Orange starfish white spots

___ · Mar 15, 2023

Hello everyone, I have an orange Echinaster spinulosus starfish. She was very active at first and all over my tank, but she wouldn't eat much. One day she had white at her tips and I started aggressively trying to find something she would eat. She started to eat some, but then started hiding. I would put food in her hiding places with her. Then she started coming out and hanging out at the top tank, I would feed her and she cruise around a bit. Now she's nice and plump, moves around the tank, although not as much as first, but she still has the white on her body.
Will this heal?
Do I need to add antibiotics? If so, which one?
She has steadily acted better over several weeks, but I don't see improvement with the coloring, even though the arms are plump too.
I know the whole bit about starfish in tanks, so please don't respond if you're only going to criticize, the animal was already removed from the ocean and trying to help it the best I can.
I welcome constructive advice please and thank you...
(Sorry can't figure out how to add a pic from my phone)

KING KONG · Mar 15, 2023

Kfishy said:
Hello everyone, I have an orange Echinaster spinulosus starfish. She was very active at first and all over my tank, but she wouldn't eat much. One day she had white at her tips and I started aggressively trying to find something she would eat. She started to eat some, but then started hiding. I would put food in her hiding places with her. Then she started coming out and hanging out at the top tank, I would feed her and she cruise around a bit. Now she's nice and plump, moves around the tank, although not as much as first, but she still has the white on her body.
Will this heal?
Do I need to add antibiotics? If so, which one?
She has steadily acted better over several weeks, but I don't see improvement with the coloring, even though the arms are plump too.
I know the whole bit about starfish in tanks, so please don't respond if you're only going to criticize, the animal was already removed from the ocean and trying to help it the best I can.
I welcome constructive advice please and thank you...
(Sorry can't figure out how to add a pic from my phone)

Does the white spots r increasing? can u post a vedio on u tube?
#reefsquad

vetteguy53081 · Mar 15, 2023

Kfishy said:
Hello everyone, I have an orange Echinaster spinulosus starfish. She was very active at first and all over my tank, but she wouldn't eat much. One day she had white at her tips and I started aggressively trying to find something she would eat. She started to eat some, but then started hiding. I would put food in her hiding places with her. Then she started coming out and hanging out at the top tank, I would feed her and she cruise around a bit. Now she's nice and plump, moves around the tank, although not as much as first, but she still has the white on her body.
Will this heal?
Do I need to add antibiotics? If so, which one?
She has steadily acted better over several weeks, but I don't see improvement with the coloring, even though the arms are plump too.
I know the whole bit about starfish in tanks, so please don't respond if you're only going to criticize, the animal was already removed from the ocean and trying to help it the best I can.
I welcome constructive advice please and thank you...
(Sorry can't figure out how to add a pic from my phone)

Often confused with Linkia, the star may or may not heal. Typically when there is a deficiency with food or elevated nitrate levels, they will get this protective slime to partially dislodge if its what im thinking.
They feed on sponge and algae

___ · Mar 17, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Often confused with Linkia, the star may or may not heal. Typically when there is a deficiency with food or elevated nitrate levels, they will get this protective slime to partially dislodge if its what im thinking.
They feed on sponge and algae

She is not linkia, she's spinulosus, and is very much a carnivore. She is eating well now and plump, more active too. I just wonder if there is something else I could do

___ · Mar 17, 2023

vetteguy53081 · Mar 17, 2023

Kfishy said:
She is not linkia, she's spinulosus, and is very much a carnivore. She is eating well now and plump, more active too. I just wonder if there is something else I could do

perhaps you did not read my very first sentence. . . . Often confused with Linkia, the star may or may not heal. Im very aware its a spinulosus - I sold them at my LFS and as I stated would recover well as they can be forgiving

___ · Mar 17, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
perhaps you did not read my very first sentence. . . . Often confused with Linkia, the star may or may not heal. Im very aware its a spinulosus - I sold them at my LFS and as I stated would recover well as they can be forgiving

Then your post made no sense

vetteguy53081 said:
perhaps you did not read my very first sentence. . . . Often confused with Linkia, the star may or may not heal. Im very aware its a spinulosus - I sold them at my LFS and as I stated would recover well as they can be forgiving

Your post was unclear and did not state they are forgiving, which was the reply. You stated a slime discharge, which is not the presentation I stated.You also mentioned the wrong diet, she eats clams and shrimp. Perhaps you should actually read what you wrote before being condescending about something you didn't state.
As I stated originally, disrespect is not needed.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 17, 2023

Kfishy said:
Then your post made no sense

Your post was unclear and did not state they are forgiving, which was the reply. You stated a slime discharge, which is not the presentation I stated.You also mentioned the wrong diet, she eats clams and shrimp. Perhaps you should actually read what you wrote before being condescending about something you didn't state.
As I stated originally, disrespect is not needed.

I think what happened here is you have an Echinaster spinulosis. I carried Echinaster sentus and you are indeed correct on diet- they are meat eaters. Its the fromia that eats sponge.

ISpeakForTheSeas · Mar 18, 2023

For clarification here, Echinaster (Othilia) spinulosus (and closely related species like Echinaster (Othilia) echinophorus) in the wild are thought to primarily feeds on sponges, tunicates, biofilms, detritus, and dissolved organic matter (DOM). They can also filter nutrients directly from seawater through their skin. Anyway, they are known as both opportunistic predators and scavengers. In captivity, many sea stars - including Echinaster (Othilia) spinulosus - are known to eat unnatural diets, consuming things like shellfish (including shrimp), bivalves (clams, mussels, oysters, etc.), small starfish (like Aquilonastra spp. - known in the hobby as Asterina stars, though those are species of a different genus in the Asterinidae family), and even sand dollars.

Echinaster (Othilia) spinulosus is known to be a long-lasting species for aquariums, which indicates to me that there is a good chance they're dietary needs are more readily met by things like bivalves, unlike Linckia spp. and similar, which tend to die off within a year even when regularly offered things like clams to eat.

Now, more to your topic here, OP: if the star has been getting consistently better (moving more, eating, etc.), that's a good sign. As long as the discoloration isn't getting worse, I'd assume the star is doing okay. The discoloration may be caused by disease, dietary deficiencies, etc. Generally, when stars start getting discolored in our aquariums, they usually basically disintegrate and die. I'm not well-versed enough in sea star diseases to know for sure what causes this/if it's related to Sea Star Wasting Disease (which is pretty well the only sea star disease that I can get Google to pull up info about), but there is an effective antibiotic treatment for SSWD (though I'm not sure what dosage or anything for it, as the info is behind a paywall). That said, though - disease or not - the discoloration doesn't seem severe enough in this case for me to feel comfortable suggesting any treatment, and any treatment at this stage may make things worse rather than better.

So, personally, I'd just keep doing what you're doing and see if it eventually improves.

Some relevant references, for anyone who's interested:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1539682

Structure and Mechanics of Starfish Body Wall

ABSTRACT. The structure of the dorsal body wall of the starfish Echinaster spinulosus was studied using polarized light microscopy of frozen tissues, scanning electron microscopy and histology. The collagen fibres of the body wall form a threedimensional orthogonal web. Voids in the web contain...

journals.biologists.com

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert-Scheibling/publication/226702751_Differences_in_reproductive_strategies_of_morphs_of_the_genus_Echinaster_Echinodermata_Asteroidea_from_the_Eastern_Gulf_of_Mexico/links/553eec8a0cf210c0bdaac4c6/Differences-in-reproductive-strategies-of-morphs-of-the-genus-Echinaster-Echinodermata-Asteroidea-from-the-Eastern-Gulf-of-Mexico.pdf

Starfish - Gulf Specimen Marine Lab

Starfish, the Asteroidea, are the symbol of marine life. Every seashore has them, they live attached to rocks, or they crawl on the sand. They live up in the intertidal zone or out in the depth of the ocean.

gulfspecimen.org