African Red Knob Sea Star

[Limer81]

I just purchased an African red knob sea star last week and he was doing good and really active the first few days but now he just sits at the bottom of the tank with 2 legs on the glass. I fed him a piece of Krill two days ago but he's even less active now. He wont climb up on the glass or anything. I can see him move his legs a little but he stays in one spot. Water perams are:

PH 8.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
ALK 180

Any info/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[triggerfreak]

He probabaly has found a spot were there is food he is eating. my starfish do this once in a while. As long as you can see some part of him loving, like his feelers. He will be fine.

 

[ophiuroid]

What is your specific gravity? How long did you acclimate it? Is there any damage to the tips of the arms?

 

[Limer81]

Thanks for the replies. The SG is 1.022 and temp is 78-79. I acclimated it for about 4 hours before i put him in. I did notice what appears to a couple of blisters on the tip of one of its arms one of them has popped. I just remembered that a couple days after i put him in, i noticed that the PH was getting a little low (7.8) and added some buffer but I diluted it before i put it in the tank. I hope I didn’t shock him.

 

[ophiuroid]

I am quite concerned, personally, by your specific gravity which, IMO, is very very low for seastars. 1.025-1.026 is desirable; I would never venture below 1.024 (IMO still too low). These animals are extremely sensitive to salinity levels. That would be my first concern. Is there a reason you keep it so low?

 

[Limer81]

The store I bought the sea star from said that the SG in that range would be fine however, the more research that I do, I am finding that the SG should be higher. Do you think that he would have a chance if I were to start slowly increasing the SG? I am just affraid to increase the SG too quickly. As you can probably tell, I'm new to sea stars. Any suggestions on what the best thing to do at this point?

Thanks

 

[ophiuroid]

I would increase it slowly, simply by having some saltwater mixed, and using it for top off instead of freshwater. It is a hardy star and I wouldn't give up on it, but definitely getting the specific gravity into a good range will be better.

 

[Limer81]

Thanks, I really appreciate your help. I will give it a try and keep you updated. Thanks!