Orange sea star (Echunaster)

[MarkW19]

Can anyone give me some advice on these?

I've had contradicting opinions and experience, as always

Apparently they need a lot of bacteria and slime in a well-matured, large (100g+) tank with lots of liverock, to be able to survive? And, in this sense, they're like the Linckias.

Others say they're very easy to keep, no feeding necessary, and adapt well to most tanks (small, regardless of rock, etc.)

Anyone?

 

[MarkW19]

No-one got any views?

 

[quarryshark]

You know mine.

 

[steve-s]

Echinaster much like Fromia, Linkia and Tamaria are all quite difficult to target feed if at all. A majority of their dietary needs come from what the tank can produce itself, algae film and bacteria. Small tanks are not recommended for these types of stars.

For smaller tanks, predaceous stars are the better choice in that regard. They can easily be target fed. Most are not considered reef safe but serpent and non green brittles would be a consideration. Only drawback with them is they typically hide during daylight hours. Excellent derivors though.

Cheers
Steve

 

[leafyseadragon]

Say Steve, can Fromia, Linkia and Tamaria be target fed if they are isolated in a little plastic box with a fresh clam in it? I've seen starfish eat clams on PBS and I'd like to see that in my own tank. And will this provide enough sustenance if there isn't enough scum and stuff on my LR?

 

[steve-s]

The larger the star, the more likely what you suggest may work. AFAIK, when the star is still small (<3") they are less inclined towards a carnivorous diet and will ingore the food unless in a state of decay. Even then it would be rather hit or miss. The drawback of something like that would be the constant handling of the star which could easily lead to necrosis/lost limbs. Not to mention water quality issues from the food itself.

Cheers
Steve

 

[MarkW19]

Just getting back round to this again because my LFS has some really nice small orange seastars in at the mo...

I dont have any liverock as such, just a large piece that was bought as baserock.

But, lots of different types of algae (!) and good, stable water quality.

Will the orange seastar not survive in my system? My tank's now over a year old...

 

[steve-s]

Has your tank size changed (larger) as well? If not, I'd say your success will be quite limited. You're better off with a starfish that can be target fed like a banded serpent or a brittle star (orange or black)

Cheers
Steve

 

[MarkW19]

Steve: unfortunately not

It's still 35gal. How do I know if he's doing ok or not? If he's not, I guess I could find another home for him at a friends or back to the LFS.

 

[steve-s]

It's very hard to tell the health of a star sometimes until it's too late. The most obvious being tissue necrosis and limb loss. The harder one to spot is wasting. The star will literally start losing body mass and slowly shrink in size. Sometimes it's noticable, sometimes not.

Cheers
Steve

 

[MarkW19]

Would you risk it or not? With me not having much LR (but lots of algae on the sand etc.) will that mean he won't have enough to eat?

 

[steve-s]

Would you risk it or not?

Would I, no...

With me not having much LR (but lots of algae on the sand etc.) will that mean he won't have enough to eat?

Don't confuse macro algaes with film algae. The star will not consume macro algaes. With your tank size and my understanding of how you have things set up, I don't think this a wise addition.

Cheers
Steve