Sick Starfish

[scotty37]

I have had an orange linkia starfish for a few weeks. A few days ago it went to the top of the tank in the front and has stayed there for several days. It appears very sick as its legs are curled up and it looks like its just trying to hang on. Any ideas what is wrong, what caused it, and what I might be able to do to help it get better?

 

[rcdude1990]

is it all the way at the top of the tank on glass?
my star does this to but i learned that he is hungry wen he does it, mine has a arm stickingout of the water like hes reaching out for some food so i hand feed him

 

[scotty37]

Yes he is all the way at the top, been there for a few days, his one leg is looking pretty rough. Ive taken your advice but hes not taking to the food. What did u feed them and how did u get it to take it in?

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by scotty37
Yes he is all the way at the top, been there for a few days, his one leg is looking pretty rough. Ive taken your advice but hes not taking to the food. What did u feed them and how did u get it to take it in?

You can't spot feed linckias. How lond did you acclimate him, and what are your water parameters? What is your sg?

 

[scotty37]

Acclimated for about 6 hours. My temp is at 80 and my sg is in the normal range on the hydrometer, slightly toward the higher of the recommended area

 

[rcdude1990]

c mine is a chocolate chip star, wen i c his little hand stickin out of the tank, i put sum pellets in my hand and put him on my hand he walks over the pelletes and then there gone ive been doin this at least twice a week, for like 4 months now

 

[tylersalzman]

Originally Posted by rcdude1990
c mine is a chocolate chip star, wen i c his little hand stickin out of the tank, i put sum pellets in my hand and put him on my hand he walks over the pelletes and then there gone ive been doin this at least twice a week, for like 4 months now
Mine does that all the time too... what kind of pellets do you feed him?

 

[ophiura]

Please note that what is "normal" on a hydrometer is probably fatal for these stars. Fine for fish is usually not for these animals.
What are your SPECIFIC parameters? How old is the tank? How much LR do you have? What size is the tank?
Seastars typically suffer from acclimation shock within a month of introduction, and that could be what is going on.

 

[scotty37]

Ophiura,
If you wouldnt mind I could really use some of your time. I had checked my water 2 days before you asked about my salt level. My level was between 1.025 and 1.026, which was a little higher than normal for me. My hydrometer shows the normal scale from 1.023-1.025. My temp is at 79 degrees.
The tank is a 54 gallon corner. I work in a tax office and was slaved by my company for the past 3 weeks from the time after I put the star in. I checked the salt the day after tax season and my salt level was through the roof, like 1.030. I am back on my water change schedule now and changed it with just pure water no salt in small intervals yesterday. Everything in the tank is doing great except the star, even the mandarin dragonette. All my ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph levels came out perfect and have been very consistent over the life of the tank (over a year). Unfortunately, the star has 2 legs that look like they are ready to fall off. The third leg is a little rough and 2 legs look normal. I noticed it perk a little bit after the water changes yesterday, but it finally fell off the tank last night. Today, it has slowly been climbing around, but even my wife still thinks its dead except its moving around. Is there any chance of saving this little guy? I put a lot of time into correcting the environment yesterday. I heard they regenerate also.. if its health comes around will that happen? Thanks so much!!!!

 

[ophiura]

The only chance it has is for the parameters to be ideal. And for seastars this means a specific gravity of 1.025-1.026, ideally measured with a refractometer. Hydrometers can be very inaccurate.
What is you alkalinity and calcium?
The animal is definitely stressed, and it may not recover. They can regenerate when they are otherwise healthy, but usually not in this case. It is not impossible if conditions are good and not a lot of damage has been done. But it is rare, unfortunately.
You sound like you acclimated a long while, but unfortunately with these stars, if they are not acclimated at each step of the way from collection to your tank, the damage is already done.

 

[zeroghd]

I had a red general star do the same thing....refusing food but he was still getting around ok. He eventually deteriorated two arms and went behind the rocks to aparrently die. He didn't move for days. I had to sadly take him out of his misery. Ophiura probably hit the nail on the head with my star as well as yours. It had been in the tank @ 3 weeks before this happened, probably acclimation shock. I have since raised my S.G. as suggested and hope to get another soon since they add great color and activity to the tank.