Anyone have experience with RedSeaStars?

[SeanTay00]

Hey guys, looking for some input on Red Sea Stars. Picked one up randomly at a LFS in west virginia and brought him back home. The thing is real cool looking, I think it's the a Marble Red Sea Star. Unfortantely the little guy isn't looking so hot right now. The tips of two legs are beat up, and it hasn't moved since it crawled up the glass 12 hours ago. I acclimated him for 3 hours since I read they are really sensitive to water changes. Do I risk him crashing my 20gal nano if he dies? Anyway to help regenerate his injured limbs? Anyone had any experince with Red Sea Stars? I'll take any input, this was kinda an on the spot purchase and I didn't do my research like I should have. :rolleye1:

[porky]

I assume you are referring to Linkia multiflora?

http://www.reefs.org/library/aquarium_net/0797/images/LINKIAM.jpg

If so, there is still little known about what these guys really eat? There is speculation that they are "non-selective surface grazers" or that thier diet consists of detritus and debris. Rob Toonen seems to think they feed on the slime that grows on rock and other surfaces. But we really don't know...
They are pretty much hit or miss in our systems with some folks able to keep them for years and them wasting away in other tanks.
If you took time to acclimate it properly I think the only thing you can do is sit and wait. I would not remove the star for fear of it polluting the tank, keep an eye on it and be prepared to remove it in the event that it does die. I think removing it now would be disasterous to the star.

here is a good article w/more info about these (and other) types of Starfish.
http://www.reefs.org/library/aquarium_net/0797/0797_2.html

[bean3178]

It seems that no one really knows what linkia's eat.

I bought a healty blue linkia about 1-2 weeks ago. It moves around a lot. Two different nights I have noticed it on my glass when I was feeding my corals. The first night I squirted some cyclo-peeze by it's mouth. A little while later, the stomach was pushed against the glass and it appeared as if it was eating. Tonight, I squirted some mysis around it. It's now been sitting on top of a mysis for about 1-2 hours. The cyclo-peeze and mysis seem to be getting a feeding response from it. Interesting.

[SeanTay00]

Good tip. I'll have to try that feeding. It's still not looking to hot, moved back to the sand bed. I really hope the tips start healing. If they get any worse I'm considering amputating them slightly. Maybe dipping them in iodine or something to avoid infection. Water salinity level do you keep your tank at for the little guy?

[bean3178]

1.024-1.025

[SeanTay00]

Poor thing... It's finally starting to move around and now my hermits are picking at the wounds on the tips of it's legs. Is there anything I can do? Bond the tips with super glue? I feel like if I don't try anything it will be a gonner. :(

[thebrian]

Quarantine it in a breeder basket or something, and give it time to heal, and try to give it food to eat. Don't know how successful that would be, but it might be worth a shot. Or, you could place any hermits you find on it in a quarantine until it heals, then let the hermits back in.

~Brian

[SeanTay00]

Any idea of how long it can take to heal, or the chances of it healing without infection? I know my fish heal pretty quickly from scrapes, is it the same with sea stars?

[thebrian]

I'm not completely sure, as my experience with Stars is limited, but generally they heal pretty quickly from my understanding. They can have an arm completely torn off and grow it back without a problem. If it is not simply a scrape or cut, however, and it is sick or dieing, I don't know how long it would take to recover.

~Brian

[porky]

SeanTay, Brian has given you some good advice. Get the star away from the hermits cause they will pick it to death.
IME, once these guys are injured it is very unlikely that they will recover. IME, they are not nearly as resiliant as fish. They have to be eating in order to heal themselves and if it is not moving around across the rocks etc. it probably is not feeding...

[enitnelaVeyaF]

Linkia stars live in mud flats were they can eat bacteria and the like from detritis. that genera of stars are hard to feed (unless you maintain detritis in your tank ) and usually "wither" and die.

Sounds like it's a goner. If you QT it it can't eat, if you let it eat, it will get eaten.

Always good to research the needs of the animal before making the purchase.
FYI, sea stars have no definite lifespan. They do not die in the wild unless eaten or from disease. They don't have 'old age', so it's not going to be death from age. Echinodermata is a truely amazing class of invertibrates.