dying starfish
- Thread starter bergamer
- Start date
clarkiiboi
Active Member
I am limited on knowledge on starfish, but read up on alot of posts here over the years. What exactly do you see happening? "Melting" can be viewed differently from one member to another. Just trying to be optomistic (sp).
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xnikki118x
Guest
Do you mean "melting" as though he's falling apart, in a way? When I had a saltwater tank at school for a senior biology year-long project, we had 3 orange linkias and they all died throughout the course of the year. (They were originally our teachers--she was recarpeting her living room and had to take down her tank, so we set up a saltwater one in her classroom so she could have someplace for her fish. She was surprised the stars made it for as long as they did, because they were very very old.)
When the linkias were dying, they would get lethargic and their arms would start to sort of disintegrate. At our teacher's direction, we'd leave the dead/dying star in the tank for one school day as food for the tank scavengers, then take it out and dispose of it.
When my chocolate chip died (after the damn thing ate all my mushrooms...) his arms started falling apart and he could barely cling to the glass, so I took him out and he like fell all apart in the net. I flushed him.
Also, from what I hear linkias are difficult to keep, so kudos to you for however long it lived.
When the linkias were dying, they would get lethargic and their arms would start to sort of disintegrate. At our teacher's direction, we'd leave the dead/dying star in the tank for one school day as food for the tank scavengers, then take it out and dispose of it.
When my chocolate chip died (after the damn thing ate all my mushrooms...) his arms started falling apart and he could barely cling to the glass, so I took him out and he like fell all apart in the net. I flushed him.
Also, from what I hear linkias are difficult to keep, so kudos to you for however long it lived.
mpls man
Active Member
How long did you aclimate your star, i have a blue linka star and i aclimated him for about 4-5 hours, i've had him for about 1 year now, i started out with a orange linka and it did the same thimg, my salanity is about 1.023-1.025. some stars are easyer to keep then others. my tank was also set up for about 1 yr also.some things to do some research on.
bergamer
Active Member
it actually looks as though the starfish were a scoop of icecream that is exposed to head. but it still has its shape, all the melting is within its own body
there even appears to a what looks like a drop of water- except made of of orange linkis
I have had him about 7 months and I only acclimated him for about 30 minutes.
I heard they were difficult and 2 weeks ago I changed tanks- im sure the low acclimation and the changing tanks was just too much for him.
But he is not dead yet, I dont think there is much of a chance to save him
but I dont want to throw a living critter in teh trash or toilet
there even appears to a what looks like a drop of water- except made of of orange linkis
I have had him about 7 months and I only acclimated him for about 30 minutes.
I heard they were difficult and 2 weeks ago I changed tanks- im sure the low acclimation and the changing tanks was just too much for him.
But he is not dead yet, I dont think there is much of a chance to save him
but I dont want to throw a living critter in teh trash or toilet
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xnikki118x
Guest
My senior year science teacher had us dispose of dying starfish in paper towels in the trash. Like you, I didn't want to throw away a living critter like that, but she assured me that they're pretty much dead already and that they don't suffocate when you take them out of the water, they just kind of go to sleep. I don't know if this is accurate or if she just told me that so I wouldn't be upset haha, but thought I'd share anyway.
PS. Sorry about your star.
PS. Sorry about your star.
ophiura
Active Member
Unfortunately, IMO, it starved to death, as it is the very common time frame for it (8-12 months, in general). Unless there was some other recent water quality issue (temp spike, major water change, etc). The symptoms are basically identical to an acclimation issue - just the timing is what separates the two. Within a month: acclimation, after 6 months it is starvation. This is why keeping them a year is the critical mark...they take so long to die otherwise, and it is tough to tell there is anything wrong until this happens. Sorry
Though in rereading I see you recently changed tanks - was it newly cycled or what? Could have been this, but I would also say that a seastar that was otherwise doing well in captivity and was healthy is more likely to survive an acclimation to a new tank...whereas wild caught specimens tend to fair worse as new introductions.
This is why keeping them a year is the critical mark...they take so long to die otherwise, and it is tough to tell there is anything wrong until this happens. Sorry Though in rereading I see you recently changed tanks - was it newly cycled or what? Could have been this, but I would also say that a seastar that was otherwise doing well in captivity and was healthy is more likely to survive an acclimation to a new tank...whereas wild caught specimens tend to fair worse as new introductions.