Starfish Starfish are in a class called echinodermata (echinoderms). Starfish (group name Stelleroidea) are sometimes called sea stars or sea fish though it is not a real fish (it doesn't have a vertebrate or fins). Echinoderms Echinoderms are a group of animals with external spines, such as the starfish, sea urchin, sand dollar, and sea lily. There are over 6,000 species of echinoderms. Echinoderms mean "spiny skin" in Greek. Their spines can be used for many purposes, but are mainly used for protection. Echinoderms are radially symmetrical animals that are only found in the sea. You can't find any of them on land or in freshwater. Echinoderms usually have five appendages, but there are some exceptions. A lot of them have suckers on the ends of their feet that are used to capture and hold their prey, and also to hold onto rocks when there is a swift current. The majority of sea stars are carnivorous and feed on sponges, bryozoans, ascidians and molluscs. Other starfishes are detritus feeders (detritus = organically enriched film that covers rocks) or scavengers. Some starfish are specialized feeders, for example the crown-of-thorns that feeds on life coral polyps. Starfish have no hard mouth parts to help them capture prey. The stomach is extruded over the prey, thus surrounding the soft parts with the digestive organs. Digestive juices are secreted and the tissue of the prey liquefied. The digested food mass, together with the stomach is then sucked back in. This method can be observed, if you turn around a starfish, that sits on prey or sand - you will see the stomach retreating. Starfish are well known for their powers of regeneration. A complete new animal can grow from a small fragment such as a arm. In some species (Linckia multifora and Echinaster luzonicus) one of the arms will virtually pull itself away, regenerates and forms a new animal. Autotomy (self amputation) usually is a protective function, losing the body part to escape a predator rather than being eaten. But here it serves as a form of asexual reproduction. In other species of sea stars (Allostichaster polyplax and Coscinasterias calamaria) the body is broken into unequal parts (= fission) then the missing limbs regenerate. The crown-of-thorns (Acanthaster planci) is one of the largest and the most venomous starfishes. It can reach 50 cm diameter and has numerous (10 to 20) spiny arms with formidable thorn like toxic spines. Don't touch them! A species of small cardinalfishes (Siphamia fuscolineata) and a commersal shrimp (Perliclimenes soror) live among those spines. The crown-of-thorns feed on live coral polyps. They "graze" the corals which are left behind white and dead. Their predators are the giant triton shell (Charonia tritonis) and some puffer fish. The cushion star (Culcita nouvaeguineae) doesn't look like a starfish at all, more like a large sea urchin without spines. Its pentagonal appearance gives only the slightest indication that this organism is related to other starfish. Starfish, or sea stars, are perhaps one of the most familiar of marine organisms and are practically a symbol of ocean life. Despite their name, they are echinoderms not fish and breathe through structures on their skin, not through gills. There are at least 1800 known species of starfish and they occur in all the Earth's oceans (never in freshwater). The greatest variety of species is found in the northern Pacific, from the Puget Sound to the Aleutian Islands. Most starfish have five arms, but a few species have more, as many as fifty arms. These bottom dwellers play a crucial role in the ocean ecosystem, as prey when they are free-floating larvae and as predator when they reach adulthood. Few animals eat adult starfish, which are apparently neither palatable nor nutritious. Most starfish have two sexes and reproduce by spawning eggs and sperm into the water, but some propagate asexually, at least part of the time. Starfish have the ability to regenerate their arms when lost or injured. Some species take this a step further and clone themselves, separating into pieces, each of which becomes a new animal. Missing legs in the aquarium Echinoderms are particularly susceptible to harm/stress from the abrupt changes in water chemistry that can be associated with such an intervention they are amazingly regenerative... anything's possible here (including the legs growing new bodies. If you are adding calcium you should also be testing for it. Include an alkalinity test as well if you're using the Kent liquid calcium as it tends to deplete your alkalinity level. Most starfishes display remarkable regenerative processes, and with steady, high water quality and careful observation, the animal should be okay...If it really starts to decline, you will want to remove the animal to a separate aquarium for more intensive observation and possible treatment with antibiotics to avoid infection as a result of the damage. Also, re-check all water conditions in your tank to make sure that environment did not play a factor in this problem, or think about the animal's companions in the tank...could any of them have harassed the animal to the point where it suffered this damage? Keep up the highest possible water quality, observe the interactions between the animals carefully, and be prepared to remove either the offending party or the injured starfish if necessary. Over 110 photos of echinode Phylum: Echinodermata, Class: Stelleroidea (Sea Stars) Order: Spinulosida, Family: Asterinidae Bat Star, Asterina miniata: Order: Spinulosida, Family: Echinasteridae Pacific Henricia, Blood Star, Henricia leviuscula: Order: Paxillosida, Family: Astropectinidae Armored Sand Star, Astropecten armatus: Fragile Rainbow Star, Astrometis sertulifera: Order: Valvatida, Family: Ophidiasteridae Fragile Star, Pacific Comet, Linckia columbiae: Order: Forcipulatida, Family: Asteriidae Sea Star, Orthasterias koehleri: Giant Spined Star, Pisaster giganteus:

Starfish Reef star, Cushion star, Biscuit star, Brittle star, Uri Click Here Starfishes are built on a five rayed plan, although some star- fishes have many more than five arms. The skin is set with limy plates and the mouth is underneath in the centre of the arms. Although they can easily be housed with most fish, Starfish will prey on mollusks or sea urchins, which comprise their primary diet in the wild. Starfish feed on a wide range of items, including ocean-bottom deposits. They can eat small animals whole, and they eat larger prey by extruding their stomachs and digesting the prey outside their bodies. True starfish are classified in the Asteroidea. Unlike the superficially similar brittle stars, or ophiuroids, true starfish have no sharp demarcation between arms and central body, and they move using tube feet rather than wriggling movements of the whole arms. Click Here Click Here Forcipulatida Zangensterne Familie: Asteriidae Asterias forbesi (Forbes starfish) Asterias rubens © by Inge Lennmark Pisaster brevenspinus © by Ari Kornfeld Pisaster giganteus © by Ari Kornfeld Pisaster ochraceous © by Ari Kornfeld Pycnopodia helianthoides (sunflower star) Like many other marine animals, starfish rely heavily on chemoreception in their interactions with their environment. Lacking image-forming eyes and any sense of hearing, chemoreception is their primary sense. The echinoderms are a group of animals that includes starfish, urchins, feather stars, and sea cucumbers. They are simple animals, lacking a brain and complex sensing organs. Echinoderms are characterized by their radial symmetry and a central mouth. Although a sea urchin looks round, closer inspection reveals that it is nothing more than a starfish with its legs wrapped inwards to form a sphere. The echinoderms are found in a stunning variety of shapes and colors, and are found decorating reefs around the world. Some of these animals are carnivorous, feeding on corals and scavenging the ocean floor. Certain species of starfish actually extend their stomachs into their unwary victims in order to digest them. The feather stars and sea cucumbers are mainly filter feeders, catching what ever they can find floating in the ocean currents. All of the echinoderms move around with the use of thousands of tiny tube feet, many of which have suction cups on the ends. Many of the urchins have developed extremely sharp spines as a means of protection. Natural Perspective The Animal Kingdom: Starfish (Asteroidea) Starfish may well be the most unusual well-known creature. They have no front or back: they can move in any direction without turning. Rather than using muscles to move their hundreds of tiny legs, starfish use a complex hydraulic system to move around or cling to rocks. The intake valve for this system is generally located on the top of the Starfish, just off center, as can be seen clearly on the Leather Star (Dermasterias imbricata) in our picture. Starfish Science Starfish Reproduction Starfish commonly reproduce by free-spawning: releasing their gametes into the water where they hopefully are fertilized by gametes from the opposite sex. To increase their chances of fertilization, starfish probably gather in groups when they are ready to spawn, use environmental signals to coordinate timing (day length to indicate the correct time of the year, dawn or dusk to indicate the correct time of day), and may use chemical signals to indicate their readiness to each other. Fertilized eggs grow into bipinnaria and later into brachiolaria larvae, which either grow using a yolk or by catching and eating other plankton. In either case, they live as plankton, suspended in the water and swimming by using beating cilia. The larvae are bilaterally symmetric — unlike adults, they have a distinct left and right side. Eventually, they undergo a complete metamorphosis, settle to the bottom, and grow into adults. Bipinnaria larvae of a starfish. Brachiolaria larvae of a starfish. Some species of starfish brood their young: the males spawn gametes which fertilize eggs held by the females. The females may hold the eggs on their surface, in the pyloric stomach (as in Leptasterias tenera), or even attach them to the ground (as in Asterina gibbosa). Brooding is especially common in polar and deep-sea species, environments less favorable for larvae. Male and female starfish are not distinguishable from the outside; you need to see the gonads or be lucky enough to catch them spawning. The gonads are located in each arm, and release gametes through gonoducts located on the central body between the arms.

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Gulfview Marine

Dale Barger, Member

Gulfview Marine     Live Rock ,    We have four classes of Live Rock...   Gorgonians & Sponges,    based on availability...  Gulf Sand , Taken next to natural reefs... Inverts, Crabs & Snails, etc..

Gulfview Wholesale Marine specializes in Aquaculture, Live Rock, Gulf Sand, Gargonian, Coral, Sponges, Snails, and Crabs. Since 1988, Gulfview has been a live rock harvester and established a solid reputation for the quality to which they are committed. We strive for quality... not quantity. Gulfview is one of the few aquaculturalists permitted by the government to harvest rock specifically grown for the marine aquarium in the Gulf of Mexico.