what is wrong with me star fish

bbronco

bbronco

Member
I have a star fish he was stuck on the back of the tank and I thought he was dead bc he has these bumps on his back and one was ripped off and he has some scratches on him, and he had not moved in a long time. so I put the net in the tank to take him out and he curled up. so I new he was still alive. I don't have anything in the tank but some baby molly's? so I know there is nothing chewing on him? I have a peace of dead coral that he was moving on could he cut him self on that?
Byron
 
itchy

itchy

Member
this looks like a chocolate chip star fish is it? if so I had one a few years ago and he started to lose his chips. lol I dont know what happen to him and the tank was stable . I do know he get better and then started eating my anemones and anything he could get on top of. The LFS didnt have any ideas other than something picking at him. good luck
 
bigbonedee

bigbonedee

Member
Water parameters are of extreme importance more than for fish when trying to keep star fish and all types of inverts. Star fish are very picky and all your water parameters must be on par , from nitrates to PH.
However , although I am not into starfish and dont claim to be an expert , I believe that those clumps on your starfish belong there because I think the name by which it is called is"Chocolate Chip Star Fish."
Hopefully someone will come along and either validate my statement or call me an idiot, but I am pretty curious if that is i fact what it is. Anyway where did you get it and how come they did not tell you what it is. If it is a chocolate star fish, I understand that they are one of the easiest to keep.
 
bbronco

bbronco

Member
i pretty sure it is a chocolate chip. i had the water tested at the lfs and they said it was fine. there is nothing in the tank that can chew on him at all? in the pic you can see the coral he likes to climb on behind him. very hard coral.
 
holacanthus

holacanthus

Member
what is he eating? He might be starving ! try and feed him by offering some fresh seafood right under the mouth!
 
S

starfishjackedme

Guest
If your water is not correct the nobs will fall off and eventually he will start wasting. He needs to be fed every 3-4 days. PH and alk affect these guys so make sure you have everything right. No echinoderm is good at handling changing water conditions. They need a very stable environment.
The nobs will grow back in time once he is being fed frequently and water is correct. I usually feed mine a 1/2" square of shrimp every couple of days. Sometimes they will go a while without eating, and then go on a binge. Just make sure the food is offered.
 
aileena

aileena

Member
I second that last post! Feeding is very important for starfish and its very difficult to know when they need to be fed. I have the same problem with my sand sifter and my serpent star. When I saw one of the legs start to disintegrate I started to feed it more mysis shrimp with a turkey baster right in front of his face. This seems to have helped the starfish a lot. Good Luck!
 
dubba-r

dubba-r

Member
I heard when they open up is when you feed them. Like when they get up on their legs. But I haven't fed mine for weeks now (since its always laying flat on something) and has been doing fine for over a month. It spends a couple days in one spot until it slowly moves to another.
 
jflo

jflo

New Member
That same thing happened to my choc star fish. i thought it was dying to, i started to feed it after it looked like that and in a month or so it looked really healthy again
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top