Fromia star question

sfarid123 · 01/28/2008, 06:05 PM

Hey guys,

I have had a orange Fromia star for the past 6 months in my 3 year old 55g mixed reef. I have been constantly struggling to keep it from melting away by dipping it in a Iodine bath. I am curious to what causes the tissue necrosis and how can I put a stop to this.
Can a shift in salinity be the cause? I tent to loose 5g /week which I top off with RO/DI (I'm not using a doser ).

thanks

bertoni · 01/28/2008, 06:34 PM

Shifts in salinity and the iodine bath itself might be causes for tissue necrosis. Most likely, though, the starfish is starving to death. Their diet is largely unknown.

cdbias2 · 01/28/2008, 06:37 PM

I've never seen one live for so long.
When they die they make a neat little dryed orange starfish.

sfarid123 · 01/28/2008, 07:36 PM

That sucks, I heard people have kept them over 2 years or so.

Avi · 01/28/2008, 08:58 PM

There is a lot of difference of opinion on the level of success that can be had with these starfish. They are "reef safe" and colorful, so from that perspective they are very desirable. Like Bertoni said, little is known about what, specifically, they eat and need for survival. Linckia starfish and the Fromias are both still a bit of a mystery in this regard. Still, IMO, there is some real indication that they can survive if provided certain conditions and that is generally thought to be a large, mature reef with a minimum of a hundred pounds of live rock in good water conditions. I have kept a number of Linckias over the years and two survived for what I believe was a considerable period of time...in excess of two years. An elusive Xanthid Crab ended my little "experiment" as to how long they can survive in a reef aquarium, however. In one's case, there was damage to all of its "legs." After only some months's time all but one leg grew back fully. This seems to indicate that there was a level of nourishment available to, and obtained by, even a sorely bruised Linckia sufficient to support regeneration of its body. But, the crab eventually undid the recuperation, and once again ate the starfish's legs and the damage was so thorough that it died. The other one that I mentioned was so completely eaten that it never had time to recover. I have (joyfully) caught the Xanthid Crab recently and I have obtained a Fromia Starfish since its removal from my reef. But only a few months have gone by since that, and I have no way of knowing if this Fromia will survive for a long period of time, though it appears to be in good health now.

But, unless you can provide the kind of conditions that I mentioned, IMO, you should not attempt to keep these starfish because the likelihood of their survival is minimal and it would not be much likelihood of survival.

sfarid123 · 01/28/2008, 10:06 PM

Thanks for the great Info

Well I guess this will be my first and last time to try fromias.
My water quality is good since my BTA is happy. I strictly use RO/DI and my parameters are great : phos, NH3,NH2,NO3 = 0 and I have plenty of LR
So I assume this might be due to nutrition?

Avi · 01/29/2008, 06:52 AM

Most likely it was just that. You might try a Linckia Starfish if the one that you had was a Fromia. Linckia may be a little more hardy and that may make the difference if you have a good amount of live rock. But, if you do and the Linckia doesn't make it...I'd pass on starfish from there on in.

MSU Fan · 01/29/2008, 08:40 AM

Our Fromia we have had since April of last year is starting to melt too. So far, one of its legs has disappeared. There really isn't a whole lot we can do since they are so unknown. Too bad really, he was a great starfish.

Who knows, maybe he will recover...

01/28/2008, 06:05 PM	#1
sfarid123 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: maryland Posts: 456	Fromia star question Hey guys, I have had a orange Fromia star for the past 6 months in my 3 year old 55g mixed reef. I have been constantly struggling to keep it from melting away by dipping it in a Iodine bath. I am curious to what causes the tissue necrosis and how can I put a stop to this. Can a shift in salinity be the cause? I tent to loose 5g /week which I top off with RO/DI (I'm not using a doser ). thanks

01/28/2008, 06:34 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Shifts in salinity and the iodine bath itself might be causes for tissue necrosis. Most likely, though, the starfish is starving to death. Their diet is largely unknown. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/28/2008, 08:58 PM	#5
Avi Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Westchester County, NY Posts: 7,327	There is a lot of difference of opinion on the level of success that can be had with these starfish. They are "reef safe" and colorful, so from that perspective they are very desirable. Like Bertoni said, little is known about what, specifically, they eat and need for survival. Linckia starfish and the Fromias are both still a bit of a mystery in this regard. Still, IMO, there is some real indication that they can survive if provided certain conditions and that is generally thought to be a large, mature reef with a minimum of a hundred pounds of live rock in good water conditions. I have kept a number of Linckias over the years and two survived for what I believe was a considerable period of time...in excess of two years. An elusive Xanthid Crab ended my little "experiment" as to how long they can survive in a reef aquarium, however. In one's case, there was damage to all of its "legs." After only some months's time all but one leg grew back fully. This seems to indicate that there was a level of nourishment available to, and obtained by, even a sorely bruised Linckia sufficient to support regeneration of its body. But, the crab eventually undid the recuperation, and once again ate the starfish's legs and the damage was so thorough that it died. The other one that I mentioned was so completely eaten that it never had time to recover. I have (joyfully) caught the Xanthid Crab recently and I have obtained a Fromia Starfish since its removal from my reef. But only a few months have gone by since that, and I have no way of knowing if this Fromia will survive for a long period of time, though it appears to be in good health now. But, unless you can provide the kind of conditions that I mentioned, IMO, you should not attempt to keep these starfish because the likelihood of their survival is minimal and it would not be much likelihood of survival. __________________ I'd keep the whole ocean if my den were big enough Current Tank Info: 120 gallon reef with 210 lbs. of live rock, Aqua-C EV180 Skimmer, Aquactinic double 250W MH with blue plus t5 support; 58 gallon freshwater planted tank using CO2 and T5s; 30-gallon cube with a few fancy goldfish; and a 110 gallon FOWLR Last edited by Avi; 01/28/2008 at 09:18 PM.

01/29/2008, 06:52 AM	#7
Avi Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Westchester County, NY Posts: 7,327	Most likely it was just that. You might try a Linckia Starfish if the one that you had was a Fromia. Linckia may be a little more hardy and that may make the difference if you have a good amount of live rock. But, if you do and the Linckia doesn't make it...I'd pass on starfish from there on in. __________________ I'd keep the whole ocean if my den were big enough Current Tank Info: 120 gallon reef with 210 lbs. of live rock, Aqua-C EV180 Skimmer, Aquactinic double 250W MH with blue plus t5 support; 58 gallon freshwater planted tank using CO2 and T5s; 30-gallon cube with a few fancy goldfish; and a 110 gallon FOWLR

01/29/2008, 08:40 AM	#8
MSU Fan Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Russellville, TN Posts: 1,645	Our Fromia we have had since April of last year is starting to melt too. So far, one of its legs has disappeared. There really isn't a whole lot we can do since they are so unknown. Too bad really, he was a great starfish. Who knows, maybe he will recover... __________________ Craig & Holly 1-29g FW 5-cats, 1-dog (Shepherd Mix) Current Tank Info: To be set up 44g corner pentagon

01/28/2008, 06:37 PM	#3
cdbias2 Appalachian Reef Society Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Alum Creek, WV (No more) Posts: 1,433	I've never seen one live for so long. When they die they make a neat little dryed orange starfish.

01/28/2008, 07:36 PM	#4
sfarid123 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: maryland Posts: 456	That sucks, I heard people have kept them over 2 years or so.

01/28/2008, 10:06 PM	#6
sfarid123 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: maryland Posts: 456	Thanks for the great Info Well I guess this will be my first and last time to try fromias. My water quality is good since my BTA is happy. I strictly use RO/DI and my parameters are great : phos, NH3,NH2,NO3 = 0 and I have plenty of LR So I assume this might be due to nutrition?