Preserving a Starfish

The first thing that you will do when preserving the starfish is cleaning it. Use a little mild soap and warm water for washing the starfish. Soak the animal for about forty-eight hours in rubbing alcohol. You do not have to clean the creature first, but you may choose to do so. If rubbing alcohol is not what you prefer to use, you may alternatively use a mixture of five parts water and one part formaldehyde. This solution will give an intense chemical odor to the starfish that will lessen gradually when it completely dries.

It is recommended that you completely dry the starfish in direct sunlight. Place it on any plane surface, with each arm being weighed down using a stone so that all the arms will not curl up as the starfish dries up.

After the drying process, put the starfish on display in any dry area of your house. You must always make sure that the starfish being preserved is not alive. If you find a live starfish at the beach, return it underwater. A starfish can be whitened by soaking it for a few minutes in a weak mixture of water and bleach. The preserved starfish must be displayed in a safe area, because it can be easily damaged.

Creating a Starfish Artwork

When considering making a starfish necklace, put a sheet of paraffin paper atop any plane surface. Use glue for drawing the starfish shape little enough to be used as a necklace pendant. Use a toothpick for fixing the shape, if you unintentionally mess up your drawing. Create a letter “V” out of a paper clip. Place both ends of this clip into the adhesive at the top of any of the arms of your starfish. Sprinkle glitter or sand lightly More...

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 More...

Starfish Facts about their Habitat

People who want to learn more starfish facts should also look into the habitat and the areas around the world where starfishes can be found. One key fact that you should definitely know is that starfishes will never survive when not in water. You may see a few of them on the beach but if they do not get into the sea soon, they will have a major electrolyte imbalance within their bodies. This is directly related to the starfish’s More...

Body Cooling

All types of living organisms will always have a suitable environment where they can survive. Slight changes in the environment will be acceptable because of an organism’s ability to adapt. But when the environment gets too extreme, the organism’s adaptation mechanisms may not work anymore. Temperature plays a vital role when animals choose their habitat. Starfishes live under the sea but they can be affected by water temperature levels too. Based on starfish facts gathered by researchers, starfishes can start 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...

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...

Regeneration and Self Cloning

In general, starfish regenerate by way of a three-stage process. Firstly, the repair stage heals the creature’s exposed wound. This phase is followed by the regenerative stage, in which the body of the echinoderm produces new cells and begins new growth. The final phase is referred to as the advanced regenerative stage, during which significant cell proliferation starts. Growth factors, which are neurally derived, determine the processes responsible for the formation of patterns during the last stage. If anything intervenes More...