The science so far seems to show that starfish species are affected differently depending on their physical location. For species in tide pool areas, the sores show up first and are followed by tissue decay, Raimondi said. Death might follow in a matter of weeks, or even not at all.
But in underwater sea star species the sickness is much quicker and more deadly. When starfishes under the surface get the disease, tissue decay happens in hours or a day rather than weeks.