starfish help

[fishguy007]

I just purchased a red linkia star or fromia. the store was not sure waht it was.

it was good for two days. today, it has been on the bottom of the tank and the tips appear to be rotting. there is white on the tips and it appears to be rotting.

what is this and what can i do to save the star fish.

it is still alive as it is moving.

 

[LauraCline]

If it is kind of short/fat it is a fromia, if more elongated it is a linkia. They are both pretty sensitive, supposedly fromias are a little easier to keep. Unfortunately if it has already started to "melt" away there isn't much you can do except maintain excellent water quality. Even with that it is probably a goner. This is pretty common and I've heard different opinions on why it happens such as poor acclimation, bacterial infection, shipping stress, starvation, etc.