sea stars

[fishDan]

i'm looking at ordering a sea star pack (1 fancy serpent sea star tiger striped 1 sand sifing sea star 1blue linkia sae star 1 sea cucumber ). or all of thes little guys reef safe and if so what will i neeed to feed them. My tank is a 55g 75p LR and 2in of LS.

 

[Hara]

it kindof depends on how you feed the rest of the tank. I feed so much (bad thing) that there is always leftovers for the starfish and crabs...if you dont, then you may end up feeding them a few times a week.

 

[fishDan]

so this guys ok for a reef tank????

 

[steve-s]

I am curious how old the tank is?

Cucumbers should not really be considered for a time until the tank has had time to mature and stabalize. Many tanks under a year will not have had enough opportunity to build up enough "sustenance" to keep cucumbers.

As well I would avoid the blue linka at any stage. They are probably the hardest of the species to acclimate and I would say the survival rate is less than 10%.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishDan]

thanks steve the tank is 4 months old

 

[steve-s]

The only ones I would suggest then is the banded serpent star or a black brittle star. Being such a young and smaller tank, it will not really support more than one at this point.

I would also not recommend the sand sifter. They are voracious carnivours and will quickly deplete the fauna in the sand bed as well as possibley prey on other stars.

Just remember to acclimate slowly. Drip acclimation is the best suggestion.

Cheers
Steve