red sea starfish

[edress714]

What is this? Did another fish attack it?

[YHSublime]

It wasn't just attacked, it vanished into thin air!

[edress714]

file was too big. had to make it smaller. its still alive cuz its holding onto the rock. should I just remove it and let it rest in peace? :(

[YHSublime]

Doesn't look good, I would keep an eye on it but let it be.

[edress714]

So I come home and it's worse. Still holding on to the rock. Hole is straight through the body now and one leg is almost off. Going to rest him in peace tomorrow :( water markers all fine. What could have caused this?

[gmerek2]

My guess would be that Inverts(especially starfish) are super sensitive to pH, alkalinity and salinity swings. Did you start dosing or do a large water change? Is he new from fish store? Acclimation is sometimes even impossible depending on fish store salinity difference etc.

[howaboutme]

This event is not uncommon. It looks like a fromia and this happened to mine maybe a couple of months after purchase. I don't believe there is anything you can do other than good water quality and prevent the swings that gmerek is talking about. Sea stars are one of the hardest to keep. Just let it be and hope it will recover. Mine recovered but then declined, eventually losing a few legs and is now on a slow process of desintegration. I've had it for about 10 months, probably considered a long time compared to a lot of other hobbyists. Cool creatures though.