Sea star lost a limb!

[rookiegirl]

Can anyone shed some light on why my sifting sea star may have lost a limb? Came home from work tonight to find a one inch chunk sitting in the sand. I thought it was him with a limb sticking out of the sand but soon realized the rest of him was coming up from the sand just a few inches away.

My first guess was a crab or something of that nature but i don't have one (as far as i know).

Any ideas? Will it grow back?

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

how big id the star ?

 

[rookiegirl]

I would say spread out it would fit in the palm of an average woman's hand.

 

[greenbean36191]

Most likely the star is dying. As they starve or succumb to osmotic shock they just fall apart, no help from predators needed.

 

[rookiegirl]

He shouldn't be starving, he's new to the tank and has plenty to eat. I've had him for about two weeks and he's been doing great, until today. I wonder if his lousy acclimation is to blame? I specifically asked the LFS how to acclimate the star and he said to put it on top of the glass brace and let him jump in when he wants. Well, i read up on the sea star the next night to see if he needed any special care instructions and learned his entry into the tank (he jumped in right away) was outrageously unfair to him. Like i said he was fine until today but it may still be a result of the acclimation.

 

[Nano Chris]

That is totally wrong, they have to be drip acclimated, like any other fish/inverts/corals. I wouldn't go back to that lfs.

 

[rookiegirl]

Yes i know, it was very frustrating. I usually try to research something before i go to the LFS so i can make informed choices and know what i'm getting into but i changed my mind last minute from more snails to a sifting star...

 

[joyski58]

I've had probably 3 brittle stars in the last several years. Each was in the tank for many months, if not longer. Each ate well for many months, then stopped. Each died the same way. They lost their limbs until they were just the body. Creepy, really. I'd like to know why. I always feed frozen krill or shrimp pellets and they'd come running for that. Can anyone suggest other foods for a brittle star; perhaps I'm not providing a complete diet. This last one never grew. Also, greenbean suggested as they starve or succumb to osmotic shock they just fall apart. What is osmotic shock?


__________________

 

[rookiegirl]

I have been trying to figure out a way to explain osmotic shock properly. When the sea star is used to being in a certain tank and is used to the solute levels (salt, etc) it learns to absorb these at a certain rate...when that rate is suddenly changed by going into a new tank or when there is a sudden change in the tank (changing salinity level to high too fast) they go into osmotic shock because they can't control the amount of solute (in this case salt) that is entering or leaving their bodies. They get overloaded. It can also happen the opposite way around, if they are in a high salinity tank and then suddenly experience low salinity it does the same thing in reverse. I think i got that right. Either way, drip acclimating for a couple of hours will solve the problem for a start and not changing salinity levels too quickly will certainly help keep a sea star more successfully. I'm blaming my screw-up on poor acclimation but am happy to say he is doing well again.