Star Fish - PLZ HELP!

[NewfieReef]

I came home to find my red sea star missing one led and the other almost gone!

Can anyone help me? what could have happened? is there any saving him?!

 

[stacyjo]

oh wow how did that happen..what else do you have in tank??

 

[NewfieReef]

I am at a loss for how this could have happened!

1 Clown
1 Blue Tang
2 blue damsels
1 Diamond Goby
1 Cleaner Shrimp

2 Emerald Crabs

 

[Chris27]

I doubt it was the livestock that did it, when starfish start dropping legs it's usually a sign of stress. How is the water chemistry looking? How old is the tank? How big is the tank?

 

[NewfieReef]

I just did a water test; everything is perfect.

The tank is two years old, however it was moved in November, and the Starfish was added in February,

55gal tank.

 

[Sk8r]

[welcome]
We need to know alk, cal, ph, temp to give better advice, mg would be a bonus. The linckias are hard to keep. Amount of live rock, in pounds. It may be starving: a 55 is pretty small for an expert-level invert. Low alkalinity can have a big effect on some specimens.

I carry pretty-good params in my sig line, if that helps.

 

[NewfieReef]

Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0 – 10 --- I can't tell the difference
Calcium : 460
dKH: 11 or 196.9 ppm H

Temp is 28 deg Celsius

 

[Sk8r]

You're pretty good, in those params---alkalinity a bit high, but not bad. If it's got enough live rock to sustain it, about 100 lbs, temperature good...let that alk drop just a shade and cross your fingers. They can easily regrow a leg. It might have been a good thing just to amputate the leg up in good territory and hope it can regrow from healthy tissue---but that's up at the body of the starfish, and that may be something it can't recover from: you can't amputate that deep. Crossing fingers for it, is about all you can do.

 

[sea of cortez]

I have just had the same thing happen and have the same power head yours is sitting on and the same sea star.
Im thinking the power head run on a wave maker got mine. Yesterday I noticed a chunk of red on the sand under the power head and pulled it out and it felt like a piece of star fish. I saw it on the glass next to the power head and it didnt look good, but we had to leave for easter dinner.
Today I remembered the starfish and gave it a closer look. I found that the bottom side of one of the legs and part body is missing. the other 4 legs seem to be working fine.
It still doesnt look good it is usually always on the move now its not. its still moveing around but not much.
I was also wondering about removing the damaged leg and how to do it.

 

[sea of cortez]

Well it turns out there was more damage than I thought.
There was 2 legs damaged the one with the most damage is gone. The Sea star also dropped the lower half of the other damaged leg, its about 1 1/2" long and its moving around on the rock.
The rest of the star and its 3 legs is also moving around the rock.
Weird???

 

[Dream2aReef]

From what I understand, as long as the parts of the star fish have some of the mouth they will continue on their way and will regrow.

 

[sea of cortez]

The leg has no part of the mouth. there was about 1/2 of leg to the body still left on the star (which I cut off it was really damaged). So Im not sure if the detached piece of leg or the even rest of the star fish will make it or not

 

[sea of cortez]

Well I found the other leg and neither one made it. Also the the star with the 3 legs is'nt looking too good.
Hows your doing newfie?