botched suicide attempt

sushigirl

sushigirl

AC Members
Nov 22, 2005
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Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Help please: I just got home from work to find my beautiful orange fromia starfish with minus one leg! I found the leg on the sand below my vor tech propeller pump on the right side of my tank, so I have a good idea exactly what happened! Meanwhile he has been normally active zooming around over on the left side of the tank; now he's heading back along to the right: do you suppose he's looking for his missing leg? My big question right now is~does anyone have any similar experience? Will my fromia live or die? Will a new leg grow in place of the old one? Is it true, or an old wives tale, that starfish have no brain, but they have an eye at the end of each arm? In that case, is my starfish now not only physically challenged but visually as well? I'm back to the books now, but I appreciate hearing any personal experiences! Thanks in advance!:read:
 
oops~! Sorry for the confusion! In my panic & haste, I mistakenly gave the wrong name for my starfish: it is actually an orange Linckia! I also have a blue one as well, and both have lived happily together in my 100 gal.tank for at least a year. Will anyone give me an encouraging word???:(
 
From what I was taught at the aquarium... when the legs break off, you'll eventually get two starfish.
 
Here is a Linkia growing new legs from a severed one. Looks like you cna expect 2 starfish now :)
linckia.jpg


Image found here: http://www.vsf.cape.com/~jdale/science/regeneration.htm
 
yea as long as water quality is good both the leg and the sea star should regrow missing legs. they cant reattach the missing leg and sea stars have a ganglion....simple brain but like most inverts they are thought not to have reason. it will do just fine without the leg and they also have "eye spots" on the end of each leg for sensing contrast and also to tell if they are right side up, but they cannot see pictures like we do.
 
Thanks for the link, photo & info, everybody~whew! What a relief!
Yup, looks like "Stubby" is doing just fine today.
Unfortunately, I think his arm got swept under the rocks by the clean up crew and is now missing in action! But who knows, maybe a little "comet" might come shooting out one day~!;)
 
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