Dying Starfish

[raebling]

I was curious...we have a starfish...really unsure of what kind he is. He is blue but not like the bright blue ones I am familiar with seeing. Anyways, He is dying He is already starting to fall apart. And I am finding long white strings hanging off him and floating around in the tank. However he is still alive. He is still stuck to the side on the glass and is soft to the touch.

When should I take him out of the tank?

I read that starfish can sometimes come back. I've also read that they will contaminate the tank if they die. So I guess I just don't know when I should remove him.
Sorry very new to all of this so I'm unsure of exact terms to use

 

[TheTodd]

If it is a Blue Linckia Starfish, they are extremely difficult to keep alive. They need pristine and constant water parameters. Fluctuations in ph, salinity, almost anything can kill them. That means long drip acclimation (hopefully was done at LFS and also when you got it home) so the parameters change very slowly from the LFS water to yours. They also can never be exposed to air, so you don't pick them up out of the bag and transfer them into your tank and let them get any air. I tried one years ago in a reef tank and even doing what I thought was everything right, it lasted about a month. I'm not sure on when to give up on them though. Hopefully someone more knowledgable with stars can help with that.