Best reef safe starfish

[splatshot]

looking to add a starfish or 2 to my tank. What is your favorite reefsafe starfish?

 

[reef_dart21]

Orange linkia starfish!!!!! i did have a choclate chip starfish but in about 2 days i found out it WAS NOT reef safe

ne ways defenetly a linkia not neccasarly orange but i prefer orange, although they have blue, purple, etc.
good luck

 

[splatshot]

Thanks, can you have more than 1 type of starfish in the same tank?

 

[matt b]

Originally Posted by splatshot
http:///forum/post/2455990
looking to add a starfish or 2 to my tank. What is your favorite reefsafe starfish?
need more linfo. like how much live rock how big tank how old?

 

[05xrunner]

Linkia are not easy..they need a older tank. since they eat more of a clear film on the tank walls and rock.

 

[ophiura]

Yes, we would need FAR more info. In order to keep two Linckia, for example, I would suggest a minimum of 200lbs of LR in a mature 150g tank. The reef safe stars can not, as a general rule, be spot fed...and need alot of LR. They are some of the most difficult animals we keep. I suggest A LOT of honest research before getting one.

 

[splatshot]

My tank is 65 gal, with 80-90 Lbs of live rock. I have my tank running for about 1 year.

 

[ophiura]

It will be tough, to be honest, to have a reef safe seastar. Brittlestars and serpentstars would be fine. Reef safe seastars a bit marginal. Definitely not a blue Linckia, and I would avoid a Fromia as well (don't let the small size fool you... these "red bali stars" are tough to keep longer than 18 months in smaller tanks). You could maybe consider an orange, but it is on the cusp, IMO. If you could find a Linckia multiflora - the mottled Linckia, that would be a decent shot. What are your parameters, and is it a reef tank?

 

[splatshot]

amm - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 20
Ca - 450
SG - 1.027
Not looking for something really difficult.
I do have some coral, mostly soft coral.

 

[apos]

Brittlestars are great, and far hardier than traditional starfish. You won't see them out full view as much as other stars since they like to hide in rockwork, but their tentacles will be hard at work all over the place.
I'd get your nitrate down to 5 or below though, before considering stars. They are some of the most nitrate sensitive creatures in tanks, and they would thrive far easier with lower trates.
What's with the high salinity? I thought .026 was the upper bound...

 

[abethedog]

I have had great luck with serpent stars. I have two right now. I swear that they can see me preparing food in the next room. When I open the tank and just break the surface of the water they RUN right out to be fed. I probably could spot feed them if I tried. It is kind of cool when they run over a big piece of mysis or brine. They wrap up on it like a boa constrictor.
I had a brittle for a while years back, too.
Linkia's can act like bulldozers.