FAQs about Sea Star Disease/Pests/Injuries/Health 5 Related Articles: Sea Stars, Brittle Stars, Asterina Stars, An Introduction to the Echinoderms:  The Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers and More... By James W. Fatherree, M.Sc. Related FAQs: Seastar Disease 1, Seastar Disease 2, Star Disease 4, & CC Star Disease/Health, Linckia Disease, Sandsifting Star Disease, & Sea Stars, Sea Stars 2, Sea Stars 3, Sea Stars 4, Sea Stars 5, Brittle Stars, Seastar Selection, Seastar Compatibility, Seastar Systems, Seastar Behavior, Seastar Feeding, Seastar Reproduction, Seastar Disease, Asterina Stars, Chocolate Chip Stars, Crown of Thorns Stars, Fromia Stars, Linckia Stars, Linckia Stars 2, Sand-Sifting Stars,

Chocolate Chip Starfish/Health 9/28/09 Dear Wet Web Media, <Sally> I see that you have helped so many people with their aqua lives. It is a great treasure that we're able to keep these items away from their salty ocean homes and inside our miniature sewage systems. Thanks for teaching and helping us clean up after ourselves. <You're welcome.> I've run into a predicament. I have a Chocolate Chip Starfish that is pretty active. She walks around my 80 gallon FOWLR tank, and I've kept her happy for a couple of months. However, a spot has developed on her backside. I am guessing it is some type of parasite, although I have no expertise. She still eats fine. My question is, do you know what this cyst is? Is it cancer? <Do not know at this stage.> Is it contagious to the other fish in my tank? Did she catch it from the other fish in my tank? <Very unlikely on both counts.> Should I remove her immediately into quarantine? <I would not.> Would you recommend that I treat her with any medications? <Would not treat with any medications, but continue to observe the starfish along with maintaining regular feedings. These starfish do much better in systems with high water quality. Do concentrate on this aspect. Poor water quality could lead to a heterotrophic bacterial infection, and this could be a possibility. Dosing weekly with an iodine supplement may be beneficial in this regard. Do read here for more information. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_2/choc.htm> Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Truly yours, <Mmmm, I don't know if I like that sign off, my last one was love and kisses too:) James (Salty Dog)> Sally Re Chocolate Chip Starfish/Health 9/29/09 Thanks so much James (Salty Dog ??)~~~!! With love, and a kiss on the cheek :* <You're welcome, Sally, and thanks for the smooch:) James (Salty Dog)> Sally Chocolate Chip (pic attached); Marco's go - 09/29/09 Dear Wet Web Media, <Hi Sally. I'm adding some small notes to James' answer.> I see that you have helped so many people with their aqua lives. It is a great treasure that we're able to keep these items away from their salty ocean homes and inside our miniature sewage systems. Thanks for teaching and helping us clean up after ourselves. I've run into a predicament. I have a Chocolate Chip Starfish that is pretty active. She walks around my 80 gallon FOWLR tank, and I've kept her happy for a couple of months. However, a spot has developed on her backside. <I bet this spot was there all time long.> I am guessing it is some type of parasite, although I have no expertise. She still eats fine. My question is, do you know what this cyst is? <Yes.> Is it cancer? <No.> Is it contagious to the other fish in my tank? <No.> Did she catch it from the other fish in my tank? <No.> Should I remove her immediately into quarantine? <No.> Would you recommend that I treat her with any medications? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Truly yours, Sally. <What you photographed so nicely is the so called madreporite, a starfish organ. You'll find it briefly explained and also illustrated in the article James linked you to. This is no sign of a disease. Cheers. Marco.>

Madreporite

Injured Starfish: Starfish Injury\health. 9/22/2009
Hi Crew..
<Hi Jennifer.>
Got an emergency..looked through the website but couldn't find anything on an injured starfish.
My orange Florida Seastar (can't think of technical name) was found today in the Maxijet pump. He was curled up sucked up in the bottom at the intake portion of the pump. I turned it off and loosened him from it. He didn't move for quite a while. I put him in a small Rubbermaid container and let it float around the tank. After about 45 minutes I noticed he was moving but he has white stuffing or cobwebs all over him.
<Good that it is moving, the "white stuffing" is not a good sign at all..>
He is moving but it looks like one of his legs is bent backwards. First of all what can I do to facilitate recovery and what is the prognosis?
<Time and excellent water quality.>
Should I put him in the refugium (it has liverock)?
<Certainly could not hurt.>
The tank is about 3 years old, I've had him for 1 1/2 years.
<Have a read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/seastarfaq5.htm >
Thanks! Jennifer
<My pleasure, MikeV>

Re: Injured Starfish: Starfish Injury\health. 9/23/2009
Thanks Mike.
<Hi Jennifer.>
.I put him in the refugium last night and is doing a lot of moving around the tank.
<A very good sign.>
He ate a little last night. Is there anything I can put on him..antibiotics or anything to help him heal?
<As long as it is moving around, eating, and not showing any signs of getting worse, I would leave him be for now.>
Thanks again! Jennifer
<My pleasure, MikeV>

Re: Injured Starfish: Starfish Injury\health: Recovery\great news. 9/24/2009
Mike,
<Hi Jennifer.>
He's looking great! He's eating and moving and even the white cottony stuff is gone.
<Excellent News!>
I think the crabs may have helped out on that front.
<Possibly. You should take some credit. Keeping a Seastar for over 1.5 years is no small accomplishment.>
Thanks for all of your help!
<My pleasure as always.>
Jennifer
<MikeV>

Red Starfish Health 1/19/09
Hi there.
<Hello Wendy>
I have purchased a small red seastar. I knew when I bought it that I may have a challenge on my hands but thought it so bright and cheery it was worth the risk. I have not owned a seastar before.
<Since you didn't provide a name or pic, I will assume it is a Red Linckia starfish.>
<<Mmmm... I wouldn't assume this... refer this person to the site for ID. RMF>>
I have been running my tank for 8 months. All the water parameters are fine and I have been pleased with my general coral wellbeing (they are all getting bigger and show beautifully!). I have about 50kg live rock, 3 tank reared clowns, 3 tank reared Blue Damsels, a sweet scooter dragonet (he is so funny and likes to be hand fed), snails, red and blue hermit crabs and 4 Peppermint Shrimp. I feed Cyclop-eeze, live brine shrimp and Salifert coral food. My tank is 3.5'l x2'w x2.5'h, with 2 Fluval 305 canister filters with carbon, ceramic and phosphate remover, a skimmer and 4 x 39wT5 (1 x blue, 3 x white), 9w uv filter, 2 power heads, a top up <off> unit and a small fan. I do a 10l water change (using RO filtered water) every over other day as I believe that this will be less stressful on the animals within the tank than a larger weekly or fortnightly change.
I drip acclimatised the seastar for around 4.5 hours by putting a pinprick below the waterline in his bag and allowing his water to equalize with my tank very slowly (I have done this for all the animals I have purchased).
He was not exposed to the air. Unfortunately I forgot to ask the LFS how long they had been in possession of him. The upshot is that one leg is slowly rotting away. I have read this can happen due to stress.
<I'm guessing this starfish was badly shipped, exposed to air and/or harsh changes in water parameters which can cause necrosis of the legs and/or the entire body of which you are observing. Linckia starfish are generally a hardy species providing they are shipped well, and once acclimated and feeding, should live a few years.>
<<Linckia stars are NOT typically hardy... actually Asteroids period don't last in hobby set-ups... RMF>>
However what I would like to know please is whether this rotting may stop and I should just watch him and hope he will recover on his own or whether I should try and cut off the leg and hope that all will be OK and, if so, how I should go about this?
<Mmm, leave the scissors in the drawer, better to maintain good water quality and hand feed the star with pieces of clam meat and hope for a recovery. Removing the leg would be a last resort if the necrosis continues to spread. This can be done with a razor blade or Exacto knife. If it comes to doing this, remove the starfish in a shallow container, remove the leg, and place the starfish back into the tank.>
<<This won't work... RMF>>
I have read other threads where this is advocated but they seem to be about animals in a much worse state than mine (he is happily moving around my tank and feeding at the moment) and I am worried about causing him more stress than he has already been subjected to.
<Yes, and do read here and related articles/FAQ's above.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/linckiastars.htm>
I would be grateful for your advice.
Kind regards
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Wendy

Re: James... not good input, Seastar hlth.  01/19/09
Yep, I thought about it after I sent. Although I have had good luck with them, they are not the easiest to keep, requiring hand feeding to insure their food requirements are met. Originally I thought of omitting the cutting completely as once necrosis sets in, chances of recovery are poor.
Bad judgment on my part. I need to put myself more in the mindset of the people writing.
J
<Yes my friend. B>

Red Knob Seastar, hlth. using WWM  5/22/08
Last week my Red Knob seastar looked like it almost had a large zit on it. It is located on the side/underside. It then proceeded to bust open and this white/light orange thing came out and hung there for about a day.
<Bad...>
The thing that busted out of him like some alien is left in the sand where he was at and it is a very hard, tooth-like consistently about an 1/8th of an inch to an 1/8 of an inch. The hole in which has left on my seastar is more like a 1/4 of an inch. Now this didn't happen just once but numerous time over the last week. Needless to say my starfish has a bunch of holes in him and leaving these teeth like things around the tank. When I first bought my seastar he roamed all around the tank. Then for about a week he just laid in the same vicinity. Now he is moving around the tank again but he doesn't look good. He looks sunken in and one of his legs might fall off. I brought pictures of him and the pieces of tooth like substance to my aquarium people and they
have no idea. They made some phone calls but no one seems to know. What can I do for my poor little guy. He has been eating 1 krill about every four days...sometimes 1 in between. Is there anything I can add to the tank to help him?
Thanks, Rob
<.... please... follow directions... search, read on WWM before writing... Do take a read there re Asteroid-Seastar health... this is a difficult species to care for in small captive systems... Yours is on its proverbial way out health wise. Bob Fenner>

Sick Seastar – 5/3/08
Hi,
<Hello>
I read through the other emails, but I have a little different situation. I am the lab manager at a community college and our science department recently received a 125 gal aquarium that was donated by a retiring instructor. I know noting about salt or fresh water aquariums but am learning very quickly (he at least left me a book). It was moved from his office to our lab and I know that stressed all in the tank. I have finally gotten it balanced, pH, ammonia, nitrite, a nitrate are all where they should be. The specific gravity is 1.025. The problem is Patrick our cc starfish.
<Shades of Squarepants!>
When I got him he had a small white spot on the tip of one of his legs. Not having seen him before, I thought it was normal, but it has continued to spread and he holds that leg up all the time. That's when I started looking for help on the web and found this site. We don't have a hospital to move him to. Patrick is about 2 years old and we are all very fond of him. What can I do to save him? Can I cut that part of his leg off (I don't want to do that)? Please help!!!!
Theresa
<It might be the best route to go (to excise the bad leg... try a bath with a Furan compound, administer iodine/ate (Lugol's) to the system... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/stardisfaqs.htm
and the linked files above for more input here. Bob Fenner>

Indian sea star has been attacked... reading  – 1/04/08
hello WWM
<Charles>
I'm a novice in marine aquaria but seem to be doing quite well so far I have a nano reef aquarium, 58 litres.
<Okay>
I have 1 yellow tailed damsel, 1 humbug damsel, 1 blue damsel,
<A poor mix of Pomacentrids in such a small volume>
1 banded coral shrimp, 1 red legged hermit, 1 blue legged hermit, 1 purple coral
<What is this? Specifically>
and until this evening (3rd Jan 2008) 1 Indian sea star.
<A Fromia indica... or Fromia sp. at least, likely>
Now this is what my email regards I came home from work yesterday to find my sea star clinging to the spray bar with two lesions in two of its legs. I kept an eye on it for a while and it seemed to be moving around, slowly, but moving. Later that evening I checked up on it and one of its legs was missing and part of it on the sand at this point it was on the live rock and the closest animal to it was the blue legged hermit (which, may I add, I think is something else as it has black and blue legs rather than red and blue) but it wasn't attacking it at that point, although I assumed, that having powerful pincers, this was the culprit so I isolated it over night.
<Mmm>
In the morning the sea star was in the same condition but alive, then when I came home it was life less on the sand missing 3 whole legs an 1 badly damaged I think it is dead now as it hasn't moved at all. As the blue hermit was isolated and the red legged hermit is tiny I passed the blame onto the shrimp. I liked the sea star and it was the first animal in the tank and it was thriving I don't believe that water parameters are culprit, or reproduction, as there is nothing left of the legs. Can you help me with this, could the shrimp be culprit or maybe the damsels.
<Yes, either could be... or no culprit/predator at all>
Also is this common as I want to get a new sea star but don't want a repeat episode.
I thank you in advance for any advice you can give me.
Regards Charlie
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marind5_5.htm
Toward the bottom... on Seastar Disease, Fromias... Bob Fenner>

Decomposing Starfish... What is: Things I wouldn't keep in my reef tank... 12/31/2007
<Greetings! Mich here, apologizing for the very long delay.>
I seem to have a problem with decomposing starfish.
<Unfortunately, not an uncommon problem.>
I have a 72-gallon tank that has been set up for about 9 months. It has cycled very well, and has wonderful coralline algae growth. I have maybe about 20 pounds of live rock,
<I would consider adding more.>
along with a Firefish goby, coral beauty angel, blue damsel, royal Gramma Basslet, and tomato clown. As far as non-fish goes, I have a tomato anemone,
<Tomato Anemone?>
trumpet coral, a pulsing xenia coral, and an orange sponge.
<I personally would not keep the sponge... I have had such sponges up and die and take many tankmates along for the ride...>
I had a chocolate chip star in the tank for about 6 months, then about 2 weeks ago I noticed that it had a few white spots on its top. I immediately feared the worst and put it in my 10-gallon hospital tank.
<Hope you also use it to QT as well! Some reasons to here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/QuarMarFishes.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/quarinverts.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i4/quarantine/Quarantine.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/quaranti.htm >
By the next day, all 5 legs were decomposing with large white chunks falling off,
<Nasty!>
yet the poor thing was still alive, and by the next morning it was dead.
<I'm sorry for your loss.>
I looked at my fish very carefully and none of them showed any signs of anything, so I figured that perhaps the starfish got a
small cut and got infected, as starfish tend to do.
<A possibility.>
I left my tank alone for about a week and a half and continued to keep an eye on my fish. They still showed no signs of any sort of disease,
<Good.>
so 3 days ago I bought a blue Palau starfish. The first day was fine, the second day it looked a little cloudy so I immediately separated it. This morning I found it dead and halfway decomposed, all of the blue flaking off. I'm at a complete loss of anything that would cause this. Please help!
<Most starfish brought into the aquarium industry are doomed. They are very sensitive to osmotic changes, such as variations in salinity, and often die from osmotic shock. Starfish generally don't do well in captivity as the diets of most species are poorly understood, if known at all. I would highly discourage from purchasing any more starfish... IMO A red brittle star (Ophioderma squamosissimum) would be a similar but much better choice. Red brittle stars generally fair well in captivity, are good scavengers and unlike the green brittle star (Ophiarachna incrassata), are not predatory on fish.
Cheers!
Mich>

Dying Starfish 12/20/07
I have a 60 gallon tank and yesterday I can home and noticed my Red African Starfish had bites taken out of it I rushed to the fish store where I had bought it they said that they have know clue as the what caused it because all of our fish seem to be fine with starfish. Since The pet store wouldn't take it they suggested we put them in breeder tanks that's float on top of the water, since it was still alive and would just grow back, this morning I woke up to find my starfish in the same spot and looks like he is decaying the its looks like mush can you please tell me what's going on?
<Unfortunately, many of these types of star fish are just very difficult to care for. Too little is known about them and what they need in captivity. I wish I could help you, but the reality is that we just don't know. It could be starving to death, but that's just a guess. In any case, I doubt there's much you can do to help it. However, to give it any chance at all, I'd take it out of the floating breeder and put it back in the tank (or better yet, in a refugium if you have one).>
Ashley Davis
<Best,
Sara M.>