chocolate chip starfish

[rknapp]

I recently purchased a chocolate chip starfish. The LFS told me it would be safe in my reef/fish tank. and would find food to eat on its' own. It seams to me that eventually this poor creature won't get enough food from my 90 gal tank and that I should feed it sometimes. Would anybody know about feeding and what to feed if necessary?
Its in a 90gal reef tank w/200lbs live rock, 1 yellow tang, 1 clown, 1 golden head gobie, 1 flame angel, 2 cleaner shrimp, mushroom corals, 2 different leathers, 1 gonapora and some crabs and snails.
Tank has been running for about 18 months.
Thanks anyone.

 

[jake22]

cc star fish are not reef safe and will eat other strafish and probably anything they can catch

 

[jillian ayers]

AAAhhhhh, and I wanted to get a cc starfish They're so pretty!

 

[chocochipper]

Usually people say they are not reef safe. Not always true. Every one is different. I've had mine since the start and never a real problem touching anything he wasn't supposed to. He may eat a small patch of corraline algea on occasion, but it comes back quickly and you barely have time to notice. For the most part you shouldn't have to feed anything extra, there is a lot in the tank for them to munch on. I do give mine a treat every couple weeks or so. Usually a half a cocktail shrimp or krill, when he is sitting at the top of the glass with a leg cocked back floating in the waves. Good luck and do keep an eye on him, just in case.

 

[carrie1429]

I have 3 chocolate chip stars and they have eaten my four feather dusters, and my green star polyp and pretty much anything else they can get their.....legs on. So I say that cc stars are not reef safe, I'm sure there are some that are but with my stars, they aren't reef safe.

 

[ophiura]

It is always difficult to judge the personality of some of these things, but some generalizations can be made based on their diets in the wild. It is best, IMO, to work within these, even if some individuals may not be a problem.
Chocolate chip stars, and other knobby stars like generals and African reds are generally predatory, and will consume snails, clams, and other animals commonly found in reef tanks. I do not recommend them in reef tanks. They should be spot fed as mentioned above.
Blue Linckia and relatives like Fromia are generally bacterial film grazers, and eat encrusting bits in their path (algal and bacterial films, sponges, bryozoans), but are typically considered to be reef safe (they will not generally eat corals, snails, clams, etc). They typically will not respond to spot feeding, and therefor must be put into appropriate large mature reef systems with lots of LR, and without additional competitors (meaning, don't try to have a lot of these stars, one is best).
Sand sifting stars feed on the animals in the DSB, and are not considered beneficial to tanks using a DSB for functional filtration, etc.

 

[fishtanker]

i had a CC star. it ate green star polyps, an anemone, and a clam (why i put a clam in there i don't know, pretty expensive meal IMO). mine wasn't reef safe by any means. I did notiice that it wouldn't eat any yellow ployps i don't know why beacuse it did eat my Condylactis anemone

 

[peasly1]

I've had one for almost 3 yrs now w/ mushrooms,ls,lr,and fish...I dont think its ever bothered anything,but may have cleaned up on a fish when it didnt look so good..

 

[ophiura]

I don't think that it will capture any healthy fish...but they would certainly chow down on a dead one. Yum. But they love things like clams and snails. I think some polyps and or mushrooms may have some toxins that are not too tasty, while others may be quite enjoyable.

 

[surfnturf]

ophiura,
You are the sh*t when it comes to stars. Where the heck did you learn so much about these creatures? If and when I think about getting a starfish, I hope you don't mind if I seek your advice.

 

[ophiura]

Aw shucks. Thanks.
Started studying brittlestars in 1992 and kept on in grad school. Neat beasties they are...seastars aren't as much fun.

 

[dave flood]

I have one for about 1 year.It did not bother anyone yet

 

[fishfood]

I have never had a cc star but do have a blue linckia and a red fromia. The blue is doing great in my tank if you can say 4 months is great but i have heard that people have problems with them. I just added the red fromia about 2 weeks ago. If you are looking for reef safe stars these guys are the way to go. I hope there is enough in my tank for both of them to eat.