I want a starfish

[NicoleIsStoked]

Hmm. Crud.

 

[Hocky puck]

If the starfish has bumps like chocolate chip star or African red they will eat anything slow enough to catch!!! As a general rule ( always are exceptions to the rule for both smooth stars eatting corals and bumpy ones not eating coral)

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

I don't have corals. Just shrimp and snails and such. Looking for a smooth star but not if its gonna kill my fire shrimps.

 

[mr_X]

Starfish can't catch shrimp.

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

For sure?

 

[mr_X]

Yes. For sure.

 

[PurplePolyp]

Black brittle starfish won't mess with your inverts. I got one that was 3" and in 6 months he has grown to about 10" in diameter. He stays tucked away on the rock mode of the time. Sand sifters stay away from inverts too.

 

[PurplePolyp]

If the starfish has bumps like chocolate chip star or African red they will eat anything slow enough to catch!!! As a general rule ( always are exceptions to the rule for both smooth stars eatting corals and bumpy ones not eating coral)

+1 to this. I was told the same thing. My two have never messed with anything. The sand sifter eats stuff in the sand and the brittle star eats stuff off the rock. He snags some brine shrimp every now and then. He doesn't mess with my snails, shrimp, hermits, or corals though.

 

[mr_X]

Sand sifter starfish have a very poor survival rate in home aquariums, due to them having a specialized diet. Most tanks don't have enough food in the sand bed to sustain them long term. Most of them slowly starve.
Serpent starfish and brittle starfish (except for the green brittle, which is a known fish eater) should be fine.

 

[PurplePolyp]

Sand sifter starfish have a very poor survival rate in home aquariums, due to them having a specialized diet. Most tanks don't have enough food in the sand bed to sustain them long term. Most of them slowly starve.
Serpent starfish and brittle starfish (except for the green brittle, which is a known fish eater) should be fine.

I didn't know that. What a shame. He's still looking good for now. How long do they usually last?

 

[Sniperhank]

That would depend on how much food it in your sandbed...which who knows really. If you have a chance to find a brittle star I highly suggest getting one. I have one in my 55 reef and love it. It spends alot of its time hiding during the day, but always has its long legs hanging out and will always throw them out during feeding time. They are really neat and I got lucky and found one that was yellow. I'd def add another if the opportunity arose and I felt comfortable with it not starving to death.
I also have a serpent star, but I very rarely see him out. He has a spot at the back of my tank he just loves.

 

[mr_X]

Hard to say. No one knows for sure what they eat. Some say microfauna in the sand bed. You would need a sand bed of 4" or greater and something that's a few years old to be able to sustain a creature of that size.

 

[MacDracor]

Just weighing in here. People have mentioned linckia (beautiful but delicate), brittle/serpent (really freaking cool and easy to feed), chocolate chip (predators but I know little about them), sand sifters (unfortunate habit of starving and hiding under the sand to die), but no one has mentioned fromia stars!
These guys are gorgeous and not as delicate as the linckia. Not as hardy as brittles but still good. I had a marbled fromia for almost a year before it stupidly crawled into a bubble coral and was stung to death.
I can't recommend sand sifters at all, and linckia are not really the best "first sea star" to buy. The chocolate chip and similar are good for FO or FOWLR, but not reef. Serpent and brittles are great and I love them. Except for the green brittle, I'd say odds of attacking anything mobile are low.
But please dont discount the fromia. They really are beautiful and if you have enough rock, a 50 *should* be big enough to accommodate one.

 

[mr_X]

I disagree that fromia stars are hardy in any way, shape, or form. You are very lucky to have kept one for nearly a year. Since starfish can repair/regenerate tissue, I would be very surprised that a sting from LPS killed one. I have sold quite a few of them and I can count on one hand the ones that survived long term.

 

[MacDracor]

Huh. I didn't do anything special with him. In fact, I was fairly lax on maintenance during much of that period. But the leg that was caught up in the coral dissolved within a day and the starfish was dead within two.
Maybe my experience was the exception rather than the rule. Still, they're gorgeous.

 

[mr_X]

Agreed. They happen to be my favorite, besides the totally amazing "feather starfish". Another that's IMPOSSIBLE to keep.

 

[Sniperhank]

Just weighing in here. People have mentioned linckia (beautiful but delicate), brittle/serpent (really freaking cool and easy to feed), chocolate chip (predators but I know little about them), sand sifters (unfortunate habit of starving and hiding under the sand to die), but no one has mentioned fromia stars!
These guys are gorgeous and not as delicate as the linckia. Not as hardy as brittles but still good. I had a marbled fromia for almost a year before it stupidly crawled into a bubble coral and was stung to death.
I can't recommend sand sifters at all, and linckia are not really the best "first sea star" to buy. The chocolate chip and similar are good for FO or FOWLR, but not reef. Serpent and brittles are great and I love them. Except for the green brittle, I'd say odds of attacking anything mobile are low.
But please dont discount the fromia. They really are beautiful and if you have enough rock, a 50 *should* be big enough to accommodate one.

Agreed on the fromia. What about echinaster? Looks like a linckia but isn't?

 

[gafights]

Agreed. They happen to be my favorite, besides the totally amazing "feather starfish". Another that's IMPOSSIBLE to keep.

Yes those are awesome. The lfs where I live has one in show tank. He has been in there for a year. The water has to be perfect all the time.

 

[gafights]

My sand sifter has done great but he is in that big tank with about a four to five inch bed. He is the only one I am willing to put in there because of there apatite.

 

[Ericwm]

My LFS has red Bali stars in every once and a while. I want one, but my tank is not old enough. Anyway, I don't know too much about them except they stay small (about 3 inches) and I think they are reef safe. Can any one chime in on whether this would be a good one for the tank in question.