Another starfish question

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stusclan

Aquarium Advice Activist
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Nov 14, 2004
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phoenix arizona
My brittle star is now down to 1 ray. My peppermint shrimp are picking at her and broken into her central disc. I have isolated her in a plastic tank that I have left in the main tank. Is there any chance that her central disc will heal, or is she a lost cause? I don't have my qt set up yet, and I figured leaving her in the main tank, just isolated would cause less stress. Any thoughts?
 
Unfortunately once a star begins to degrade or necros it rarely recovers. Losing arms is typically a sign of something amiss with water quality or the acclimation process was done too quickly. Brittle stars are much hardier than most species so as long as the mouth is intact and the star can be fed, I would give it all the chances you can before giving up.

Isolating the star is a good step but be absolutely sure it is getting good water flow in plastic tank or it will just speed up the degradation. Any detritus accumulation will increase the bacteria and further the necrosis. Feed the star very small meaty foods soaked in Selcon or the like every second day and be sure the area is cleaned twice daily. FWIW, moving it to a QT wouldn't have helped so don't stress about that.

Cheers
Steve
 
Thanks Steve, I know that it wasn't acclimated properly. My 16 year old daughter bought it from *gasp* Petco. she thought that she would acclimate it the way she acclimates things in my fw tank. The poor little star was already missing rays when it went into the tank. It wasn't seen for about 3 weeks, when it reappeared it was in really sad shape.

How do I go about cleaning the little tank - I'm worried about stressing it anymore than it already is?

Thanks for the help.
 
stusclan said:
How do I go about cleaning the little tank - I'm worried about stressing it anymore than it already is?
You could place a small PVC pipe or the like for it to hide, they hate being in the open. That will reduce some stress. As for the little tank, be sure it has plenty of slits/holes for water movement and if possible aim a powerhead in it's direction so you are sure water is being forced through it. When cleaning just pop the lid (if there is one?) and use a small rigid air tube attached to a normal air tube and syphon out any detritus. It will allow you to remove any gunk with minimal stress to the star and you can control the flow with the other hand. This should be done a few hours after feeding or when you notice free floating debris. Their waste is fairly "fluid" so with good water flow through the container, you shouldn't need to do this too often and do not overfeed.

Cheers
Steve
 
:( I just got home from the grocery store - unfortunately the little starfish did not survive. She was in pieces in her little container. This is my first loss, I'm very sad. Hopefully my 16 year old daughter has learned her lesson. No more animals from Petco, ask before buying, and acclimate properly.

Poor little starfish. :cry:
 
Sorry for your loss. :( As Steve already told you they can be quite hearty if acclimated properly.
Don't be afraid to try again, just with a very slow acclimation.
 
With my star I just put it right in and it did fine it was a "Chcolate Chip" star however. Maybe one spieces is hardier than there oter?
 
Definately some stars are more tolerant of varying conditions but it's pretty safe to say no star will typically do well without proper acclimation. No offense but you got lucky :wink:

<<Drip acclimation>> is still the best route when dealing with sensitive inverts.

Cheers
Steve
 
None taken my first bit of life in the tank and I was impatient but yet now I do aclamate all my new fish including my new tomato clown $10 for such a beutiful fish well worth it!
 
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