Starfish help

[wigo]

I have this starfish and it all of a sudden is doing very poorly. It looks like something tore its arms apart. Can anyone help? I will post the picture whenever this thing gets it uploaded.

 

[mps9506]

Is it a linkia or fromia star?

 

[lcstorc]

What kind of star? How long have you had it? What are your water parameters. What other livestock do you have in the tank?
Sorry for all the questions but they really do make a difference.

 

[wigo]

Serpent star

 

[bluespotjawfish]

When my stars have started to look bad, it has typically been from a large swing in pH.

 

[wigo]

He actually came apart. He is no longer with us.

 

[wigo]

I posted the picture small but it shows the legs tearing apart.

 

[Woodstock]

Sorry to hear that Did you test your water parameters?

 

[mps9506]

How long have you had it? What are your water parameters. What other livestock do you have in the tank?
Sorry for all the questions but they really do make a difference.

Good questions, these will definitely help us answer your questions Wigo.

 

[wigo]

How long have you had it?
6 Months +
What are your water parameters.
PH 8
Nitrate 20
What other livestock do you have in the tank?
Blood Shrimp, Skunk Cleaner, Vlamingi Tang, Sailfin Tang, Pair of pajama Cardnals, hermits, snails, lawnmower
Hope this answers the questions

 

[rod]

Sorry for your loss. We have two like that under big rocks. One lost a leg the other day while moving things around to accomadate the new stuff son got me. It seems to be doing okay so far. I have hopes it will heal okay.:tears:

 

[Snelly40]

they will lose legs often, however if they all show distress like that it is often from water quality,
i personally saw my pistol shrimp snip 2 legs of my star when he went into the shrimps hole

 

[BigAl07]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I feel your pain as I just went through this myself. It's a tough one!!! Hang in there! Let's see if we can figure out what happened (plays CSI music in the background).

Starfish are very sensitive to not only WAY out of balance water but even just quick water param changes. Even a change from a lower (viable) PH to a higher (yet still within normal range) PH can be enough to cause the starfish to "self destruct". Do you know of any recent "Changes" to your system? Recent water change? Newly added chemicals or elements? What's your salinity? How long since your last water change and what (estimated) percentage of what did you change?

Good luck!!

Allen

 

[mps9506]

Typically brittle stars are pretty hardy when it comes to starfish. I would concentrate on getting those nitrates down before adding any other invertebrates however.

 

[lcstorc]

They are very succeptible to temp or salinity swings. Have you adjusted either lately?