Starfish issue

[epleeds]

I recently put a marbled starfish into my tank and it looks like its spitting out its guts. Is this normal?

 

[YHSublime]

Quick search, looks like shock from a swing in parameters, or improper acclimation, could be completely wrong, I read it on the internet.

Edited October 17, 2013 by YHSublime

[sachabballi reef]

gawd that looks awful eric!

[OldReefer]

They are freakishly sensitive to salinity swings. It often takes a couple of tries even for the best aquarist. Doesn't look good right now.

[epleeds]

Yea. He still is moving. I acclimated him for over an hour. So, should I pull him and let him go or see if he can pull it through.

[SpideyFish]

A 2-3 hour drip works best.  Not sure if pulling it now will just add to it's stress, Starfish are super sensitive to change in water parameters.

[gmerek2]

they say starfish have amazing rejuvination powers like if you cut it in half etc. Maybe it can pull though.

[sachabballi reef]

no let him see if he can pull through...

[sachabballi reef]

BTW I always thought you needed to do like a 2-3 hour acclimation on these guys...like a total slow drip...

[zygote2k]

you can bring it over here and ask the mantis shrimp what he thinks. he has better eyes than any other animal on the planet...

[zygote2k]

Seriously though, we got 3 of them a month ago and they managed to go through QT just fine and even into client tanks with nary an issue. Maybe just lucky. 

One of them is very sluggish and the arms always look limp, but when touched, they are just really stiff.

[davelin315]

Starfish are very sensitive and in reality you should be doing a 6 hour acclimation on the more difficult species (read as almost all). Swings in pH, temp, salinity, water quality, etc can lead to issues that are seen immediately and also months down the line. A starfish that looks good for a couple of months and then suddenly crashes could have succumbed to shipping stress that you never knew about or a shock during acclimation.

[epleeds]

Thanks for the info. 6 hours is a long time. Hopefully this guy pulls through. If not, I now know in the future if I try this again.

[kjamaya]

I too have a starfish that is falling apart. He's on the glass grazing and moving around but he always has an arm that is broken off..... At first I thought something was trying to eat him but after doing some research I've read that if there arms start falling off or if they start spewing guts to take them out as they can be toxic to the tank and have been known to cause crashes......

Good luck and I hope he makes it!

[Fireman12s]

I too have a starfish that is falling apart. He's on the glass grazing and moving around but he always has an arm that is broken off..... At first I thought something was trying to eat him but after doing some research I've read that if there arms start falling off or if they start spewing guts to take them out as they can be toxic to the tank and have been known to cause crashes......

Good luck and I hope he makes it!

 if they start spewing guts to take them out as they can be toxic to the tank and have been known to cause crashes......  Just had 2 and an Urchin deteriorate, all in about 24 hours... Ammonia went up to 0.25 PPM... Nitrites 0.25 PPM and Nitrates 20-25 PPM      Fortunately I haven't any corals... and I happened to have my 10 Gal Quarantine Tank sitting next to the main tank... sooooo Took the fish out of Quarantine (I hope it is not sick..) acclimated the fish.  Put it in Main tank and then emptied 10 Gal out of Main tank, and replaced with Quarantine water!  Tomorrow it is back to the LFS for 20 Gal of Salty goodness for the fishes... and maybe more for the following days..  Now all I need is a RDO, and a box of instant ocean in case I continue to do this...   Needless to day.. it was a bad day in the tank... and hopefully things will live for the next 12-15 hours... so far everyone looks ok, except the Coral Beauty Angel, which my Fire Angel seems to like to chase about the tank and nip at..