Red (Black Tip) Sea Star Help?

[Glasswalker]

Hey, so introduced a new red sea star (black tip)... Bought at LFS yesterday.

LFS water was 1.023 sg, mine is 1.025sg.

Acclimated for just over 2 hours at slow water replacement method (dual siphon in acclimation box) before acclimator water registered very close to 1.025, then ran for another 20min just to be safe.

Moved into tank, and fed some pellets, he moved over and appeared to eat the pellets.

He then climbed the glass, and hung out at the water line overnight.

Today he's not really moving much. We moved him back onto the sand bed gently, and he flattened out, but isn't moving around at all...

A bit concerned he's not doing well...

What should I be doing/checking? Any suggestions/advice greatly appreciated.

Tank specifics:
New tank (couple months old)
2 clowns, and some hermits, and snails. And a porcelain crab, all doing well
Hammer coral appears to be doing well, GSP was well up until today (flatworms I suspect, another thread on that).
Lots of live rock
Healthy pod population

Parameters:
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - (between 5-10 ppm, hard to tell on API kit)
Phosphate - 0 ppm
1.025 salinity
Temp 78.5f
ph 8.0

 

[Reefrookie220]

Expose the star to air during this procedure?

Are legs curling?

With that new of a tank, it's a toss up if you've got the food for him(microfauna)

 

[Roboson]

Put him gently on some live rock. Some stars have difficulty moving on sand. They tend to prefer living on rock and glass, and only going on sand to get between them. If you put him on rock and leave him for a bit, he should be fine. Some days fromia stars move a good deal, other days they don't. If he's on rock, maybe near some algae, he will figure it all out.

 

[Glasswalker]

Actually since posting this, he moved from the sand, and is now climbing all over the rock. I know I have a very healthy pod population, and my porcelain crab is very happy and has grown (moulted) so is definitely eating. I've been feeding primarily mixed marine flakes, and 1mm pellets twice a day in small amount (primarily for the fish, and some of the crabs go for it) and I also feed misis and brine occasionally. And I also add Marine Snow for the filter feeders... (mix of zooplankton and phytoplankton)

Overall I think I can keep him fed, just worried the acclimation was too much for him, but he seems to be happy on the rock for now.

Arms weren't "curling" but he did get up on the water and have one "climbing along the water surface" so to speak. before we moved him back down. It then flattened back out within a few seconds.

I think he's fine right now. Was just a bit worried because I had read that climbing to the water surface like that was an indication it was stressed by the water quality, but my parameters all looked ok to me... (I also read they don't like Nitrates, but under 10 ppm was ok)

So any tips/advice for general care of this guy? I'll get a good pic and post it up shortly to better ID him. He's red/orange, with an interesting "scaling pattern" on his back (kind of cross-hatch, like his surface is scaled) and black tips. He's about 2-3 inches tip to tip when flat.

Thanks!

 

[Glasswalker]

So once he got up onto the rock, once again he settled into a "spot" and hasn't moved... (as of this morning anyway, he has been in the same position/posture for about 16 hours)

He's not "curling" his arms at all though, and on the rock there is definitely food, so maybe he's just found something munchy...

Anyway, keeping an eye on him, will post further updates here.

Any further tips on caring for this guy are appreciated :)

Thanks!