Chocolate Chips and Cleaner Shrimp

[shamu424]

Hello, I'm thinking of getting a saltwater tank, and I was wondering whether or not chocolate chip starfish are safe to keep with cleaner shrimp. Also, I'm looking for sources for beginners in marine aquariums. I've had a tropical freshwater tank for 6 years now, but I'm completely lost in the saltwater field. Any help would be nice, thanks.

 

[littlebuck]

well if you want corals then i would not get the CC star. Also look around on here for research and i would also get a few books. Its alot diffrent then Freshwater. It costs quite a bit of money and alot of paitance.

 

[shamu424]

I wasn't planning on coral, but I did want both a chocolate chip star and a cleaner shrimp or two. The guide on the website says they aren't reef safe; does that mean they'll eat only coral or other invertabrates as well?

 

[ophiura]

The chocolate chip star will eat corals, sponges, clams, scallops, snails and just about any other slow moving invertebrate.
Seastars are quite delicate and need a mature system.
There is lots of good reading in our new hobbyists forum, and also in our Archive forum.

How big will your tank be??

 

[shamu424]

Probably a maximum of sixty gallons. I wasn't planning on a huge tank.

 

[nereef]

a chocolate chip star probably won't catch and eat a cleaner shrimp. a cleaner shrimp will be able to move out of the way. an astrea snail, blueleg hermit, or a bivalve might be a different story. depending on your filtration system, i personally would rather have an uneaten cleanup crew than a chocolate chip star.