Red Starfish

Question
I purchased a red starfish a few days ago.. and today i have noticed its skin in the middle on his back looks torn and purple like string is coming out of him..i was just wondering if you could help?.. cause i am quite worried.. thankyou

Answer
Hey Jeanette

If it looks heavily physically torn, he might have wedged himself under some rough rock, and got a good scrape. Another case might be one of his tankmates thought of him as food and picked at him. If it doesnt look like physical damage, sounds like he might be stressed. Did you drip acclimate him? Starfish will usually let that string out if there has been a sudden salinity switch, and if theres any ammonia or other dangerous situations.

To treat him, i would isolate him in his own tank, and use the medicines melafix and pimafix. Theyre natural medications, and safe to use on freshwater and saltwater fish, even the most sensitive ones. Melafix and pimafix are 2 different meds, but they mix together. You can get melafix and pimafix at most pet stores, but if you live here in Canada or the US, most wal-marts have them. The medicines are especially good at treating wounds like this, so sounds like he should heal

any follow up questions, feel free to ask