Star fish help.

[callaro]

hey i just baught i chocolate chip star from my LFS, its been like two hours after putting him in the tank and he hasnt done anything, and his legs are starting to like...curl up at the end? is this normal?? :help:

 

[dc2mlbsm]

yeah he's probably eating some of the food that falls down into the gravel

 

[dmjordan]

How long and what acclimation method did you use?

 

[callaro]

he told me i didnt have to acclimate it, just floated the bag.

 

[dc2mlbsm]

i recommend you not buying from that store anymore

 

[dc2mlbsm]

starfish have to be acclimated very carefully so they wont die

 

[callaro]

well....so i basically killed it......?

 

[dmjordan]

IMO you should water and temp acclimate everything before you put it in your tank. Drip acclimation in my opinion works the best. My LFS keeps the fish only section at a specific gravity of 1.020 and the reef section at 1.022. I keep my tank at 1.026. You need to water acclimate things to get them to slowly adjust to the salinty, ph, and nitrates in your tank. The temp is only one part of the acclimation process.
Do yourself a favor and read up on the acclimation requirments, feeding requirments, minimum tank size, lighting, water movement and if something is reefsafe or not before you buy anything. And ask here first before you take the advise of your local fish store.

 

[dmjordan]

I would drip acclimate (5 - 6 drips per minute) a starfish for 3+ hours before introducing them into my tank.

 

[callaro]

my mom got if for me as a suprise, i would have asked first, but like i said, it was a suprise. so what should i do now?

 

[callaro]

and is it like guarenteed that hes gonna die...or more likley.?

 

[dmjordan]

not much you can do now but hope for the best.

 

[dc2mlbsm]

there's hope he will live

 

[threed240]

Do they eat things off live rock? Sorry to threadjack, but I was curious. I overheard one of the employees at my LFS say they did.

 

[mazdaman]

that guy at the your lfs is dumb and shouldnt be selling salt water fish

 

[callaro]

thanks, that helps me tons.
anyway, what kind of mazda do you have.
and dc2mlbsm, do you really have a dc2? thats b18a right?

 

[dc2mlbsm]

Originally Posted by callaro
thanks, that helps me tons.
anyway, what kind of mazda do you have.
and dc2mlbsm, do you really have a dc2? thats b18a right?
huh???? thats my initials

 

[callaro]

oh....its also a car
hahahah

 

[hatessushi]

Starfish need the salinity changed very very slowly that's why the acclimation time is 3 hours or more. they don't like salinity changes.

 

[dmjordan]

Originally Posted by HatesSushi
Starfish need the salinity changed very very slowly that's why the acclimation time is 3 hours or more. they don't like salinity changes.