Starfish advice/problem?

[fezza101]

Hi all,

This is my first post on here so be gentle!!!

My 100g has been set up for a good 3 months now and is going well, everyone is happy.

Anyway, i bought a red star fish yesterday (as in photo) and i took ages aclimatizing it as i heard it was important for them. All water parameters are within limits (nitrate below 15ppm too).

My worry is, i put him in the tank yesterday and over 24 hours later he doesn't appear to have moved? Any ideas on this?

P.s. can anyone be more specific than a red star fish as that is all the LFS could tell me!

Thanks in advance,

James.

 

[fatdaddy]

It may be a fromia. I'm not sure.

For acclimation, I hear the big thing is to never expose them to air. That's one reason not to mail order them.

My starfish are in constant motion unless they are feeding on something. I noticed they also like to hide at night where they will cling to the inside of a cave. It doesn't sound good that this one isn't moving, but I can't say that it's not going well.

Do you have a guarentee from the LFS? If so, you may want to flip it over and see how it's legs are looking. If it's going to mush, that's a very bad sign and I'd take it back. Otherwise, I'd give it some time and not stress it.

 

[szwab]

looks like a Fromia Indica. (Indian Ocean) it will feed on microscopic algae and invertebrates. might be starving, not due to you but the whole shipping process from ocean to you. generally IME the trick is getting a good one it's half the battle . not sure if this on is but some are also effected by the oils that occur naturally on our hands I have always used gloves or a plastic bag when handling starfish.

 

[seapug]

Just leave it alone. As long as it isn't dissolving consider it alive and well. It'll get up and go when it's ready.

 

[MJAnderson]

You can spot feed them. I take a little piece of krill and place it under one leg. How long did you acclimate? Not sure how "ages" relates to hours. =)

 

[N8ster]

I have an orange linkia--have had it for several months now. It will sit in the same spot for a week, and then move all over the tank. Like the post above say, if it isn't dissolving, it should be fine.

 

[MSU Fan]

my star did the same thing when I put it into the tank (marble sea star). After 2 days in the same spot, I then interceded and moved the star from its spot to another and...

...the star hasn't stopped moving since! Like was said, if it isn't dissolving or anything, you can leave it be. Or just move it to another spot and see what happens - maybe it needs a jump-start!

 

[althemean]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10247395#post10247395 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by szwab
looks like a Fromia Indica. (Indian Ocean) it will feed on microscopic algae and invertebrates. might be starving, not due to you but the whole shipping process from ocean to you. generally IME the trick is getting a good one it's half the battle . not sure if this on is but some are also effected by the oils that occur naturally on our hands I have always used gloves or a plastic bag when handling starfish.

+1. I hear these are hard to keep fed in a home aquarium even though they are considered reef safe.

My understanding is that the linkia's are much hardier/easier to keep.

 

[szwab]

once in and if the tank is well established they can be kept successfully but they are tricky, so are linkias. need a good sized tank to be able to provide enough fauna for them to feed on.

 

[HBtank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10249324#post10249324 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by N8ster
I have an orange linkia--have had it for several months now. It will sit in the same spot for a week, and then move all over the tank. Like the post above say, if it isn't dissolving, it should be fine.

same as my blue

 

[nemodora]

I just got a red one too. It's been like a week now.
It only moved to another spot like once a day :-/

This is my second one. My first one started to disintegrate by third day. Then disappeared by the next few days

 

[fezza101]

Thanks for all the replies guys, they are much appreciated!

It still hasn't moved (apart from when the hermit crab 'played' with it!) but it doesn't look unhealthy. Its arms did move slightly when the hermit touched it so it must still be alive! I am assuming it will be blatantly obvious if it starts to disolve?

Thanks again guys, this site really does rule!

 

[Wett Hands]

Oh yeah...

fezza101