour. But I wouldn't rule it out right now....however, such a large water change might certainly be fatal. IMO, it is not good to add one of these stars to a tank with water quality issues. Large water changes can be fatal. So it is an uphill battle for this star, I am afraid, not only from the air exposure, acclimation, and water quality, etc but it is in in a relatively small tank as well. It may be one of the one that makes it, but it has certainly had a rough time

 

[jester805]

Originally Posted by ophiura
It is not necessarily fatal, IMO. This is an "old wive's tale." Stars may be exposed in the wild as well. However, I don't recommend doing that for half an hour. But I wouldn't rule it out right now....however, such a large water change might certainly be fatal. IMO, it is not good to add one of these stars to a tank with water quality issues. Large water changes can be fatal. So it is an uphill battle for this star, I am afraid, not only from the air exposure, acclimation, and water quality, etc but it is in in a relatively small tank as well. It may be one of the one that makes it, but it has certainly had a rough time

Thanks for the help on this. I left him in the water for a couple hours last night, but I didn't see any movement. I pulled him out after that because I was pretty sure that he was dead. On the bright side tho, that big water change finally brought my nitrates down from 200 to 80. I just ordered an RO unit today so I'm going to do much more frequent water changes from now on.

 

[ophiura]

Was he still hanging onto the wall though? Because they don't really move quickly?

 

[jester805]

Originally Posted by ophiura
Was he still hanging onto the wall though? Because they don't really move quickly?
I'm not sure if he was actually hanging on, or if he got himself wedged between the wall & the powerhead. Do you think I pulled him out prematurely???????? :notsure:

 

[ctgretzky9]

Originally Posted by jester805
I'm not sure if he was actually hanging on, or if he got himself wedged between the wall & the powerhead. Do you think I pulled him out prematurely???????? :notsure:

yes. Like Oph said, even in nature, stars on the rocks near the shore, or on reefs, they are sometimes subjected to tidal change, or storm surges etc, that expose them to air.
I would have left him in and hoped for a rebound.
Do not add any more sensitive marine life until you have all parameters controlled and stable for a couple of months, and know how to read the signs if something is amiss quickly.