Interesting Starfish Facts about its Bodily Processes

The starfish is a very intriguing sea creature and there are definitely a lot of starfish facts about how it survives that will change how you view life under the sea. First, a lot of kids always ask about how these starfishes navigate and transfer themselves from one area to another. Although they have 5 or more arms, they do not literally use these arms to walk on the seabed but they have hundreds of tubes that serve as their feet located on the underside of their bodies.

These tube feet under the starfish do not actually suck but they expel water out of the body. This is part of the water vascular system of the starfish where seawater is being taken and is then released back into the sea. As the tubes open to let the water out, the starfish can now easily glide from one area to another but this is usually a very slow movement.

The digestive system of the starfish is also interesting. They have a gut that usually spans the entire central disc and they also have mouths and anuses for taking in food and releasing body wastes. But starfishes can actually digest food outside of their stomachs with the help of enzymes which means they can eat prey that are larger than their size.

Starfish Facts on Physical Characteristics

When you look at a starfish, you can easily be captivated by its appearance. There are thousands of species of starfishes that you can find and only a few of them are those that you see on the shorelines. Most of them are found on the seabed where they can easily catch prey. The seabed is also where you can find species of starfishes with very interesting physical features. One of the starfish facts about its appearance is that the More...

Feeding a Red Starfish

When considering feeding a red starfish, you need to observe the animal to see what it is and it is not eating. A red starfish could be feeding on bacteria out of your aquarium glass, but steering away from other foods that you provide for other inhabitants in your tank. As an omnivore, the starfish must be given nutrients from the two sources. If frozen, your food will have to be thawed. Use tweezers or forceps for putting a thawed More...

External Threats

The greatest threat to starfish is similar one which endangers most other seawater animals: human beings. Starfish needs clean and clear water as its habitat. When humans permit water pollutants to flow into the seas and oceans, these species can get extremely unhealthy and even die. In addition, there are several cultures that allow the eating of starfish. In case too many starfishes are brought away from any area, these beautiful seawater creatures will be deprived of the opportunity to More...

Starfish Facts on their Senses

Even if starfishes look very peculiar and different from the rest of the animals that you typically see, they still have typical body functions and processes that other animals commonly share. They also have senses such as seeing, touching, and smelling. These senses may be some starfish facts that you may not have heard before. In terms of vision, starfishes actually have vision sensors which are eyespots that are specially located at the far ends of the starfish’s arms. These More...

Modern Uses

Based on starfish facts, these animals are definitely very useful in keeping the equilibrium and balance in the food chain under the sea. These animals have a very wide preference when it comes to their diet which is why they can help control the number of opportunist organisms in the oceans. But aside from their usefulness in the environment, there are also other uses of these starfishes by humans. A common use of starfishes today is in the seawater aquariums. More...

Researching about Starfish Facts

There will be no starfish facts that people know today if not for the researches and studies done by scientists, zoologists, and biologists. From the time that starfish species were first discovered and studied by humans until today, a wider range of information are already gathered pertaining to these creatures. Researching starfishes is not an easy thing to do since there are thousands of species that are still living. In order to understand the evolution of this creature, researchers would More...

Eliminating Fish Odor from Starfish

The first step of ridding starfish of the fish odor is scraping away any leftover tissue from its underside using a little butter knife. Also, brush off all organic matter, such as seaweed and bugs, which may be sticking to the shell’s spiny top. Combine one part water and three parts bleach together in a large mixing bowl. You have to make sure that the depth of this mixture is enough to soak the starfish that you would like to More...