save my starfish!

reefer3

reefer3

New Member
1 week ago i added a red tile starfish.
looked good till 3 days ago.
stomach is hanging out and sometimes sheds.
my water has perfect levels.
tank is almost 4months old.
54 gal. reef tank / good current/temp controlled/30 lbs + live rock
is there any hope or is my system just not established enough for this star.
any suggestions on additives that might help?
 
reefer3

reefer3

New Member
clamped the bag to hang in tank water while every 20 min. poured 1/2 a shot glass of tank water in. when bag filled i'd pour some out and continue adding water for about 2 hours or more.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Sea stars need very very long drip acclimations. Do you happen to know the scientific name of the star?
 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
The drip aclamatin is much better for stars, but what are the specifics on your tank???
 
reefer3

reefer3

New Member
Originally Posted by alyssia
Sea stars need very very long drip acclimations. Do you happen to know the scientific name of the star?
RED TILE STAR IS ALL I KNOW. IS THERE ANYTHING I COULD POSSIBLY DO AT THIS POINT?
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefer3
RED TILE STAR IS ALL I KNOW. IS THERE ANYTHING I COULD POSSIBLY DO AT THIS POINT?

I don't think so other than providing a very stable enviornment.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
The star is quite possibly suffering from osmotic shock, esp if the arms star disintegrating or white spots show up.
There is NOTHING that we can say or do until you provide specific water parameters. that is really really critical. There may well be something to change, but we can not help you. "Pristine" conditions for a fish can be fatal to these stars (eg 1.021 specific gravity is common for fish only systems, and fatal for these stars).
Your tank, I am afraid, is FAR too young for such a star, and likely far too small. It can not be spot fed, and needs huge amounts of LR (say 150lbs) to have any chance of survival long term in general. The acclimation also, as mentioned, was probably not sufficient.
If you provide more specific details we may be able to give you suggestions.
 
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