Small Red Starfish

[L2]

I got a little starfish today. I put him in 5 hours ago though and he hasn't moved at all.

The aquarium store I go to is really good. They are very professional and have healthy live stock. They told me not acclimate the starfish because he needed to be placed directly into the water with no exchange of air...

Is it normal for starfish to not move for a long time? I've been reading up... Do starfish only move around at night?

Is he dead or does he just need time?

A newbie to starfish!!!
Thanks!

 

[Brenden]

Not acclimating and not exposing to air is two different things. You should drip acclimate starfish for around 3 hours. More depending on parameter differences. Then place the bag in the water and remove the starfish without exposing it to the air. The starfish is probably not going to make it. Just watch it for a while

 

[reefrunner69]

Or did the guys at the store screw me over?

Maybe not intentionally, but yeah. Starfish are VERY sensitive to changes in salinity and temperature, so unless your temp and salinity matched the stores....exactly, there is a better than average chance your starfish is a goner.

 

[L2]

They were so specifc though. I was like are you guys sure? I acclimate everything and they said no need. So long as your SG is 1.025 and pH is at 8.3 then your fine.

So do starfish move around during the day? Or are they night time movers? I guess I'll find out in the morning.

I don't want my starfish to die!!!!! How will I know if he's really dead?

 

[ColdFish]

Starfish are fairly active. If he's still in the same spot in the morning you can try flipping him over on his back. A healthy star will usually turn back over right away. Sorry you got some bad advice

 

[tecwzrd]

I acclimate everything and they said no need. So long as your SG is 1.025 and pH is at 8.3 then your fine.(

Even if the lfs keeps their ph at 8.3 and sg at 1.025 (which most do not) not drip acclimating inverts like your Red starfish to match your tanks sg/ph for 2+ hours usually proves fatal due to osmotic shock. I always ask for an extra bag of water from my lfs from the same tank as the stock so I have enough to properly cover them when doing the acclimation. It’s much easier that way to first add the extra bag of water and then place the bag containing the inverts into the water and remove so they are not exposed to air.

Every half hour I remove a little of the water so more and more of my tank water is in place and less of the lfs. Once acclimation is complete I transfer the starfish to a small bowl (still in the water) and then quickly move to the qt. (or main if you do not have a qt tank)

 

[steve-s]

Also be aware that these types of stars do not belong is small tanks. There is no way you can target feed them no matter what anyone suggest otherwise. They feed off of bacteria and algae slime, sometimes sponges. A small nano will not come close to being able to provide it's nutritional needs. 100+ gal minimum, well matured and few if any competeing species of grazers.

Cheers
Steve