Sand Sifter Star

[corrod]

My sand sifter has lost 4 of 5 legs in the past few weeks.  He comes out like normal, climbs on the glass like normal, just missing some limbs.  I have recently went to LED lighting so algae growth is down / almost non existant, is he starving?

[Boonjob]

It could very well be... Stars usually loose legs when under stress... legs loss is among syptoms of starving....and considering these guys have a bad track record of keep alive for a long time it could be a possibility.

Anything change in your tank salinity etc? those can bring on stress aswell leading to limb loss.


Does he appear to have a sunken spot or hole in the central disc?

[corrod]

No, the remainder of the star looks just fine, as for changes, nothing is different but the lighting.  Can I supplement food for it or is he on his last leg, so to speak.

[Sunny]

I had one for 2 years.  Then it did the same as yours.  Nothing changed in my tank either.  Maybe put it in the sump if you have one.  I tried to stick a seaweed sheet under it a few times.

[Boonjob]

Well chances are he isn't starving without displaying the sunken spot on the disc... I would revert to stress... check your water pereimeters... and it could be the lights... if you are worried about him starving you should be able to supplement feed... squid will work, but I wouldn't over do it as the squid can bring on alot of excess nutrients in the tank.... if it is just stess the legs will grow back when the stress goes away.


I am sure rich will chime in shortly...he always does rofl

[coral ranch]

Thanks Boonjob. I think you covered most of it. Sand sifting stares are so good at what they do that they often end up stripping the sand completely over a period of time and then starving. Like most starfish they are sensitive to salinity so be carefull not to putt off topping your water off and make sure you use the correct salinity when making up water for a change.
 As stated above these stars can strip a sand bed so I would not recomend one if you are using a DSB and what the benifits from it.