Chocolate chip starfish "melting" legs...starvation or stress?

[kitty1620]

I have had a chocolate chip starfish in my tank for about 3 weeks.. bought from lps. Seemed to be doing fine until last night.. I noticed one of his legs was split and started "melting" off. Then another one started to do the same. This happened fairly quickly...I even posted photos of him with all limbs intact and looking fine yesterday morning.. Phosphates were a tad high (at about 1.5-this also may have something to do with it) but other than that, my PH, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia were all in my tanks normal range-no spikes.
From what i have gathered, this could be from them starving? is this accurate?
I pulled him from my main tank and stuck him in QT with some food.. the "melting" seems to have stopped? But he is now looking really rough.. is this a stress thing?

Is there anything else i can do for it? Is he a lost cause at this point? And I am assuming I should NOT put him back in the tank this way, correct?

I did a water change after pulling him due to his melty parts being in the tank.. all other fish are acting as they normally do.

& cue me feeling like a big piece of ... now ‍
I have spent the better part of my day researching this but maybe y'all have more input.

Thanks y'all

 

[blaxsun]

Any corals in your tank?

 

[kitty1620]

Any corals in your tank?

no corals. fish and few snails and a couple hermit crabs.

 

[blaxsun]

no corals. fish and few snails and a couple hermit crabs.

Chocolate starfish do eat corals, so you probably need to supplement it with some seaweed (I like to rubberband small pieces of nori to small rocks).

 

[kitty1620]

Chocolate starfish do eat corals, so you probably need to supplement it with some seaweed (I like to rubberband small pieces of nori to small rocks).

yeah i guess i was under the impression not to have corals or they will eat them all.. so i deff need corals for this guy to thrive?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

yeah i guess i was under the impression not to have corals or they will eat them all.. so i deff need corals for this guy to thrive?

No - you do need to feed them though:

i know it's not their natural diet but i know people who have owned chocolate chip stars for 5+ years on only prepared foods like krill and clam.

Chocolate Chip Stars (Protoreaster nodosus) eat algal films, biofilms, and meiobenthos (benthic organisms like worms and pods and such that are small enough not to be considered macrofauna, but not small enough to be considered microfauna).

these species are known to eat corals in aquaria, so that would be something to keep in mind (this is largely thought to be a result of limited preferred food sources - i.e. it's thought that they eat corals when they run out of biofilm). Protoreaster nodosus seems to prefer biofilms that form on sediments and seagrasses

 

[blaxsun]

No - you do need to feed them though:

That's what I meant, yes, lol.

 

[kitty1620]

So this is due to starvation then? Does that happen this quickly? Or maybe from lps not feeding?

Am I doing the right thing by keeping him in QT and offering food?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have had a chocolate chip starfish in my tank for about 3 weeks.. bought from lps. Seemed to be doing fine until last night.. I noticed one of his legs was split and started "melting" off. Then another one started to do the same. This happened fairly quickly...I even posted photos of him with all limbs intact and looking fine yesterday morning.. Phosphates were a tad high (at about 1.5-this also may have something to do with it) but other than that, my PH, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia were all in my tanks normal range-no spikes.
From what i have gathered, this could be from them starving? is this accurate?
I pulled him from my main tank and stuck him in QT with some food.. the "melting" seems to have stopped? But he is now looking really rough.. is this a stress thing?

Is there anything else i can do for it? Is he a lost cause at this point? And I am assuming I should NOT put him back in the tank this way, correct?

I did a water change after pulling him due to his melty parts being in the tank.. all other fish are acting as they normally do.

& cue me feeling like a big piece of ... now ‍
I have spent the better part of my day researching this but maybe y'all have more input.

Thanks y'all

Both. Stress, poor water quality, temperature too warm and even exposure to air can cause this. Stars have certain predators that will cause this. My guess is starvation leading to stress. Stress as in your pic is noted by its arms starting to curl which is a sign of distress and even poor water conditions. They like cooler temps and it is believed they need algae only but also need foods like pieces of shrimp, squid, scallops, fish and organic matter.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Both. Stress, poor water quality, temperature to warm and even exposure to air can cause this. Stars have certain predators that will cause this. My guess is starvation leading to stress. Stress as in your pic is noted by its arms starting to curl which is a sign of distress and even poor water conditions. They like cooler temps and it is believed they need algae only but also need foods like pieces of shrimp, squid, scallops, fish and organic matter.

Actually stars can indeed hold their breaths for a short period of time. Think about the stars in tide pools. I don’t recommend and you shouldn’t take a star out of water but short periods should not kill an healthy star. Also if I had to guess in 3 weeks it probably had to do with acclimation. Stars do best when you drip acclimate them slowly for around an hour but more is better. How did you acclimate it? It could have been the effects of shock from acclimation which doesn’t always show up right away.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Actually stars can indeed hold their breaths for a short period of time. Think about the stars in tide pools. Also if I had to guess in 3 weeks it probably had to do with acclimation. Stars do best when you drip acclimate them slowly for around an hour but more is better. How did you acclimate it? It could have been the effects of shock from acclimation which don’t always show up right away.

Short time ONLY- air Air bubbles that entering their body can paralyze and kill them and I disagree on air being safe for them. Yes with tide pools they get air but remain wet and 3 weeks after acclimation likely not the issue. Legs are curling which can be a bad sign

 

[kitty1620]

Actually stars can indeed hold their breaths for a short period of time. Think about the stars in tide pools. Also if I had to guess in 3 weeks it probably had to do with acclimation. Stars do best when you drip acclimate them slowly for around an hour but more is better. How did you acclimate it? It could have been the effects of shock from acclimation which don’t always show up right away.

That could be a factor then too, maybe not a long enough drip acclimation? I maybe only did half an hour, 40 mins...

Anything I can do for this guy other than what I am doing, or is he pretty much a goner?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Am I doing the right thing by keeping him in QT and offering food?

Wherever you can provide the least stress; the best, most stable water quality; and sufficient food is where you should keep it.

I’m not sure if it will recover at this point or not, but if it stops decaying, then that’s a good sign.

 

[AydenLincoln]

As others have said you do have to target feed starfish. And starfish are interesting creatures as they are constantly pumping water in and out of their water vascular system like we have blood their cells and body are filled with sea water. And because of this they do not tolerate sudden changes, parameter swings, or quick acclimation very well. Think of it this way if something is wrong with the water it literally causes their cells and themselves to melt away which is what the white stuff you see if that is dead flesh. Very unfortunate but once it gets to that point of them most will melt away you can’t do anything and will perish sad to say.

 

[kitty1620]

Wherever you can provide the least stress; the best, most stable water quality; and sufficient food is where you should keep it.

I’m not sure if it will recover at this point or not, but if it stops decaying, then that’s a good sign.

But keep him out of the regular tank? I would think that is the best thing to do.. but since this happened, I am now questioning everything I think lol.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Am I doing the right thing by keeping him in QT and offering food?

Is QT cycled and what’s that black stuff? Honestly the survival rate at this point both in the ocean and in home aquariums is very low to nonexistent sadly. Don’t move him again. And don’t dose the QT tank both will cause more stress and most likely a quicker death.

 

[kitty1620]

Is QT cycled and what’s that black stuff? Honestly the survival rate at this point both in the ocean and in home aquariums is very low to nonexistent sadly my

Black is just some of the substrate that came with him when I got him out of main tank.

QT is not cycled like the main tank. Would he do better in main tank or will his like.. decomp? harm the rest of the stock?

 

[vetteguy53081]

But keep him out of the regular tank? I would think that is the best thing to do.. but since this happened, I am now questioning everything I think lol.

keep it where if it disintegrates, it does not foul tank although its in little balls of flesh. Assure :
Water temp- 73-77
ph 8.1-8.3
salinity 1.024-1.025
Nitrates Not elevated.
If healthy- they will find food- no need to target feed them. I sold many at my LFS and they are easy care as long as water quality and proper food is offered. This im convinced is due to stress as described

 

[kitty1620]

keep it where if it disintegrates, it does not foul tank although its in little balls of flesh. Assure :
Water temp- 73-77
ph 8.1-8.3
salinity 1.024-1.025
Nitrates Not elevated.
If healthy- they will find food- no need to target feed them. I sold many at my LFS and they are easy care as long as water quality and proper food is offered. This im convinced is due to stress as described

To be sure I read this correctly, if I put him back in the main tank, his disintegrating will not harm the other fish?

 

[AydenLincoln]

Black is just some of the substrate that came with him when I got him out of main tank.

QT is not cycled like the main tank. Would he do better in main tank or will his like.. decomp? harm the rest of the stock?

You can try to acclimate him back but both prognosis are not good. If QT isn’t cycled and has an ammonia spike or nitrites that will kill him in his current state but if you acclimate him back into the main tank that could stress him as well. I honestly would monitor the QT tank and don’t move him. And yes he should not nuke the tank. Keep an eye on levels and perform water changes as needed making sure the salinity and temperature are the same. Again unfortunately we can’t treat them like fish so they tend to die once this happens.