Starfish Release

[chetrod]

So my neighbor's mom came down on vacation and went to the beach. They found this starfish by the shore but still in the water they thought it was dead. So when they got back she had a bunch of dead sea urchins and then realized the star was still alive. So they brought it by and I have had him in the tank for a few months now. I have noticed that the tips of its legs are starting to break. Did some research and found out they do that when they don't have no more room. Since I finally got some time off from work we will be releasing it back to the ocean. Just wanted to share this cool looking starfish with all of you before it goes back to the ocean.

 

[greenbean36191]

DON'T PUT IT BACK!

Once an animal comes in contact with animals from other parts of the world, release back into the wild is never a responsible option and is often illegal anyway- especially when the animal is unhealthy. The danger is that they could pick up parasites and microbes from the other side of the world and transmit them to where they're released.

At this point you should either euthanize the animal or let if live out the rest of its days in captivity.

 

[chetrod]

it is a local starfish caught here in our own beach

 

[greenbean36191]

Yes, but it has been in a tank with animals that are not local, all of which bring their own community of surface bacteria and microfauna which are then shared with everything else in the tank.

 

[chetrod]

ok the other fish been in the tank for four years now. I have read were lion fish were released here and now they have become a problem. But I still don't see the issue of releasing a starfish back to where it came from. I rather do that than kill it.

 

[greenbean36191]

The issue is that the LR, fish, and inverts all came from somewhere else and they bring their own assemblage of bacteria and microbes, even if they're healthy. They can be harmless to the animals that evolved with them, but animals that have never had contact with them can be harmed. The chances of it actually happening are slim, but it happens and the consequences can be major. In the 1980s a pathogen was introduced to the Caribbean and wiped out about 97% of the longspine urchin population region-wide. Since they were the species controlling algae growth on reefs in the region, reefs suffered major losses. Many reefs have shown no signs of recovery and where urchins are coming back, the recovery has just started.

The life of one animal that's already on the downslope isn't worth possibly introducing something exotic.

 

[J. Montgomery]

Greenbean is right, don't throw it back in the ocean.

Think of it like European explorers (in this case, your reef tank inhabitants) carrying around diseases with them like small pox. Most of them and their ancestors had been living with these diseases for a very long time and had developed immunity to them. When native people in the Americas (in this case, the ocean near your house) were exposed to these disease they had no immunity and the diseases wiped out huge numbers of the native populations.

Stick the starfish in a plastic bag and throw it in the freezer to kill it before it rots in your tank.

 

[chetrod]

Makes more sense now I guess I never looked at it that way I guess I will freeze it.