blue starfish acclimation

[ebeckels]

Hello,
I am receiving a blue starfish from swf.com tomorow and I am wondering how exactly to acclimate him. I know it should be very slow and very long. I've heard about 4 hours. What exactly is the drip method? Should I follow the swf. acclimation instructions and use pour in a shot of my tank water into the bag every 1/2 hour or so? Should the lights be off for this just like they would be for a fish? I don't know what the "drip method" is, so if someone could explain that...that would be great.

 

[ebeckels]

hey i forgot that i'm also getting a med. cleaner shrimp. Do they need anything special with acclimation?

 

[billyv]

Blue starfish are difficult to keep alive, and do seem very susceptible and vulnerable to temperature changes. I have had two, the first one lived for about 6 months, but died when I took him out of my tank for about an hour while I was gleaning the crushed coral bed. I put him, and everything else in a bowl outside the tank, it didn't get that cold, but cold enough to kill it. The second one, "the replacement" only lasted one week...I don't know what happened to him, other than he didn't acclimate well to my tank. I would let the bag float for about 90 minutes, adding water from your tank every 15-20 minutes. The goal is to have the water temp in the bag the same as the temp in the tank......I think that can be accomplished in 90 minutes......4 hours as you write above may be overkill. Anyway, I hope you have better luck with the blue starfish than I have had in the past! GOOD LUCK

 

[ebeckels]

thanks for the advice..anyone else have anything different to say?

 

[diatom]

Blue stars are VERY difficult to keep. More then temp, they are sensitive to changes in salinity. 5-6 hours is not out of line in acclimitizing. I floatd mine in my tank and used a new kalkwasser dripper to drip about one drip per second into the bag.
Also I've heard some people say that the oil from your hands can kill them, so I'd avoid touching them if you can.
Best of luck,
Brent

 

[ebeckels]

ok... so I have some other questions about starfish. How do I know if they're dead? Do they shrivel up or something? I've never seen a dead starfish, I think. Should the lights be off for the whole acclimation process? Any other tips would be great. Did anyone acclimate a starfish with out "dripping" water in...as in anyone do it with a shot glass or something?

 

[beecher]

I have used the SWF suggested method an all fish and inverts that i have purchased and I have never had a fish die within a few months of putting it in the tank. They suggest equalizing the temp and then adding water 1 oz. every 2-3 mins unitil you double the volume in the bag. Then you dump out half the water and start over again. I've never acclimated a starfish but i would assume the same would work for them, but maybe over a longer period of time.

 

[crazy bout salt]

Wuth my star fish i let my bag sit in the water for about 30 minutes then i added a shot glass full of water or 2 even ever 15 minutes after that and within 1 hour my 2 star were in my and crawling all overthe place so thye have lived now for a long time and my method worked but i guess it all depends on the handler

 

[ebeckels]

ok thanks for the advice...the star, cleaner and shrooms just arrived...hopefully everything will go well.

 

[crazy bout salt]

good luck man post a reply when ur done

 

[ebeckels]

it's been an hour and a half.. i just put the cleaner shrimp in. The mushrooms went in about an hour ago. They both look fine. The starfish is still floating in the bag...however, i noticed a white shell looknig thing on one of his legs. This is the same thing someone else had that posted a thread in the disease and treatment forum. Anyone know what to do about this? Also...just so i know, what do starfish look like if they die? Do they just not move or do they shrivel up or lose their color or something? Thanks.

 

[dasnake03]

The Blue star that I ordered d=from this sight died after about two weeks,you will know if it is dead, because they kind of fall apart.

 

[dasnake03]

The Blue star that I ordered d=from this sight died after about two weeks,you will know if it is dead, because they kind of fall apart.

 

[ebeckels]

ok thanks... i just wanted to make sure it's easy to tell... so basically ur saying...when it's dead...i'll know it!! Thanks

 

[ebeckels]

ok. well the blue star went in..it's been 3 and a half hours of acclimating. Its alive...it's moved all the way across one rock into a crevice. I've heard they don't like the light very much. Is that true? Anyways...he seems to be ok. I'll let you know if anything bad happens.

 

[diatom]

Eric~ you'll know if your in trouble with him....he'll start to develope white almost cottony patches on his arms...these will slowly grow as he starts to disintigrate. This usually starts a day or 2 after you acclimitize him but could start even weeks later.
You'll know when he's dead for sure.
Keep us informed.

 

[ebeckels]

he has what looks like a hard white shell on his arm. There is a pic of it in the disease forum at the top from someone else that got a blue star from swf.com Is this what ur talking about?

 

[diatom]

Eric~
Nope if he starts to disintigrate it will look like cotton coming out of the blue part of his skin...you'll know if you see it.