Starfish question

[jmmiller]

I was thinking of getting a starfish but I am not sure which to get. I am looking for something that is hardy and doesnt require any special conditions. I heard that chocolate chip stars are good. Any advice on which star to choose will be helpful. I have a 72 gal tank fowlr.

[Fluff]

Brittles and serpent stars are very hardy and great scavangers.

[lando]

If you have LR or corals stay away form the CC stars. They will eat corals and have a tendency to knock over LR when crawling on it. How about a sand-sifter? Great for the sand bed and a wonderful cleaner.

[jmmiller]

I think that a sandsifter would be perfect(I have been having a problem with brown algea in my sand and I have been acting as my own sand sifter). Are they called sandsifters or do they go by another name? Also are they readily available?

Thanks

[austinsdad]

A brittle for the rocks and a sandsifter for the sand. They are easily obtained in my area.

If the tank is too young, a sandsifter might starve without a lot of stuff to eat in the sand yet. Watch him. Once his body seems to start melting and sand sticks to him. He's starving and on his way out IMO

On the brittle, the greens seem to more agressive. I've got a greyish one. He's great. Stays on the rocks and all I see is legs. Feeds off the rocks or whatever pellets might drift by him.

[midiman]

All of the sandsifters in my LFS are UNDER the sand so much of the time they are never seen. The LFS guy has to dig through the sand periodically to see if any are still there.

Also, wouldn't these large sand sifters disrupt the functionality of a DSB for nitrate reduction?