Chocolate chip starfish...again...sorry.

[stig]

I did a search yesterday and read loads about these guys eating all the stuff off of the live rock and snails and the like. I bought one recently knowing they're not reef safe since I have a FOWLR. I don't mind if the little guy occassionaly has a little snack but, if it's gonna devour all the stuff on my LR, I'll probably want to get rid of it.
Finally the question, has anyone here kept one of these guys for any length of time in a tank with live rock and still have critters alive on the live rock???

 

[toungetwster]

I've been wondering the same thing....how much of my live rock will turn into "dead rock"; once I add a CC starfish?

 

[logan15]

live rock will always be live rock cc starfish will eat the stuff on the outside of the rocks but it'll still be live I would get a CC if you have live rock thats just MO tho
-Logan-

 

[califishdude]

i had a fowlr and two cc starfish. i had them for about a year or so. i didnt have any problems with them but one ate my anemonie and it had to be treated. they mostly stick to the glass and just sit there. they cleaned my lr off but i didnt see anything differnenet after they left. IMO i would get a more active starfish. my brittle is alot more active then anyother star i had. it moves really fast when it sences food coming in.

 

[carrie1429]

I had 3 in my tank for almost a year. They never bothered the live rock much, still had tons of critters living in it. They did eat my feather duster though, and tried to eat my sebae anemone.

 

[matti070]

cc's will eat other smaller stars, might harass other corals and reef inhabitants.

 

[ophiura]

Odds are that you will not notice a difference on your LR in terms of coralline, etc. They don't move all that fast. However, various corals or sponges might be at risk. Still, I wouldn't think it would be a major issue in a fish only anyway. It won't destroy your LR, in terms of the beneficial critters that live in it.

 

[luvnluk]

I have 2 in my FOWLR 55 and have not noticed any damage. I think they may have eaten one of my turbo snails, but it could have been dead before they closed in. I agree that they are slow, but they are still kinda fun to watch! Mine are quite the acrobats!

 

[stig]

Thanks for the replies. I will keep an eye on it to keep track of what it's nibbling at. One of the things I enjoy with my tank is finding new stuff on the LR. I hated the idea of it all being eaten by my CC star.