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Help... Star(fish) Trekkin' Across the Universe...its Worse Than That He's Dead Jim 7/29/07 <Hi Joe, Mich here.> My red starfish I got yesterday hasn't moved <Mmm, not good.> so I put a bag on my hand and lifted him up in the water never taking him out. <Good.> He is still bright red but has a brown substance coming from his mouth. <Mmm, not good.> I put him on his back and nothing I think he's dead <Me too.> but don't want to take him out and flush if he isn't <No, that wouldn't be good either.> any help would be great thanks. <Seastars will usually upright themselves relatively quickly when placed on their back, if there is no movement he is likely dead I'm afraid.> PS I acclimated him for 2 hours by adding a cup of my water to the stores water every 5 to 10 min. Also let him just sit in bag for 20 to let the water temp be the same. <Generally the slower the acclimation period the better... drip acclimation is more gradual.> Thanks as always JOE <Welcome as always, Mich> Sand-sifting Starfish...
dying 5/12/07 Hey <Hello! Mich here.>
Have a problem... <OK.> Got a sand sifting star fish from the LFS
about two weeks ago. <Mmm, these typically don't do
well in captivity, often dying from starvation.> He has a hole in
his back now!? <Uh-oh, not good!> Whitish greenish
stuff is coming out of it! <Yikes!> He has been
acting normal until this morning, still alive but not very
active. What is wrong with him? <Sounds like he's
dying.> Is there anything I can do? <It is likely too
late. I'm sorry. Mich>
Red Fromia star has hole in its
head! Help! 4/1/07 Hello all, <Hi Luis, Mich
here.> Thanks for all the incredible info on your website. I just
bought a red Fromia star about 4 days ago. Everything seemed to be
fine, but this morning it's there is a hole right in the middle of
the starfish, opposite of where it's mouth would be. It looks like
something attacked it overnight. <Possibly, but often these stars
just don't acclimate well and promptly begin to disintegrate.> I
have a skunk cleaner shrimp, a fire shrimp, six Mexican hermit crabs, a
wrasse, an ocellaris clown, a psychedelic mandarin, a purple Firefish
and a teddy bear crab. When I added the starfish to the tank I also
added 2 different sponges to the tank (the teddy bear crab hitch hiked
in on one of them). <Oh! Do watch these sponges, if they
decide to die they can take out your whole tank.> Do you think that
one of these could have attacked it? <Teddy bear crabs are not reef
safe.> The starfish has been hanging out on the glass on the top of
the tank, so I don't think it could have been one of the crabs.
<May not have been.> Could one of the shrimp have done this?
<Also a possibility, but I think is more likely a
transport/acclimation issue.> Also, do you think the starfish can
live through this? The hole is not pretty, it looks like its tentacles
are coming out of the top if it's "head". <Not likely,
but is possible.> It is still alive right now, but don't know if
I should just take it out of the tank so that it doesn't end up
fouling my water. <I would give it a chance but keep a close eye on
it. If it stops moving remove it.> Any insight would be
appreciated. <Hope this helps.> Thank you!
<Welcome! -Mich> Luis Sea Star Fromia disintegrating 3/23/07 Hi, <Hello> I, like many of your readers, have had a Fromia Sea Star for about 1 week and one of his arms is disintegrating starting at the tip. I feel that it is an acclimating issue. <Mmmm, not likely. Perhaps collateral damage (collection, handling, shipping) and maybe unsuitable environment> I need some guidance regarding a couple of treatment plans I've read on your website. First of all, I do not have a QT. One suggestion that I read was to "swab a reef strength dose (of iodine) directly onto the affected portion with the intent to stain it. Questions: 1) What is a reef strength dose of iodine? <As in "straight out of the bottle"... product/s made for supplementation> 2) How do you swab on the medicine without exposing the starfish to air? <Can't as far as I'm aware> Second suggestion: On your site I read that to save such a starfish, consider dipping it in a dilute antibiotic bath. Questions: 1) What antibiotic, 2) How long to dip, 3) Where to dip the animal <Usually Furan Compound/s... e.g. Nitrofuranace... folks use a bit of the system water, dissolve the contents (usually) of a 250 mg. capsule...> Thank you in advance for your help. You have a great website. <I wish I could be more positive here... This genus does better than most all others, in captive settings... but does require matching, stable, high quality water ("reef") conditions... Plenty of established live rock... Almost all, once they show such deterioration, perish soon thereafter. Bob Fenner>
Damaged Red Fromia Hi Bob! <Q> Disappointed to report that a red Fromia introduced to 40 gal tank approx 4 weeks ago isn't doing so well. Before buying specimen I did all the right things (selected a health specimen, observed for about 2 weeks, closely examined underside of sea star, etc.). Used drip acclimation procedure... <Good> Fromia appeared to be doing very well (moving around tank, seemed to be eating). <Hard to tell with this group and most all other invertebrates... re damage before receiving, internal complaints... the time frame for these is quite delayed...> Last Thursday morning (about 2 days after 10% water change) I noticed that the star appeared to be distressed. It had moved to the top of the tank and "bending" 2 of its legs back so that they were almost parallel with the water surface. <"Trying to get out"> At that point I did 2 things'¦ checked WWM and called LFS. WWM indicated this was most likely a stress response; LFS said this was 'normal' behaviour (sea star filter feeding by dangling its legs). <?... No... Please... have you ever seen such a thing? In the wild, in captivity? This is not a filter feeding species> Not being clear on what was happening I decided to wait it out. The next morning the specimen was in BAD shape. One leg was extremely damaged. Almost looked like the 'skin' covering the leg had separated from inner tissues. (basically the damaged leg had split in 2 -- orange outer skin sheath and inner white body tissue). <Decomposing... I do hope you removed the specimen> Weird thing, damage was completely restricted to that one leg. The damaged leg has since completely dissolved into a small nub. (I noticed coral beauty angle picking at dead tissue). <Not atypical behavior> I assumed this problem was caused by a reaction to the water change but now I'm not so sure. <New water needs to be carefully matched... slowly added... done not too in/frequently...> I find it strange that only one leg was affected. Throughout this ordeal the sea star has maintained its colour and has begun to move around the tank the last few days. I considered moving specimen into a hospital tank but given what it has already gone through I wasn't sure if this was prudent. I honestly didn't think the sea star would make it this long. <Me either> I'm frustrated by the fact that I was aware, prior to performing water change, that Fromia are sensitive to WQ changes. I tried to match pH, temp and sal (in particular) to tank water. <Good> Is the damage to my specimen consistent with WQ 'shock' or could this have been caused by something else. <Either> I'm fairly certain I've got a mystery crab living in my LR. The previous owners of the tank had observed a nocturnal crab. When I purchased the tank and LR, I noticed the body of a crab in a little pocket in the LR. At the time I assumed that this was the nocturnal crab and that it was dead, Since then, I've been through a couple of molts with my cleaner shrimp and now realize how lifelike their molt can look. I also noticed a couple of crab molt fragments in the tank that weren't there a few days ago. The pieces appear to be white with orange dots. The complete carapace I observed after purchasing the tank was about 2 --3 cm in diameter'¦. Could this be attacking my sea star? <Yes, could> Any thoughts on what this crab might be (based on my crappy description'¦). <A Decapod...> What are the chances that my star will be ok? <Not too good> Thanks a lot! q <Welcome. Bob Fenner> Sand sifting sea star Hi. Just want to say your site is the Best!! I read your FAQ as a favorite pastime of mine. Wish I had found it before I purchased some of my equipment, though. Guess that's why we always upgrade, huh? Okay, now to work. I have a 92 gallon saltwater aquarium, Filstar Xp3 canister filter, protein skimmer, power sweep power head, 2 large bubble wands, 400 watt heater, 30 lbs. Tonga deep water live rock, 3 inch sand bed..1-2mm grain size, Coralife 192 watt light fixture, with 10000K and Actinic bulbs. Water parameters are excellent.. Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrates are all 0. Salinity is 1.023, pH. is 8.2. I have 2 True Percula Clowns, 1 yellowtail Damsel, 1 Bicolor Pseudochromis, 1 Regal Tang, 1 Yellow Hawaiian Tang, 25 Cerith snails, 30 small hermit crabs, 2 Scarlet Skunk Cleaner shrimp, and 2 sand sifting sea stars, which are about 3-4 inches in diameter. About a month ago, I added the stars to sift the sand, and now after reading your site, I have probably made a mistake. They have acted fine until yesterday, one of them came to the top of the sand, and has yet to bury himself. He is staying pretty well in the same 5 inch area, and assuming some weird "hunching" position. I have tried placing food under him, worrying he is starving to death, and he moves away from the food (very slowly), but not far. Just 1 or 2 inches. What is wrong with him? <Maybe parasitized, damaged in shipping, collecting... One thing though, I would slowly raise your spg to 1.025 for most of your invertebrates here, and endeavor to keep it there... using pre-mixed, matched water> He looks very healthy, but isn't moving from this one spot, and hasn't went underground for 1-2 days now. The other star is still active, coming up every hour or so to find a new spot to clean. I may have made a mistake getting these guys, but I do like them, and I sure don't want them to die. Please help me. Thanks so much, in advance. I have attached a picture of the "hunching" position for you. Christy <Bob Fenner> Starfish Disintegration (4/29/05) Hi I recently bought a Fromia indica and had to transfer it from my tank to another tank. It now has a cut in its leg with bits coming out of it. <Bad news for .> Would it be advisable to cut this leg off and allow a new one to grow or not? Regards, Kim <Interesting question for sure Kim. Do you have a hospital tank you could put it in. Did you acclimate the star to the water of the tank you transferred it to over a period of a few hours? Is there anything in the new tank that might have inflicted this wound and thus poses an ongoing threat? Starfish do have remarkable restorative powers. The big risk with any open wound is bacterial infection. This is why a hospital tank with antibiotics and pristine water conditions is a consideration for treatment. I would expect that a more ragged wound is more likely to get infected than a clean cut. Therefore, I'd say that if the wound appears to be getting any worse, it might work as a last-ditch treatment to cut that leg off a bit in toward the center from the wound with a very sharp knife. If you do this, be sure to cut only the leg and do it without exposing the starfish to air. And don't accidentally cut yourself. Good luck, Steve Allen.> Starfish is sick Hi Bob, <Carmine> I don't know if you can answer this question, but I have two tanks set up and last week I bough a small red starfish for each one from an online website. Checked the FAQ but no luck, maybe you can help. <Will try> Starfish seemed to be fine, moving around, finding their spots, etc. Then went out of town for two day and when I came back, they both look sick but not like described by other posters. Their legs look fine but they both look thin or deflated, are they starving to death? <Maybe... perhaps internal bacterial, and/or parasitic involvement...> Water test seem ok except in one tank had slightly higher nitrates but other tank 0. Left small piece of seaweed in tank for other tank mates, lights off for 2 days, any of this be a problem? <No> Did 20% water change at 2am as soon as I checked tank, please help. Thanks, CS <What species of Star is this? How large are their tanks? How long set-up? Do you have knowledge of their nutrition? You may have read the Seastar FAQs, but you didn't understand what you read. Bob Fenner> Sand Sifting Star,
Archaster typicus fell apart! Howdy guys! <howdy> Once again,
thanks for the awesome site Bob and Crew! Hours and hours and hours of
excellent reading! Always an education. :-) <for us as well> I
have a 70g new-ish reef (<1yr), 90lbs of excellent live rock, 60lbs
live Carib Sea Sand, Pro Clear 150g wet/dry sump w/ skimmer, Eheim pump
(700gal/hr), Current USA Orbit Quad Dual (10000K White / 6700K, Dual
Actinic - 7100K Blue / Actinic 03) power compacts, Ebo Jager 250w
heater. I add ESV B-Ionic 2-part Alk/Calc buffer system and Magnesium
daily. Water: Ammonia/Nitrate/Nitrite - 0, SG: 1.0245, Calc: 460, dKH:
11, Alk: 3.1, <easy on the calcium my friend... 460 is too high and
the very reason why your ALK is low/flat. Aim for more even keeled
ranges. 350-425ppm Ca and 8-12 dKH ALK... but neither high at the same
time> PH: 8.3, Phos: <0.1, Temp: daily low/high: 79.4-80.2. I do
about a 20% water change monthly currently, but have thought about
doing 10% twice a month instead. <much better... or more>
Livestock: 2 False Clowns (Amphiprion ocellaris), 1 Scooter Blenny
(Synchiropus ocellatus), 1 Rainford Goby (Amblygobius rainfordi).
That's it fish-wise. Inverts and other stuff: 3 Emerald Crabs (1
BIG one; ~2.5-3" across including legs), 1 Sally Lightfoot Crab, 3
Hermit Crabs (1 red-legged), 2 Fire Shrimp, 10 various snails, 1
Abalone, 2 Sand Sifting Stars (Archaster typicus). <yikes... your
tank and sand bed (depth) is not large enough to sustain even one
Archaster sand star for even six months. They will starve to death...
needing DSBs of 4-6" and tanks over 100 galls minimum (over 8 sq.
ft of open sand min.) to have a prayer of surviving> I had 3 Stars,
hence this email. About 3 or 4 days ago, one started visibly
"falling apart". A chunk of a leg, then the whole leg. Today
it started coming apart from the center and would not turn over when
flipped on it's back, though it's "feet" were still
barely moving; I thought a sure sign it was dying so I removed it
immediately and put it in my QT tank. It died (at least I think it did)
shortly there after; went rigid and non-responsive. I, of course being
as paranoid as I am, panicked and checked all of the water, filtration,
my fish, the other stars and all the livestock I could see (the crabs
like to hide during the day). As far as I can tell, everything is
hunky-dory except for that Star. I hadn't had it for long, a few
months tops, but it seemed fine up until a few days ago. <they are
poor shippers... it could be that simple> There was no necrotic or
dead/hanging tissue, so I was really puzzled. Immediately I blamed
"Hulk" (the big Emerald crab) as it seemed like the only
critter capable of doing it. <this is true/possible> Just
wondering if you guys could lend any insight here. Thanks! :-) ~Jeff
<many possible reasons... without knowing how long you've had
any of the three stars, I cannot say if it was attrition or not. I can
say that you need not buy any more. Arriving healthy, they WILL starve
to death in a short while. Most Asteroid species need 100-200 gall
tanks min. Without them you get stories like this one or hear the blue
Linckia stars are "hard to keep". Ahh... not so. Just not
adaptable to small/home sized aquaria. Best regards,
Anthony> Sea Star Query I have had my Pentaceraster cumingi starfish for about 4 months and he has been doing fine. However for the last few days he has been at the bottom of the tank moving around very little and his arms do not seem ridged anymore. I have tested the water and everything has tested in normal parameters and there have been no drastic change in the water. I have a chocolate chip starfish and a brittle starfish and they have been doing fine. If you can help me at all I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you, Mike >>>Mike, Echinoderms are EXTREMELY sensitive animals. Also, the diets of many of them are either not fully understood, or difficult to replicate in an aquarium setting. They are also very susceptible to acclimation stress, and often take weeks to die. Any number of things could have killed/be killing your animal. Once they reach the point where you can SEE obvious signs of trouble, they are impossible to save. Chocolate chip stars are very hardy, as are brittle stars. Most other species, much less so. Cheers Jim<<< Starfish ID and health 10/14/04 Hello Crew I am an avid reader of your site and have benefited greatly from your advice. Honestly, everything just sort of came together and started working for me when I read and followed the suggestions on your site for frequent small water changes. It is truly nice to have someone to turn to for help who is not taking your money. For some reason, an open cash register seems to magically change a tanks stocking limits and fish temperament /compatibility. Thank you. <Basic care and a little research prevent and solve a lot of problems! Glad you have benefited from what is here.> On to my question... I am trying to get a positive ID of a starfish that I have had for over a year. I was told by the LFS that it was a common red star. But mine doesn't seem to match pics that I have seen on the web. Hopefully you can help. Here's a couple of pics. <Looks like Fromia sp.> Also what information do you have about the life expectancy of this animal? <Should be many years, but it is impossible to know how old the animal was when captured.> He has started acting "weird" and I am wondering if he may be nearing his golden days. His appearance has not changed but I noticed him lying on the sand with all of his legs pointing up several times lately...something he has not done in the past. Also, he was hanging by only one arm from the glass at the top of the tank and just sort of let go and fell to the bottom. I have seen this before but this time he just laid there all crumpled up for a long time before ~slowly~ righting himself. <Could be age, but it really sounds like a water quality issue.> All water parameters are in spec and I have not deviated from any of my normal maintenance routines. <Always list the results of your testing. Trace ammonia, and pH or salinity slightly out of range (especially if sudden) can be very harmful to delicate echinoderms. Salinity in particular should always be near NSW values (1.024-1.026)> I am sure he is not being picked at. <With that big mean harlequin tusk, I wouldn't be so sure!> Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again. Kirk <Hope this helps! Please do reply with water quality tests and the brand of salt that you use, and perhaps we can get to the bottom of this. Best Regards. AdamC.> Melting Star (8/31/04) Hi crew, <Hello! Steve Allen today.> I have a sand sifting star in my QT, that's losing an arm per day (it's down to 2 now). It's still alive (I turn it over, and it turns itself back). Oddly enough, another sand sifter I have in the same tank is perfectly fine (I also have a maroon clown in there too). I do 20% water changes from the main tank every other day, water quality is fine (all zeros nitrate/nitrite/ammonia, ph 8.2, 1.024 specific gravity). My questions are: what's causing this, will it affect the other star, and will it effect the clown, and, frankly, should I just remove the affected star? <Hard to be certain, but it is often a bacterial infection or "rot" that is seldom reversible.> Also, I'm running a UV sterilizer in the QT (which I only use for the QT when I'm quarantining, otherwise it's off, so bulb life hopefully shouldn't be an issue), and the affected star in question had a white bead embedded in its center disc (best way I can describe it) ever since I bought it. <Uncertain what this could be.> Not sure if that information will help, but figured I'd add it anyway :) Thanks in advance, Rob <Well, most of these problems remain a mystery. Whatever it is, the UV isn't helping. I'm impressed that your water quality remains high. (Of course, there may be other toxins in there.) Stars do need very stable water conditions, especially pH and SG. Personally, I'd remove the star. At this point, there is little hope of it recovering, and its ongoing disintegration is a constant threat to water quality.> Sea star contagion? 5/24/04 My name is Bridget Hiller and I work in a facility that has just opened a brand new touch tank. Unfortunately, 3 weeks after the opening, our Common Sea Stars have started to perish. They (sea stars) have started out with canker sore like spots on their aboral side, then it seems as if they eviscerated (like a sea cucumber would) from the areas that were infected. I do have another sea star right now that is starting out the same way. I have separated it to "hospitalize" it but, I can't seem to find out what is going on. I am wondering if this in individualistic to each sea star or is it endemic to our tank? <hmmm... perhaps neither. As a commercial/scientific facility, you surely have quarantined all new arrivals for a standard/minimum 4 weeks before adding them to the display. If so, the chance of such a virulent and indiscriminate pathogen lurking in the display are unlikely. Predation is much more likely. A parasite on Echinoderms or simply a macro-organism (snail or crab) are strong candidates> There are horseshoe, spider, hermit crabs as well as sea urchins and whelks in the tank and I would not want anything to happen to them if it is not an individualistic matter. <the whelks and hermit crabs in particular cannot be excluded as predators. If the stars removed to QT heal promptly, and were clean in initial QT, it sounds like a predator to me. Peep them at night if possible> Please, if you have any information or re-direct me to a place that would, I would be quite appreciative. Thank you for your time and help. <best regards, Anthony> Upside Down Starfish (4/12/04) I have had my Red African Starfish <Protoreastor linckii> for approximately 4 years now and just recently noticed that it has been spending a lot of time upside down. <Strange> While upside down, his tentacles <tube feet> are moving (searching for food maybe?). <More like trying to find something to grab on to and move around. These tube feet are the star's means of locomotion.> I have put his food in and sat him atop it, only to find him upside down a few minutes later. He does eat the food, but goes back to the upside down position -- and stays there. <This is highly unnatural behavior for a star. An upside-down starfish should right itself very quickly as this position makes them highly vulnerable and they should avidly seek to right themselves.> I have 1 blue line puffer, 4 blue damsels, and copepods, as well as live rock and green algae. The water has tested fine, salinity is 21, <Stars prefer higher (1.024 range)> temp is 78. I turned him over tonight to find that he is losing one of his points. Is this normal? <No. In fact, any break in the skin can serve as an entry portal for an eventually lethal bacterial infection. It probably got rubbed off on the substrate or bitten-off by the puffer.> Will the points regenerate? <Not likely> Thx! Angi <Well, this is a strange behavior problem indeed. I can't think of a good explanation. Perhaps it is old or ill. Perhaps the puffer is knocking it over. When you have time to observe, right it and watch for a good long while. You may want to set up a quarantine tank using water from your system an place the star there for observation. --Steve Allen> Falling Star? Hello gang, <Scott F. your man tonight!> Our sand sifting star lost the tip of one of its legs. He is healthy and happy. I have not taken the tip of the leg out of the tank yet. I was wondering will that little bit of leg regenerate into another star or is he not the species that does that? <Well, most starfishes display remarkable regenerative processes, and with steady, high water quality and careful observation, the animal should be okay...If it really starts to decline, you will want to remove the animal to a separate aquarium for more intensive observation and possible treatment with antibiotics to avoid infection as a result of the damage. Also, re-check all water conditions in your tank to make sure that environment did not play a factor in this problem, or think about the animal's companions in the tank...could any of them have harassed the animal to the point where it suffered this damage?> I know he will regenerate his leg if we take good care of him. Thanks Very Much. David and Christy Evans <I'll bet that it will, too! Good luck! Regards, Scott F.> David W. Evans Purple starfish splitting up Hey Bob, we've appreciated your help in the past, and normally wouldn't bother you except we have a purple starfish 6" in dia. or so. that is splitting in many pieces, which remain stuck and still moving a little on the side glass of our tank. Is this an asexual repro. process, or is the thing dying? So far our chem. tests don't show any evidence. Thanks, Mark & Shelly <<Might be both... This is probably a Linckia (laevigata most likely)... Do keep your eye on the "bits left behind" and the parent animal... and remove it/them if there is no sign of life, obvious decomposition going on...Bob Fenner>> Fromia Star Could you please help me with the following I have a red star fish, Fromia indica I acclimatized the star for about 1hr slowly adding a bit of water at a time (for salinity and temp) For 2 days the star hardly did moved. On the 3rd day in the tank it was moving around a bit. On the 4th day I notices a type of lesion with stuff (pink fine tubes and brown matter) coming out of one of its legs (its still moving a lot). On the 5th day it has lost a leg (from where the lesion occurred) and it has a new deep lesion across the center of its body (its still moving a lot) Could you please comment. I have had my 300ltr tank up and running for almost 2 months now. I skimmer running consistently, 15WUV, large trickle filter (bio ball) + Over-under filter with a lot of super-ex (porous tubes) and some coral. I only have a cleaner wrasse and 2 common clowns (ocellaris), a boxer shrimp and a cleaner shrimp, 1 purple anemone (magnifica) and a green stripped anemone, mushroom coral (in the tank for almost 2 months) Everything else is happy and looks healthy, Andrew <Sounds like a very nice system... and I really like this species of Star... The one you got likely "had problems"... an injury, perhaps an infection... that progressed while in your care... Because the matter is evidenced at its center, I would just wait and hope for the best at this point... even if there is a "Star" parasite or infectious agent... it will unlikely effect your other animals. Bob Fenner, who says don't give up on Fromia because of this one bad specimen.> Cob webs on burgundy sea star This sea star is from Indo-pacific it seemed to be doing fine in my dealers tank. <are we talking about a couple of weeks or a couple of days. Many sea stars do not succumb to shipping duress for a couple of weeks (ammonium poisoning, low pH, low oxygen, etc)> After acclimating it seemed to just lay there. I moved it a couple of times to see if it was even alive. I read that you could turn a star fish over and if it righted it's self it was thought to be healthy. I tried this on the fifth day and it did right it's self within 2 minutes. <a good sign> I have a few questions: #1 it forms some web looking stuff around it what is it and is this a sign of sickness? <"sloughing": a sign of significant stress/duress. Not good but not necessarily death throes either> I have had it for a week now it is quite active when I first turn on the lights but with in two hours it is at the very top of the tank with two of it's legs hanging at the top of the water. I understand that they have been thought to be feeding on detritus floating in the water could this be what's going on.? <possibly... indeed acclimatization is slow for many sea stars to aquaria. Most tanks are too small... don't have enough live rock/algae/bacterial slime...too low dissolved oxygen, etc> Do burgundy sea stars generally hang on the glass with two arms loose? <nope> Also he had two arms that were gone when I purchased him. I looked at it closely and both areas had already began regenerating new arms that are about 1/2 in. in length but much smaller. <that's fine> These two arms look great as far as I can tell . Is there anything I should be doing for it? the Salinity is 1.023-1.024,amonia 0 ppm., nitrites 0 ppm, nitrates 15 ppm., pH is 8.3 temp ranges from 75-78 depending on the lights. <all sounds good except the temperature swings (more dangerous for Ich on fishes). Get a second or better heater and heat the tank to a more stable temp (that higher 78f if necessary will be fine)> My tank is 15 months old, I have a Prizm skimmer, <this skimmer draws a lot of heat on message boards and from us here for not producing daily skimmate. If yours does not yield dark skimmate daily and you are not doing good weekly water changes to compensate then you DO have high dissolved organics which ultimately will be problematic on many fronts> pump with bio bag and a Power head for extra circulation. 20 gal. w/purple fire fish, two blue streak damsels, small yellow tang , juvenile dragon wrasse,2 flower anemones, anemone crab, a strawberry crab, which I can not find anything out about, <a lovely and uncommon omnivore, I believe> 1 blue leg crab, a Mexican turbo snail, and 1 Astrea. I some time think the star fish is doing great moves from the front glass all the way to the rear glass within 5 min. then it will stay in that position for hours is this normal? <ahh... no. Not after a couple of weeks of captivity. Are you target feeding this animal should be fed at least several times weekly if not once daily. Else your animal is sluggish in part from lack of feeding starvation. Offer meaty and green foods. Place near arms (not under) and let the animal crawl toward the food. If not... it is in dire straits (the condition...not the band).> Thank you for your time and effort, Paula <my great pleasure. Anthony Calfo WWM> End of the line for Chippy? Bob & Crew: We have a Choc Chip Star for about 4 months now - we've recently had to move him to a hospital tank. It was suggested that he be removed by our LFS because we were treating (lower salinity, up temp) for ick. They said he wouldn't like the change in salinity. <I agree> He been in the hospital tank for about 2 weeks now - yesterday morning - I noticed that the little tips of him were odd looking, almost white. This morning - I see that it almost looks like he is deteriorating. I fear it may be because of a deteriorating water quality in the hospital tank. Is it too late to save him? <It sounds like he has already begun to turn into mush. Yes, too late then.> Will a major water change in there do any good? <It cannot hurt.> thanks! ~Bill <You are welcome. -Steven Pro>
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