Does anyone know about Starfish splicing?

[seaweed]

I've heard that this is one method of growing new starfish. I wanted to know if anyone is familiar with the practice of starfish splicing? That is, where you splice off one of the arms of a starfish high enough on the appendage to grow a new starfish. Has anyone ever tried this and is it recommended? What needs to be done in order to succeed at it?

 

[seaweed]

It seems kind of cruel to do this to the starfish, but people have told me otherwise.

 

[seaweed]

I do a lot of ocean fishing on the Long Island sound and I've seen how starfish are eliminated from the clam beds. A troller runs this mop-like device over and around the areas of the clam beds, scooping up the starfish. They then dunk these mops into these boiling vats of water, melting them. I guess this ensures they wont grow back.

 

[ophiura]

While this is a natural form of reproduction in some species of seastars, I do not recommend it in captive species, as there is no way of knowing whether the animal is healthy. In many cases, it may simply be the final blow to an animal that is already starving. This is true of most Linckia that are kept, for example. In some other species of stars, it is not as common. And there is a minimum required amount for the star to regrow, depending on the species.
In general, I do not recommend it. But what star are you talking about?

 

[trueheart]

I had a starfish that my roommate took and cut in half, because the guy at the LFS said it would grow another starfish. Also he said it would grow back in about a 3 months. My roommate said the starfish was hard and he had to saw through it with a knife. Well I had them for over a year and had little stubs growing from the middle. But my starfish unfortunately didn’t make the move to Florida.

 

[seaweed]

Hi Ophiura,
I have two brittle stars that I've had almost a year now. Both healthy and doing well.

 

[ophiura]

Do not attempt this with brittlestars as they are not seastars and do not possess the same regenerative abilities in most cases....it is more than likely a sure and cruel way to kill them