Why did the leg of my starfish suddenly fall off??????

[lotsofloo]

Yesterday night,i returned home n found that one of the legs of my starfish losely attached to my starfish.Then i picked up the starfish and the leg fell off and i could see the flesh of the starfish.Is it reproducing or what? anyway today the wound is nearly healed,i'll probably heal in a day or to but it heals really quickly.

Anyone knows Why my starfish dropped its leg??????????????????

[qwertman321]

if i m not wrong , due to poor water quality(high nitrate , nitrite), the star fish will melt.

i have seen it first hand before , does the legs of the star jus dangling on its body?

it looks like this :

[Ketchup]

I think likelihood is your fishes eat it or bite it off... or pests like crabs.

[LaW]

how long you kept the starfish?

and what kind of star fish? some species are more sensitive

3 reasons here.

1) Some species of star fish also reproduce asexually by fragmentation.

2) like what ketchup suggested, might be attacked.

3) which i hope its not. tissue necrosis. which means the cells in the starfish start to die bit by bit until it rots away completely. cause is still unknown as far as i know but its mostly related to water quality/exposure to air etc. if it just keep rotting away more, then its most likely necrosis. you can try to stop it by wiping diluted iodine soaked cotton wool/bud on the rotting area. try to do it in a way that its not in full exposure in the air. its going to be tricky but possible. so far i tried this method, and it did help in slowing the necrosis but i couldnt save the starfish in the end on all occasion, perhaps its due to my water quality then. but theres one time i did stop the necrosis completely with iodine but after a week or so, necrosis appears again.

all the best.

[yikai]

how long you kept the starfish?

and what kind of star fish? some species are more sensitive

3 reasons here.

1) Some species of star fish also reproduce asexually by fragmentation.

2) like what ketchup suggested, might be attacked.

3) which i hope its not. tissue necrosis. which means the cells in the starfish start to die bit by bit until it rots away completely. cause is still unknown as far as i know but its mostly related to water quality/exposure to air etc. if it just keep rotting away more, then its most likely necrosis. you can try to stop it by wiping diluted iodine soaked cotton wool/bud on the rotting area. try to do it in a way that its not in full exposure in the air. its going to be tricky but possible. so far i tried this method, and it did help in slowing the necrosis but i couldnt save the starfish in the end on all occasion, perhaps its due to my water quality then. but theres one time i did stop the necrosis completely with iodine but after a week or so, necrosis appears again.

all the best.

chances of A is very unlikely. only asterinas reproduce this way very very consitantly. most ornamental starfishes do not or very very VERY rarely.

B is unlikely. the only fishes that eat starfishes are triggers, puffers and certain large wrasses.

my guess is C due to high nitrates/nitrite/ammonia or bad acclimation.

[LaW]

chances of A is very unlikely. only asterinas reproduce this way very very consitantly. most ornamental starfishes do not or very very VERY rarely.

B is unlikely. the only fishes that eat starfishes are triggers, puffers and certain large wrasses.

my guess is C due to high nitrates/nitrite/ammonia or bad acclimation.

the group asteriidae can be some how divided into 3 genera if im not wrong, not just those ugly looking fellas that can be seen in my tank sometimes. its quite frequently i seen these genera though, espeically in CF, but not as common as those linkias, formia etc. they can be pretty in appearance unlike those pest like and can be easily confused with others at times.

btw, if anyone seen any cumingi stars, do keep me a post.

[yikai]

the group asteriidae can be some how divided into 3 genera if im not wrong, not just those ugly looking fellas that can be seen in my tank sometimes. its quite frequently i seen these genera though, espeically in CF, but not as common as those linkias, formia etc. they can be pretty in appearance unlike those pest like and can be easily confused with others at times.

btw, if anyone seen any cumingi stars, do keep me a post.

some ornamental species do reproduce asexually like this. most common is linkia. sp.

not the common blue one which is linkia legievata (sp?), but there are other linkia sp. that frequently drop arms off and regrow. these arms are called "comets" because the other 4 tiny arms grow out with the 5th arm being the longest original arm, giving it the appearance of a shooting star, hence the name comet.

it will be better if he shows us a photo. but a star reproducing asexually is less common by any means, compared to a melting one. melting starfishes are all too common especially if its a fromia sp.

oh with rgds to cumingi, henry and RB bring in before. will let u know if i see any.

[LaW]

but he said its healing, so its likely not necrosis from what i experience. and yes a pic will be able to help even him more.

thanks kai. i didn't seen one thats appealing to my eyes for sometime now. do keep me posted.

[yikai]

but he said its healing, so its likely not necrosis from what i experience. and yes a pic will be able to help even him more.

thanks kai. i didn't seen one thats appealing to my eyes for sometime now. do keep me posted.

starfishes have amazing healing properties. if water condition is promptly corrected, melting stars can recover.

yup let u know if i see nice cumingis.

[lotsofloo]

No nitrate,no ammonia,no bad stuff.Maybe bad acclimation...... unlikely. I'll try to get a pic asap.Now it's worst,another leg is falling off.

[lotsofloo]

and to add on,the starfish seems fine and it's recovering extremely fast.My tank parameters are almost perfect

[yikai]

and to add on,the starfish seems fine and it's recovering extremely fast.My tank parameters are almost perfect

please list your parameters, and also please state how you acclimate it.

starfish dropping two legs is not a good sign of the above.

[Ketchup]

B is unlikely. the only fishes that eat starfishes are triggers, puffers and certain large wrasses.

well, my tomato clown don't eat starfish but i remember he just bite off the leg and swing the starfish around... maybe he's just a sadist clownfish!