How do I preserve starfish?

[GCFyouthcamper]

I went to the beach two days ago and brought home two starfish - a big bumpy orange one and a tiny gray one. i thought they'd just turn hard as rock after they died so i could keep them on display. The small one is getting hard. The big one lost its color and is actually getting softer and fleshy. My friends say they will start to stink and there's nothing I can do.

Is there anything I can do to keep them from rotting? Can I do something to make them petrify? Like the starfish you see in souvenir shops?

[Matt Hazuda]

I don't know, but killing an innocent starfish by suffocating it to death so you can have a novelty trinket?

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_149153238/lg

[Stardust]

I don't know about the Phillipines, but I think in most of the U.S. it's illegal to keep starfishes as souvenirs because there are so few of them left and it disrupts the ecosystems. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[GCFyouthcamper]

as far as i know, it's not illegal, though we do have other laws like you can't take home sand from Boracay beaches (a major tourist and vacation location) but i got the starfish from Batangas.

[Startrekman700]

http://www.seashells.org/cleaning/starfish.htm


shows you how to perserve starfish

[Peter Paltridge]

I don't know about the Phillipines, but I think in most of the U.S. it's illegal to keep starfishes as souvenirs because there are so few of them left and it disrupts the ecosystems. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
There are plenty of starfish. In fact, if there's ever a scarcity, we can just start hacking them up--since each piece will grow into an individual starfish.

[Artimus Gigan]

I don't know about the Phillipines, but I think in most of the U.S. it's illegal to keep starfishes as souvenirs because there are so few of them left and it disrupts the ecosystems. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
They sell Starfish as pets FYI

expensive as hell(allthough all Saltwater tank marine life is) but it's perfectly legal to keep them alive or dead

The Jersey Shore even sells dried starfish as christmas decorations

[GCFyouthcamper]

http://www.seashells.org/cleaning/starfish.htm


shows you how to perserve starfish

Thanks Startrekman.

Remember guys, the Philippines is in the tropics. It's a group of islands. Starfish everywhere.

[Dee]

I would have left them in the ocean.

But I can see why the rubbing alcohol would work. It also works on drying out your ears if you've got water in them.

[GCFyouthcamper]

The starfish is now dry and hard. Just one problem: it still stinks! Don't know what to do about that. It used to really stink like the whole garage, but now only when I'm close enough to hold it.

I don't suppose you guys know any remedy for that?