Basket Star pic

troyrb

troyrb

Member
Before people jump down my throat. I already know it probably won't survive in my tank and I made a mistake buying it. I bought it last week from what I thought was a very reputable reef store. They told me it was very hardy and even looked it up in a reef keepers book they had on the shelf. The book even said they could be kept with ease and are great additions to reef tanks. Anyways I will do my best to try and keep it alive. I have been feeding him at night frozen shrimp and dosing DT's every other night. These basket stars are the most fascinating creatures and I thought I would share a picture I took of it last night under my moon lighting. It is fanned out in all it's glory every night. They are soe beautiful to watch at night just to bad there not more hardy.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I would suggest that you look up, if you have not already, some old threads on this board about Basketstars. If you can, try and contact Sterling who kept the beast. You may need to do something in size between the DTs and the shrimp.
I would think they would be pretty hardy, just need a very large system (I think they can get to something like 3 ft spread out) with good currents and great attention to feeding (usually like you are doing...hand feeding after dark every day...they need huge quantities of appropriate size food). Otherwise, they will starve.
 
troyrb

troyrb

Member
It is very hard to get a good picture of them because they only come out at night. The picture above was one out of ten that I took that turned out and I had to do a lot of adjusting in PhotoShop. You can do a search in google images and see tons of pics like this one. They look like some kind of alien.
 
troyrb

troyrb

Member
Well despite people telling me it would starve within a month my basket star is still alive and seems healthy. I feed him usually every night by pouring a tablespoon of DT's right on him when he is fully open. He seems to love the DT's. I tried feeding him all types of larger foods but he didn't want anything to do with them. So far, so good, I just keep my fingers crossed.
 
troyrb

troyrb

Member
To my knowledge baskets don't eat algae. Basket stars eat things like plankton and other micro organisms. I even read that they can eat very tiny fish if they can catch them swimming by. My basket star stays hidden in a tight ball under anything he can get shade from during the day then at night he comes out and opens up to about 10" in length. The picture above was taken when I caught him off guard by turning the lights on early and snapping a pic before he coiled back up.
 
007

007

Active Member
thats a good sign that he's still hiding from the light. I encourage you to keep up the good work. When you feed do you turn off all the pumps for the moment? That would give him a better chance to catch more phyto . . .
 
troyrb

troyrb

Member
No he doesn't really knock anything over. Sometimes he pulls the suction cups lose that hold my power head to the glass and they fall onto the rocks. Thats about the only thing.
I don't usually turn the power heads off when I feed him but that is a good idea. I will start doing that from now on.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member

Originally posted by shawnts106
OH, I didnt know that Baskets dont eat algae... most stars do dont they?... OH, anyway KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK... and continue with DTS.. THE ONLY WAY TO GO! HAHA
No. If I had to gice a "most" answer, "most" are predatory or scavengers...omnivores, but I reckon quite few are herbivores over all. Certainly the "reef safe" stars we keep are not algae eaters in the sense we think of...or we would all have great success with keeping them.
And certainly not brittlestars, to which this animal belongs. It is an obligate filter feeder, and often requires relatively specialized particle sizes.
I do wish to emphasize here, that people should NOT go buy one of these stars when they see them.
They do require a lot of attention...not a beginner animal, or a impulse purchase. This one appears to be a baby. They need specific feedings, and a search for posts on a basketstar kept by "Sterling" will indicate some of the effort that goes into one. If I recall, that one was hand fed baby mollies or something in that size range, but nothing larger.
IMO, and in general - meaning nothing to this thread in particular - it falls into the group of animals that, IMO, should be banned because successfully keeping them means that they will outgrow nearly all hobbyists tanks. I am a big believer in only keeping things that can be kept in average hobbyists tanks, or can be propagated through the hobby (corals which grow large). These guys get HUGE and live a long time...it would be hard for an adult, over three feet in diameter, to fully open in most hobbyist systems...and at that size it would require a great deal of food and care.
They are spectacular animals, but I do want to discourage any impulse buying.
But great to hear it is doing well and that you are giving it the attention! :)
 
troyrb

troyrb

Member
I agree with ophiura. Please don't go out and buy a basket star on the account of my notably short success with them. They do require a very stable tank and being feed evey night. They are defiantly not the easiest animals to keep alive.
ophiura: From what I have read not all basket stars get very large. There are many different type of basket stars and they come in all different sizes just like all types of star fish.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Yes, I know...but I suspect that is one that grows to be large. Was there any mention of where it might have come from? I am wondering it if is Astrophyton muricatum, the more common basketstar in the hobby...and this is a pretty big beast.
 
troyrb

troyrb

Member
No i'm not sure exactly what type it is. If it gets too large for my tank I will upgrade my tank size or find a good home for him with someone that has a bigger tank.
 
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