Starfish

rockinl · 05/25/2006, 09:57 PM

I have A 150 gallon tank. I set it up and added 70 pounds of Live rock. It cycled nicely and I then added another 70 pounds of rock. I then had another small ammonia spike and waited out this cycle before adding my cleanup crew - 4 blood shrimp, 4 hermit crabs, 4 snails, 2 blue Linckia starfish, 2 Burgundy sea stars and a Fancy yellow Brittle sea star. The problem is that one of the blue and one of the burgundy have died. The other Blue has a hole in it's back. The Fancy Yellow Brittle sea star has shed all of it's legs. All the others are doing fine. Any ideas as to what could be wrong or happening to cause the Starfish stress?

jer77 · 05/25/2006, 10:08 PM

Starfish are notorious for being hard to acclimate, especially for a new tank. Did you acclimate them correctly? What were your parameters when you put them into the tank? Blue linkias IMO are very hard to keep anyways, I had one die before too.

jer77 · 05/25/2006, 10:08 PM

Oh

To Reef Central

szwab · 05/25/2006, 10:11 PM

first off welcome to RC!!!

linkias are pretty sensitive to nitrates and are sensitive to water parameters in general. Also the oil from your skin can harm them you want to avoid tuching them and avoid exposure to air.
to be honest it was probably a bit soon to add stars to the tank most have specialized diets and do best in mature tanks. take your time patience is the best thing to have with a reef tank.
check your water parameters you may have had a bit of a spike in amoinia adding the bioload quickly even moreso if some of your critters died and decomposed.

rockinl · 05/25/2006, 10:22 PM

The pH is 8.4, Ammonia and nitrites unreadable low and 10 PPm Nitrate. The Sg is 1.024. I used the drip acclimation method and took my time with them.

IPowderBlueTang · 05/25/2006, 10:51 PM

Most likely your tank was too new, I waited for 6 months for the tank to age a bit and was full of coraline, before adding my first Orange sea star. Now I have a Blue Linkia and a Red sea star, all three doing well. You did the right thing in drip acclimation method, but too many stars in a new tank. Hope for the best for the rest of your stars, or let someone with a well establish tank keep them until your tank ages a bit more. I don't feed my stars, they just roam around the tank foraging.

szwab · 05/26/2006, 06:15 AM

10 ppm nitrates is pretty high for stars

bcwalz · 05/26/2006, 07:14 AM

What kinds of stars are safe for a reef tank? My LFS suggested it wasn't worth the risk and to avoid all stars.

05/25/2006, 09:57 PM	#1
rockinl Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Washington Posts: 11	Starfish I have A 150 gallon tank. I set it up and added 70 pounds of Live rock. It cycled nicely and I then added another 70 pounds of rock. I then had another small ammonia spike and waited out this cycle before adding my cleanup crew - 4 blood shrimp, 4 hermit crabs, 4 snails, 2 blue Linckia starfish, 2 Burgundy sea stars and a Fancy yellow Brittle sea star. The problem is that one of the blue and one of the burgundy have died. The other Blue has a hole in it's back. The Fancy Yellow Brittle sea star has shed all of it's legs. All the others are doing fine. Any ideas as to what could be wrong or happening to cause the Starfish stress? __________________ Craig and Kathy Lester What the hell was I thinking? Current Tank Info: 0150 Gallon All glass.

05/25/2006, 10:08 PM	#2
jer77 Phish Lover Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 2,642	Starfish are notorious for being hard to acclimate, especially for a new tank. Did you acclimate them correctly? What were your parameters when you put them into the tank? Blue linkias IMO are very hard to keep anyways, I had one die before too. __________________ - Jonny -, 120g 5 Year Old Reef w/ SPS, BTA, Zoos & some Softies. 40g Frag Tank. 40g Sump. Super Reef Octopus XP 3000 External Cone Skimmer. 250W Radiums. TaoTronics LED. PanWorld 200PS w/SQWD

05/25/2006, 10:08 PM	#3
jer77 Phish Lover Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 2,642	Oh *To Reef Central* __________________ - Jonny -, 120g 5 Year Old Reef w/ SPS, BTA, Zoos & some Softies. 40g Frag Tank. 40g Sump. Super Reef Octopus XP 3000 External Cone Skimmer. 250W Radiums. TaoTronics LED. PanWorld 200PS w/SQWD

05/25/2006, 10:11 PM	#4
szwab RC Mod Join Date: May 2002 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 15,225	first off welcome to RC!!! linkias are pretty sensitive to nitrates and are sensitive to water parameters in general. Also the oil from your skin can harm them you want to avoid tuching them and avoid exposure to air. to be honest it was probably a bit soon to add stars to the tank most have specialized diets and do best in mature tanks. take your time patience is the best thing to have with a reef tank. check your water parameters you may have had a bit of a spike in amoinia adding the bioload quickly even moreso if some of your critters died and decomposed. __________________ Mark "I got a fever, and the only prescription, is more cowbell" ~ Christopher Walken Current Tank Info: AGE 240 Flatback Hex

05/25/2006, 10:22 PM	#5
rockinl Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Washington Posts: 11	Tank Parameters The pH is 8.4, Ammonia and nitrites unreadable low and 10 PPm Nitrate. The Sg is 1.024. I used the drip acclimation method and took my time with them. __________________ Craig and Kathy Lester What the hell was I thinking? Current Tank Info: 0150 Gallon All glass.

05/25/2006, 10:51 PM	#6
IPowderBlueTang Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Kalamazoo, Canada Posts: 769	Most likely your tank was too new, I waited for 6 months for the tank to age a bit and was full of coraline, before adding my first Orange sea star. Now I have a Blue Linkia and a Red sea star, all three doing well. You did the right thing in drip acclimation method, but too many stars in a new tank. Hope for the best for the rest of your stars, or let someone with a well establish tank keep them until your tank ages a bit more. I don't feed my stars, they just roam around the tank foraging.

05/26/2006, 06:15 AM	#7
szwab RC Mod Join Date: May 2002 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 15,225	10 ppm nitrates is pretty high for stars __________________ Mark "I got a fever, and the only prescription, is more cowbell" ~ Christopher Walken Current Tank Info: AGE 240 Flatback Hex

05/26/2006, 07:14 AM	#8
bcwalz Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Moon Township, PA Posts: 106	What kinds of stars are safe for a reef tank? My LFS suggested it wasn't worth the risk and to avoid all stars.