Res Sea Star (Fromia milleporella)

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
My red star fish is missing the tips on 4 out of the 5 arms. It has been in my tank since around April. He was looking healthy last time I saw him about a week ago. I moved him to my sump in case something is chewing on him. Any input as to what can cause this, please let me know.

parameters
SG: 1.025
Temp: 78.7
Alkalinity: 10
pH: 8.4
Calcium: 440
Magnesium: 1300
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
Phosphates 0

livestock
1 B&W Ocellaris Clown
3 Purple Firefish
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 Sexy Shrimp (newest addition added ~3 weeks ago)
1 Small emerald Crab ( added at same time as Sexy Shrimp) haven't seen in about a week
bunch of snails, Nerite, Turbo, Nassarius, Bumblebee, and Trochus

Mixed reef

BRS dry rock so no Harlequin shrimp or Mantis Shrimp.
I have had pests in the past and may still have some which include zoa eating nudibranchs and red flatworms that cam in on coral, even after dipping.

i have a feeling maybe the sexy shrimp or emerald crab is the culprit.

I feed a combination of Mysis shrimp, baby brine, and a piece of each cube from the multipack from San Francisco Bay Brand. I do this once a day in the evening

I add 40 drops of Reef Nutrition PhytoFeast once a day at night

I add a small spoonful (included in bottle) of Reef Chilli once every 2-3 days early in the morning with some Acro Power amino acids added.

For or the last 10 days or so, I have also added AlgaGen PhycoPure which is now gone.

any suggestions as to what I should do? Thanks.
 

Haddonisreef

Orca
M.A.S.C Club Member
#2
I'd point at: 1- cleaner 2- sexy 3- emerald might be sexy sence he is the newest addition. I say cleane first cause if ther not fed constantly they will pick at about whatever.
 

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#3
Guess I need to feed more! I will look at getting an auto feeder to drop in some pellets every once and a while.
 

SkyShark

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#4
I would make sure you are target feeding it. Since you started with dry rock it is probably not getting any food. Many stars will waste away from the tips in if they are not getting the nutrition they need.
 

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#5
Ok thanks. I thought that may be a possibility too. The rocks were soaking in salt water for about a year but still didn't have much on them. They are really starting to get some live on them now and the glass gets covered in an algae film daily that I wipe clean. The sump has a lot more in it including chaetomorpha, dragon algae and some hair algae is forming in there too. Hopefully that will be enough. I will target feed it some reef Chilli and see if that helps any.
 

SkyShark

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
hope it bounces back! Try giving it some small pieces of shrimp or fish (krill, mysis, silverside, etc.). They are omnivores, so it should take that. The reef chilli will likely get lost in the water column before it can get any of it.
 

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#8
Ok thanks. I have Mysis so I will target feed that. As of now, it is in my sump since I wasn't sure if other inverts were picking at it or not. There is very little flow in my sump so hopefully it will be easier to target feed.

thanks for the feedback everyone. I hope it bounces back too! They are cool looking creatures and I have heard that starfish can regenerate their limbs so hopefully target feeding will do the trick.
 

SynDen

Administrator
Staff member
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#10
SkyShark;327380 said:
I would make sure you are target feeding it. Since you started with dry rock it is probably not getting any food. Many stars will waste away from the tips in if they are not getting the nutrition they need.
+1 this is my first thought
 

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#11
I do the weekly water changes of 10 gallons a week (40gallon breeder with 20long sump).
 

sethsolomon

Hammerhead Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#12
Shaunv;327426 said:
I do the weekly water changes of 10 gallons a week (40gallon breeder with 20long sump).

Just wanted to make sure :) you gotta' keep the iodide levels up and I don't recommend dosing it so, YAH! WATER CHANGES! WE LOVE WATER CHANGES!. :p
 

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#13
Yes, I love the water changes too!
 

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#15
It didn't make it. :(
 

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#17
Ya, I figure the tank wasn't established enough for it. I will get another in a few months. Let the tank mature some more. The rocks are getting some color now and I haven't been losing any of the other CUC so that's a good sign.
 
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