Yes, I actually had one of these. Had it in my 46g tank for about a year, then moved it to the 125g, about 7 months. Did awesome in both. But, unfortunately did not make the move to the new house. (it died when acclimating to the tank, its holding bucket got really cold. Probably not enough water volume). Very sad, it was a good starfish, never bothered the corals. I would say it is one of the hardier stars, and stays a good size.
i have one. had it for a couple years. a friend of mine has had 2 in his tank for years also. they seem hardier(sp?) than the other fromia stars in my limited experience with stars. i also have a fromia tile star that is also doing well. these guys both survived the power outtage as well.
hmm wow, a couple people that have said they have had them for a couple years.. Maybe i was misinformed..
How long should you wait to put this star in your tank? what all does it eat? how long do you acclimate it for?
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper http:///forum/post/2706540
Will this star be fine in a 28 gallon nanocube with 2 clams, sps, softies, and leathers?
From what I know of them, they just can't get hot, and don't do well when the temperature changes frequently. I bought mine from a store in SoCal and the lady that owned the store told me that they absolutely cannot be kept in tanks hotter than 80 degrees, otherwise it will shorten their lives, and they will eventually disintegrate.
The one I have is about 1 inch long and he fits perfectly in my 35, moving around a lot, though he's only been in there about a month, and survived my recent move to NorCal. If you can find a smaller one then I think you'll be alright. Just don't go out and get one that's like 10 inches long.
If you buy him and he starts getting soft, then he's dying. He should be almost stick-like to the touch.
Mine was easily 4 inches tip to tip, but bought him at 3 inches. So in the time that I had him didn't really grow that much.
My move took 13 hours to take down and set up a full reef system. Much rock and a lot of coral. I probably did things wrong, but only lost the red starfish, and a colt coral in the move. I consider myself pretty lucky, since I did the move in December. None of the fish got sick, Yah!
mine has stayed the same size for the last year or so....about half dollar sized. it's my understanding that these stars are that size when full grown. are you sure you guys have red bali stars?
my other fromia tile star is larger though.
i don't think the star itself will get to big for a 28 gallon, but i think it will run out of food quickly. my star is all over the tank, all day long. he does alot of grazing. even at a half dollar size, i would fear that the rock you could fit in a 28 gallon tank would not be enough to sustain him.
btw- i think these guys eat coralline. since my fromia and red bali have been moved to this display, the coralline has gradually been depleted. my parameters haven't changed though.
I bought mine from saltwerfish.com. So, if it was something different, I am not sure. I looked at all of my pictures that I have saved....... a lot!!, and couldn't find one on the starfish. I am pretty sure it was not a linkia though. Linkias tend to bend a lot, and this one was always pretty stiff. I could be off on the size, but not much.