white spot on star

[AZ kid]

my bs has a small white spot twards the middle of one of his legs.

any ideas on what it might be or what i should do about it?


Thanks for any help.

[mapster]

I know stars are prone to fungus infections. Im no expert but if thats the case you should remove the star from the tank and treat it quickly before it gets worse or passes on to other stars (if you have any). If you do have other stars, I would put the affected one in a Q-tank ASAP and do a large water change. This may not be the case, so dont take my word for it. If you could post a pic maybe someone could identify the problem for you.

I would keep a close eye on it. If that area seems to get worse and starts to deteriate, you might no be able to do much to save it. BTW I am asuming this is a blue linckia (sp?), am I right. If so these are very delicate and shipping, handling and fluctuating water params can cause them great stress.

HTH

[AZ kid]

thanks for the info mapster.

its a brittle star and i do have one other. i dont have a Q tank. my tank is 55 gal. other than the two stars i have about 30 hermits and 20 snails. I also have some mushrooms star and button polyps. its been runing for a little over 3 months. everything tests normal.

ammonia--0

nitrite--0

nitrate--10

salinity--1.023

ph--8.3

on closer inspection it looks like is a small cut in the center of the spot. is it possible that the star was cut by the rocks? would a small cut create that spot.has anyone else had this happen to them. if so any info would be a great help.

thanks again to mapster and thanks to any one else who can help.

[Alice]

Hi AZ Kid and welcome to The Reef Tank!

How long have you had the star? Brittle stars are pretty hard, much more so than the linkias, and more than likely it will make it through this infection. It may lose the limb but it will grow back. If it looks fuzzy or is starting to spread though, you could dip a Q-tip in some iodine, pull the star out of the water and dab it with the Q-tip. Doing this twice a day for a few days may cut back on the infection.

Target feed him to make sure he gets plenty to eat, that will help his recovery.

Alice

-oops, that should read "Brittle stars are pretty hardy!-

[AZ kid]

thanks for the help Alice

I have had the star for about three weeks. Ill try the iodine. what do you recommend i feed it? The guys at my LFS told me it would be fine just scavenging through the tank.


Thanks again..

[Kimber]

I feed mine a small, dime size piece of meat - ie. shrimp, krill, scallop.

HTH
Kim

[AZ kid]

Thanks Kim Ill try that

[Allyson]

I feed mine small pieces of scallop, clam or prime reef using either a wooden skewer (he wraps his arm around it & pulls it off) or squirt food to him with a turkey baster. That way he has a chance at getting the food before the **** psuedo (nope...haven't caught him yet).