DSB & Sand Sifting Starfish

[SuperFish]

When my tank cycled I went to get some inverts. The guy at the LFS told me to get a couple of sand sifting starfish, so I got 2 for my 29 gallon tank. Now i've read the starfish are terrible for my DSB. When I take the starfish out do I have to do anything to get the critters that it ate back?

 

[Zack]

Hello
All you can hope for is that they will reproduce again. Have you seen a loss of pods or anything?
BTW my lfs told me the same thing to get those stars, I still regret it today.

 

[two11devan]

One thing i have learned.....never listen to the LFS....they will try to sell you sanything.....go in there to buy a specific thing and not to roam around and ask the LFS what would be good....I have gotten bitten a couple of times that way! I think your best advice is through here

 

[BillyZ]

When I take the starfish out do I have to do anything to get the critters that it ate back?

It depends on how much damage it did. It sounds like your system wasn't up for too long so there probably wasn't a lot for it to eat to begin with. I would give it a few weeks, if you don't notice anything nitediving (checking out your tank in the dark a couple hours after the lights go off) then you might want to look into a detrivore kit or simply purchasing a few more pounds of LS to reintroduce them.