Just bought a red knobby star at the LFS. It had a small white spot on it when i bought it. I thought it was nothing, but it turn out it was bit by somthing and it's flesh is now exposed on one leg at the tip. Will it's leg fall off and grow another one?? It looks like its going to fall off.....Any opinions..
Starfish Problem....
- Thread starter ZigZagZombie
- Start date
Starfish can lose a leg and regrow it with very little problems. The real issue is why is he losing it ?
How much damage is there ? Is there necrotic tissue ? The question really becomes one of infection IMO.
Adding a dose of iodine to the tank will help prevent the damaged tissue from becoming infected, if it already is infected it may call for more dramatic action.
HTH
_________________
Mercedes Benz 350
How much damage is there ? Is there necrotic tissue ? The question really becomes one of infection IMO.
Adding a dose of iodine to the tank will help prevent the damaged tissue from becoming infected, if it already is infected it may call for more dramatic action.
HTH
_________________
Mercedes Benz 350
The damage is about 1/4 of the leg, starting at the tip. There is white flesh that is exposed. It seems that it does not use that part that is damaged. Then there is a crease just above it where it looks like thats where it will break off. How much Iodine should i dose?? 70gal. tank
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by ZigZagZombie:
<strong>Does anyone have any ideas????</strong><hr></blockquote>
Are you saying the crease is not longer there and the necrotic tissue has spread ?
Here are some option in order of prefrence:
If the leg is about to fall off naturally let it and does some iodine in the tank just follow the directions on the bottle.
If you dont have iodine, use lugols solution which has high concentrations of it.
If the necrosis has spread up the leg and may spread to other parts of the star here a an option. With a new clean razor blade amputate the leg above the necrosis with one cut.
If you can move the star to a sump or refugium. This will cause a disruption in his internal hydralic system by which he moves so for a couple of days you must feed him by placing some food directly under his center. Remove the uneaten food after a while.
HTH
_________________
Honda Elite E
<strong>Does anyone have any ideas????</strong><hr></blockquote>
Are you saying the crease is not longer there and the necrotic tissue has spread ?
Here are some option in order of prefrence:
If the leg is about to fall off naturally let it and does some iodine in the tank just follow the directions on the bottle.
If you dont have iodine, use lugols solution which has high concentrations of it.
If the necrosis has spread up the leg and may spread to other parts of the star here a an option. With a new clean razor blade amputate the leg above the necrosis with one cut.
If you can move the star to a sump or refugium. This will cause a disruption in his internal hydralic system by which he moves so for a couple of days you must feed him by placing some food directly under his center. Remove the uneaten food after a while.
HTH
_________________
Honda Elite E
almost forgot stars require specific gravity of 1.025 or higher so if yours is below this raise it slowly to this level.
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chocolate chunk plant
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chocolate chunk plant
Sorry, I would say the news is quite grim. I have not heard of people saving a seastar with this sort of problem- rapid disintegration. Brittlestars have been known to survive such critical situations if only the arms are lost (and the damage does not spread to the disk). This is not a seastar that "drops" arms as a mode of reproduction, so this sort of problem is grave. Disintegration is a classic symptom of a seastar that has been improperly acclimated, or is starving. The former is the more likely problem. You can try following the advice given, but I would watch closely and remove the animal if the tissue loss spreads.
Unfortunately, the best advice if to stay away from any seastar/brittlestar with any apparent damage like this. Even if the damage is from something basic (a scrape or bite), the animal must be given very good conditions (low stress) to repair the damage. Transport stress alone will make this unlikely. The exception is in brittlestars that have lost arms....this is common during shipping and, assuming they are behaving normally, it should not be a problem to purchase them. However, if there is any indication that the disk is damaged, stay away from them.
To "dispose" of an echinoderm, remove it to a small container and slowly add fresh water until there is no sign of movement from the tube feet. Hope it doesn't come to this, but I am afraid it will.
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Brittlestars!!
http://home.att.net/~ophiuroid
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Unfortunately, the best advice if to stay away from any seastar/brittlestar with any apparent damage like this. Even if the damage is from something basic (a scrape or bite), the animal must be given very good conditions (low stress) to repair the damage. Transport stress alone will make this unlikely. The exception is in brittlestars that have lost arms....this is common during shipping and, assuming they are behaving normally, it should not be a problem to purchase them. However, if there is any indication that the disk is damaged, stay away from them.
To "dispose" of an echinoderm, remove it to a small container and slowly add fresh water until there is no sign of movement from the tube feet. Hope it doesn't come to this, but I am afraid it will.
-------------------
Brittlestars!!
http://home.att.net/~ophiuroid
-------------------
Thanks but the star did not make it. It had a tiny white spot on it when i bought it, but thought nothing of it. I did a slow drip to acclamate him. Probably didn't matter. So in your opinion what would be the best star to get, as for being hearty?? Would really like to have a starfish.
Well, kinda depends where you are going with your tank. If you are doing fish only, then any of the knobby stars (like the red african, chocolate chip, general, etc) would be fine. They are pretty tough, just look for one that looks good (and now you know the signs!). They will eat meaty stuff, so give them a good feed now and then (which means they will eat corals, etc, and are not reef safe). If you want a reef safe seastar, then you may try a Linkia sp or a Fromia sp. There are drawbacks to these, as they are quite delicate (veeeeeerrrryyyyy long acclimations). Fromia does not appear to do well long term (over 1 year). More than likely, they die of malnutrition. They are not algae eaters as many report, but more likely feed on a variety of sponges, etc. Linkia is also a hit or miss. Even if you do it right, if your LFS didn't properly acclimate, they will fall apart fast. They feed on microbial surface films, so I recommend an established tank with lots of LR.
As for brittlestars (aka serpentstars), these are good choices for a reef tank. Be aware that the most common green brittle Ophiarachna incrassata can be nasty- it can and will catch and eat small fish, shrimp and snails, and must be kept well fed to have a shot at keeping it out of trouble (spot feed shrimp, squid, etc). Other brittles, including the red serpent, are not considered to be as risky. Regardless, they all need spot feeding, and all need slow acclimations.
I would definitely stay away from sand sifter stars (unless you don't care for or don't have a DSB, as they will clean the critters out of it and then starve). I also don't think that basket stars are appropriate for tanks as they need lots of food and can get gigantic.
You may wish to do some searches, especially if you go for a Linkia or a Fromia. It is really important to know what to do with these guys before buying.
A few articles by Dr. Shimek:
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1998/april/wb/default.asp
http://www.aquarium.net/0797/0797_2.shtml
As for brittlestars (aka serpentstars), these are good choices for a reef tank. Be aware that the most common green brittle Ophiarachna incrassata can be nasty- it can and will catch and eat small fish, shrimp and snails, and must be kept well fed to have a shot at keeping it out of trouble (spot feed shrimp, squid, etc). Other brittles, including the red serpent, are not considered to be as risky. Regardless, they all need spot feeding, and all need slow acclimations.
I would definitely stay away from sand sifter stars (unless you don't care for or don't have a DSB, as they will clean the critters out of it and then starve). I also don't think that basket stars are appropriate for tanks as they need lots of food and can get gigantic.
You may wish to do some searches, especially if you go for a Linkia or a Fromia. It is really important to know what to do with these guys before buying.
A few articles by Dr. Shimek:
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1998/april/wb/default.asp
http://www.aquarium.net/0797/0797_2.shtml
As far as linka's go :
Drip acclimation.
No blue linka's as the are very fragile and do not ship well.
SP 1.025-1.026
A healthy linka should be firm to the touch and softness indicates disease.
A linka should also right it self in about 1 min when placed on its back if it is a healthy specimin.
I have had my linka's for about 2 years.
HTH
_________________
apollo mist
Drip acclimation.
No blue linka's as the are very fragile and do not ship well.
SP 1.025-1.026
A healthy linka should be firm to the touch and softness indicates disease.
A linka should also right it self in about 1 min when placed on its back if it is a healthy specimin.
I have had my linka's for about 2 years.
HTH
_________________
apollo mist
Well the star has to be reef safe. It looks like the Linkia is the way to go. Now what do you mean by very slow?? How long should it be 2 4 8 hours?? And how did you do it?? Also i noticed the links said the temp should be around 84 degrees. My tank is at 80 all the time. Would this cause a problem?? Just want to be sure this time. Don't want to see what happened to the first star again....
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