How can you tell if a starfish is alive?

I purchased one just like that and acclimated it in very slow. I placed it on a rock and it stayed there for 4 days without moving!! On the 5th day it started walking all around like nothing ever happened.

When a starfish is dead, or dying the tissue will begin to fall apart very fast. If you do not see this happeneing I would just wait it out and see what happens.

Good Luck!
 
Will do...The only thing I noticed is that the tips of the starfish are darker then the rest of him and slightly curled.

I'll Place him on a rock and we'll see what happens :)
 
Try not to be too hasty when pulling a starfish out of the tank. I had one lose an arm almost to the central disk, then grow it back and live for 2 years and going.
 
Did you acclimate the Sea Star before adding it to your tank? Inverts are very sensitive to changes with PH, temp., salinity, etc.

Mark
 
Definitely just give it time.

This is a very delicate seastar, and despite its small size, will often starve in tanks without enough LR. In general it can not be spot fed. Unfortunately many will die in 12-18 months.

Acclimation is critical, and signs of acclimation problem in this species typically start at the arm tips which disintegrate and/or "melt" and turn white. This can set in up to a month after introduction.
 
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