Star fish and cycling!

[themartins]

We have seen a starfish arm sticking out of one of our live rocks. It's brown striped, tan underneath and smooth. We are currently cycling the 30 gal. tank that he hitchiked his way into. What would you recommend? What should we feed him?

 

[themartins]

Any help? please.

I've read that they are sensitive to nitrates. Will growing macro algaes or other plants help with nitrates in SW the way plants help in FW?

 

[mr_X]

different starfish eat different things. it's impossible giving advice on feeding without knowing which species it is. how big is it? can you get a picture?
the cycle may kill it, or not.
yes, growing macro algae will help with nutrient export, as will water changes, and closely monitoring feeding.

 

[themartins]

I was able to get a picture of its arm; it is the only part we've seen so far, so I'm not sure how big it is. You can see the arm coming out of the side of the rock and reaching around to the back of the rock. It is nocturnal as we've only seen it at night with room light, if you turn on the aquarium light it quickly pulls back into the rock.

 

[austinsdad]

If you've seen only one arm and it pulls back very quickly, it's likely a worm of some type, not a star. Very common.

 

[joy13]

Check this out you might find one to compare it Starfish Hitch Hikers
It probably is a micro brittle star of some sort.

 

[themartins]

It looks like Ophiarachnella gorgonia a smooth brittle starfish arm. Is this possible?

 

[mr_X]

looks like a serpent star to me. it will take meaty foods right from your fingers if so.