What is going on with my starfish?

[shells12528]

My husband and son got a salt water fish tank a few months ago. For the most part, all is going well....until today. The starfish looks like it has fungus or something on it. It looks like white/greenish fur/hair growing on it. Does anyone know what that is and what to do about it?

 

[FishLipz]

Quite possible that it's dying. What are the water parameters? Did you do a water change recently? Starfish are very intolerant of sudden changes in water chemistry or high nitrate levels. Also, that looks like a chocolate chip starfish. Do you feed it? Oh yeah! Welcome to R2R.

 

[shells12528]

Nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia are all zero. The ph is 8.2, Sg is .023, alkalinty is right at 200. 20% water changes are performed biweekly. "Patrick" our starfish climbs up the tank and gets spot fed daily. He is not showing signs of deterioration on his limbs, just looks furry. I went to the local Aquarium shop today and they haven't heard of anything like this before. I'm hoping someone on here has. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

 

[subielover]

Could it be algae growing on the back of him? It is hard to tell in your picture.

 

[shells12528]

Good question, I have no idea. However there is no algae anywhere else in the tank that I can see. How would find out if it is algae?