Chocolate chip looking fuzzy?

[Mnvettech]

In the last 2 weeks my star has started looking fuzzy. My second star looks fine.When I google I get nothing useful.

[Becky]

I've had it happen before I just tossed mine....

[capman]

What do you mean by fuzzy? The back of a healthy chocolate chip sea star that has not been disturbed (e.g. not poked at too recently) will be covered with small little membranous sacks (the name of which is eluding me at the moment) that are extensions of its water vascular system. These function in gas exchange. When fully extended, these give the upper surface of a sea star a sort of soft or velvety appearance. I suppose one might call it a fuzzy appearance.

If your sea star is still normal in coloration, and if its body is completely intact, and if it is still active and behaving normally, then this is probably what is going on. It is a sign that your sea star is well adjusted to its environment and is healthy and unstressed.

I don't think I have ever seen fungus growing on anything in a marine tank (fungus does grow sometimes on sick or dead freshwater animals though, and when it does it does indeed make things look fuzzy) - when I have had sea stars get sick and die what I have seen is the development of dead-looking patches on the body that get white and slimy.

Again, if the fuzziness you are seeing could just as easily be described as velvety, or maybe soft, and more specifically, if on close examination (especially with some back lighting) it looks like the animal is covered with a dense covering of very tiny water balloons, then you have a healthy sea star. By all means don't throw it out.

Sick sea stars tend to become limp (sometimes with a sunken in appearance, and with their bodies in strange unnatural-looking positions), unable to grip surfaces, unable to move around, etc. And they tend to get dead patches on their bodies and have holes develop and start to fall apart. If none of these things are happening, all is probably good with your sea star.