Help My Starfish

[22caddy]

My starfish is losing his legs. Some background. Friday night I added three red leg hermits and three turbo snails. Saturday I added a cleaner shrimp. Before then everything was fine. I've had the starfish a couple weeks. On monday night I noticed the starfishes leg about only 3/4 as long as the others. Tuesday morning more of his leg is gone and my blue damsel is dead. I've had the damsel since the begining, cycle and all. I can't believe he survived that but somehow now is dead. Now two legs are only half length and the rest of the ends are not right. I consulted the local LFS and they tested my water and confirmed the water is fine. He said something must be picking on it. Is he right? I never see anything bother it, but everyday I come home from work he looks worse and worse. Other inhabitants are two blue leg hermits, long spine urchin, two snails not sure on the kind, feather dusters, and thats all. I have the starfish seperated right now to see what happens, but what should I look for and what else can I do. Could the hermits be the culprit? After reading some posts I see acclimating can be a big issue. He was acclimated for two hours. He never has been very active, and now he won't eat at all. He is crumbling like. Is there any hope?

 

[dskidmore]

I would suspect the hermits. If you've had the blue legs for awhile without a problem, then it's probably the red legs. Some people have no problems with hermits, and others swear you should never put them in a reef tank.

 

[crazy4reefs]

do you know what kind of starfish it is ? also how long has your tank been set up, do you have live rock ? and of course WELCOME to swf.com !!!

 

[22caddy]

I have about 15 lbs of live rock in a 20 g long. I am not sure on how long it has been set up. Couple months or so. Cured the sand before putting it in the tank and setting it up. Waited a week after that and added the damsel. A week after that I added the two blue legs and the two larger snails because the algae just exploded. Two weeks after that is when the urchin was added. Sometime after that the strafish was added, not sure if that was a week or two weeks after the urchin, pretty sure two weeks. After the ammonia spike and everything settled is when I added the starfish. Readings have stayed 0's for the most part ever since adding him. What kind is a good question. Don't know. It is about the size of a fifty cent piece, red, five legs, has black speckles on it, looks like the typical starfish. Did I rush too fast in adding him? The LFS said he should be fine that it was pretty hardy. I just find it funny that I noticed the starfish and next morning the damsel was dead and the starfish just started to fall apart to say. Also the cleaner shrimp is showing extreme interest in the starfish. Does that mean anything?

 

[crazy4reefs]

unfortunately i can not ID your starfish for you, you can try to search the board for starfish ID's and look at the pictures to help indentify. in my opinon you are moving kinda fast. as you said most starfish need a long acclimation time, they also need a mature tank.. you said he wont eat now what was he eating before ? i would also suggest that you buy the test kits so you can keep a better eye on it and its a good thing to learn. that is strange that your damsel died, was he acting ok the night before ? also are you sure your lfs is testing for PH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate ? from what i understand once a starfish starts melting there is not much hope for it.. sorry :nope:

 

[22caddy]

I do have a test kit. Test the water all the time. LFS tested PH, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, and specific gravity, same as me. He was eating pieces of shrimp. This is my first try at saltwater and have relied on the nearby LFS and here. I have kept piranhas for years, and used a lot of spare stuff from them to help set up a saltwater tank. Much harder than freshwater.

 

[crazy4reefs]

glad to hear that you have the test kits yourself. ya saltwater is alot diffrent for fresh. i tried a freshwater tank first and i couldnt keep the fish alive, i am doing much better with salt. all i can recommend is doing alot research and ask what ever questions you have on the board here. also you could get some books to help you out. the best thing is get the advice from as many sources you can. i think that saltwater is alot of fun and its a great hobby. sorry i could not help you more.

 

[cdn_beaver]

If it looks like the one in the picture, it is a Marble Sea Star. I have one of these, and it seems to do very well. Once a week, I feed it dried sea weed, and mysis shrimp.
The Marble Sea Star, or Marble Starfish, is one of the more common of the Fromia species, its coloration making it one of the more striking of all the sea stars. Its central disc will have an orange to deep red color, while its arms have cream-colored spots with a red edging.
It is found over sandy substrates, on rocks, and sometimes climbing on anemones. It is constantly foraging for micro-organisms and detritus to eat, so the aquarium should have ample amounts of live rock. It generally lives alone, but if the aquarium is large enough to support more than one, it will tolerate others of its own species.
The Marble Sea Star is very intolerant of sudden changes in oxygen levels, salinity and pH of the water, and cannot tolerate copper-based medications. The drip acclimation method is highly recommended for all Sea Stars due to their intolerability to changes in water chemistry. It should never be exposed to air while handling.
It is extremely difficult to breed in an aquarium, with no distinguishing characteristics to help differentiate it from its mate.
It is recommended to supplement its diet with small pieces of shrimp, mussel, or flaked food.

 

[22caddy]

Nothing like the one in the pic. This is bright red. No orange color or anything, just bright red. It has black freckles, barely noticeable really. He doesn't look good. Just checked on him and is still crumbling.

 

[bigarn]

If it's breaking apart it's dead or dieing. Sorry :nope:

 

[bsktmom]

I think what you have is called a Red Sea Star. They (like all starfish) are very intolerant of changes in water chemistry. They are algae eaters. I don't think there is anything you can do once they start falling apart.

 

[duke13]

I had a Red African General Star, it was an awesome looking star. He was doing just fine until I transferred everything to a new tank. The stress from the move cause him not to eat. No matter what I did, he wouldn't eat. I slowly watch my star get smaller and smaller. Then he started to deteriorate and that was basically the end for him. If your star has chunks coming off, there's not much that you can do but isolate him into another tank. Usually you shouldn't add more stress to an already stressed animal but it may be worth a try.
Sorry about your star.

 

[rich460]

it sounds like a maroon starfish i had one as will and it did not make it you can not expose it to air that was my mistake it made it 2 days i would take it out of your tank now and sorry about your starfish.

 

[dennis26]

What's a good beginner starfish for 26g reef?
35pound LR . 1.5" LS
sorry about ur starfish 22

 

[crazy4reefs]

brittle star fish are hardy and there are a few diffrent kinds. make sure you keep him well fed, i didnt and i lost a couple of fish. some people never have a problem with them though. search for starfish and you can find the pictures of them. hth

 

[sw65galma]

Originally posted by Dennis26
What's a good beginner starfish for 26g reef?
35pound LR . 1.5" LS
sorry about ur starfish 22
Keep in mind that a Begginer star is NOT for a beginning Tank.
Make sure your tank is atleast a few months old, 6 is better, but I know most people can't wait...But ALTEAST 3 months and that's pushing it...
But Brittle stars contrary to thier names are pretty hardy and would be my recommendation.

 

[madysmom]

i read above that you have an urchin... my pencil urchin i had to get rid of because he was munching on my sandsifter stars legs and finally killed it... good luck

 

[dennis26]

dont worry my tank is set up for about 6months now.so i would be good there but i do have two sea urchins one is decorative urchin and the other is black with long skinny sticks
u think they wont be compateble with the brittle star fish?
Thank you all for the input

 

[madysmom]

i would think it would be ok to try a brittle ( brittles have been know before to eat sleeping fish ) but i would just keep a few eyes on it to make sure that no one is getting bothered. i dont think that the urchins could eat a brittle because brittles are much faster than a sand sifter or some of the other know sea stars. good luck to you and i hope that helps!!

 

[dennis26]

i want to get a mandarin also later on do u think the star fish could munch on him also when he goes to sleep maybe?:notsure: how do u feed a star fish anyways?
thank you all