sand sifting star

[craig_will2513]

hi all.. iam not sure if this is good or bad.. iam thinking bad. i brought a sand sifting star a month back and he was missing a leg.. now iv noticed he has lost another.. why is this and is it a bad sign help please many thanks in advance

 

[craig_will2513]

anyone.. any ideas

 

[carey]

Apparently it means he is dying, I believe this was nswered by Mr. X on another thread. :-(

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Id keep an eye on him so he doesnt get under your sand and die there decomposing when he does finally die.

I had a red starfish and the exact same thing happened he lost each leg one by one. I finally removed him after he had one leg left. it was horrible. :-(

 

[craig_will2513]

oh noi.. any idea what it is thats killing him i tested my water today and its fine

 

[Kio707]

Could be starving.....

 

[craig_will2513]

starving...what do they eat

 

[Kio707]

"This voracious feeder will quickly clean your aquarium of detritus and then burrow into your substrate, starve, and eventually begin to decay."....per liveaquaria.com

 

[craig_will2513]

so what can i put in to keep him fed

 

[Kio707]

I've heard of ppl putting in meaty products in sand, but it didn't work most of the time. There are a couple of threads you can search to help you.

 

[carey]

It's a toss up whether actually injecting for for him will work or not. You could try to get some food near him, use a turkey baster and shut down your flow and see if you can get him some food.

 

[craig_will2513]

what food would you suggest. will prawns chopped very small be ok.. the ones you get from the shop

 

[carey]

I would try whatever frozen food you currently use. I was reading on starfish last night and thats what they said to try, any carnivore food might work. Just get it to one of his legs so he can find it. It was also suggested that you could put food down and move the starfish onto it. Not so sure thats a good idea but it was mentioned in the article I read

 

[mr_X]

he's done. nothing is going to save him. sorry, but those creatures are better left in the ocean. try a brittle/serpent star next time. those are hardy and can be hand fed.