choosing a starfish

[sandys]

What is the best starfish for my 30 gallon fish-only tank? I currently have a bangai cardinal, clown fish, and pseudochromis. I'm not too crazy about serpent stars or brittle stars (they look a little too much like spiders to suit me!) :scared: I was wondering about the linkias or knobby stars?????? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! :cheer:

 

[thegrog]

Go with any of the fromia species of stars, hardy and beautiful. If you are certain about remaining fish only, AND have plenty of live rock (a must have for any star), then you could go with a chocolate chip or a red-knob seastar. Be aware that these things will eat most any coral so keep that in mind.
Stay away from the linkias as they are notoriously hard to keep alive as they don't survive shipping to LFS (or your house) very well.
The fish you have will be fine with a star.

 

[ophiura]

First I think it is always important to start out with more specifics on your tank - age, water parameters, amount of LR.
IMO, Fromia stars, while very attractive, are not the best choice for these smaller tanks - don't let the small size fool you. They still rely on LR to feed, in general do not take to spot feeding (nor do they eat "algae" or detritus), and so they are marginal. Many will die in 8-12 months of starvation. TheGrog - have you kept one of these stars in a smaller tank? I would love to hear more experiences but so far from what I can tell they are not the best choice for smaller - and especially non reef- tanks. They also suffer MANY of the same issues as Linckia, and are commonly seen "melting" in dealer tanks due to improper acclimation.
IMO, the only stars suitable for FO systems, other than brittle/serpents are chocolate chip, general and Red African stars as they can be spot fed and do not rely on LR. However, for ANY star good water quality and a mature tank is important - with special attention to specific gravity which should be 1.025-1.026. Seastars are incredibly sensitive to low specific gravity, or sudden changes (acclimation is important).

 

[thegrog]

Originally Posted by ophiura
First I think it is always important to start out with more specifics on your tank - age, water parameters, amount of LR.
IMO, Fromia stars, while very attractive, are not the best choice for these smaller tanks - don't let the small size fool you. They still rely on LR to feed, in general do not take to spot feeding (nor do they eat "algae" or detritus), and so they are marginal. Many will die in 8-12 months of starvation. TheGrog - have you kept one of these stars in a smaller tank? I would love to hear more experiences but so far from what I can tell they are not the best choice for smaller - and especially non reef- tanks. They also suffer MANY of the same issues as Linckia, and are commonly seen "melting" in dealer tanks due to improper acclimation.
I have only personally kept them alive in a 55 reef. I do have a friend who has kept one in his 30 minireef for around 2-1/2 years. Perhaps he got lucky but personally I think it is due to his merticulous care of his tank. I do agree that careful selection from a dealer/lfs is important as even some of the very "hardy" creatures can be very stressed and fragile (***** could kill an aptasia from stress).
Perhaps I did did give some advice without finding out what the tank specifics are. ample LR is important.

 

[ophiura]

I would LOVE more specs from both of you, especially in terms of Reef/FO, feeding of tank, parameters and LR!! Much appreciated! :yes:

 

[lionfish99]

well after ophiura clears you to get one I would get a Red General

 

[thegrog]

Originally Posted by ophiura
I would LOVE more specs from both of you, especially in terms of Reef/FO, feeding of tank, parameters and LR!! Much appreciated! :yes:

I had my red marble fromia alive in my old 55-gal reef tank. Around 70# of LR, live sand, skimmer, HOT filter, halides, many other corals, an anemone and assorted inverts (snails, fire shirmp, cleaner shrimp, micro hermits, ect). HOT refugium with LR, macroalgae and mangroves (with TONS of pods and live mysis). Of course I have fishies too! :happyfish
I kept my SG at 1.025, pH stable at 8.3, dkh ~10, ammonia & nitrites zero forever, nitrate never got above 5. Use only buffered RO/DI water for topoffs and mixes. 10% changes weekly with aged water.
I feed the tank my own slurry blend of clams, mussels, squid, shrimp, macroalgae, mysis, vit supplement, and cyclop-eeze (a little something for everyone)
He (funny how we give them genders) was alive for over a year until I moved and upgraded my tank to a 125. I added more base rock (to become LR eventually..total will be around 150#) and learned the importance of proper stacking. Everything was fine for 4 days until I woke up to find one huge rock pile had fallen, crushing not only my beloved star, but my brain coral and several polyp colonies. He hung on for a few days, but then fell apart and died.

Just too much damage to the central disc I guess. I plan to get another one soon as he really was a gorgeous specimen. The brain is pulling through so far and the polyp colonies will recover (lost about a dozen polyps). My other serpant stars are doing great as is everything else! :joy:

Moral of the story, make sure your rock piles are stable as things shift around!

 

[ophiura]

I really appreciate this feedback...it is invaluable. There isn't a lot of "long term" info on some of these guys...meaning over a year.
I would also love more specs on the smaller system if you get a chance to talk to the guy!

 

[sandys]

Thanks for all of the great info and sorry for the delay in my response--I posted the thread and then went on vacation!
My 30 gallon tank is 6 months old. I have about 40 lbs. live rock and 40 lbs. live sand. The live rock has developed very well and my water parameters stay excellent. With the warmer weather and faster evaporation, I have had a little difficulty maintaining my salinity so I'm going to work on that before I get a star. I previously got a sand-sifter sea star before I did all my homework and it didn't last too long so I didn't want to make that mistake again! But I love starfish and really want to be able to see them.
With this information, do you think that I am ready for a chocolate chip, general, or Red African?

 

[offshore80]

I still can't fiqure this out. But my Linka is still alive. Going on almost 2 years now. I keep waiting on it to melt. But, some how he just hangs in there. I just took this picture of him under the actinics.

 

[ophiura]

Offshore -
I can remember is it in the 46 bow or the big tank? The orange Linckia definitely seems better able to survive in "smaller" tanks relative to a blue Linckia. But I would still say about 75 lbs of LR is something to aim for in trying to keep one. But these are all ways of trying to quantify something that is difficult to quantify when dealing with a surface feeder - surface area of irregular rock. So clearly you have an appropriate amount of surface area. :yes:

WHAT NO YES SMILEY??????? AHHHHHHHHH! First no rolleyes, now no yes!!!! How about

and this guy -

to express my current frustration.
Anywho....
Sandys -
IMO, any of the "non reef safe" stars you mentioned would probably be suitable but the verdict is out until water parameters - especially specific gravity, alkalinity, pH and nitrates - are given

The tank may also be suitable for the reef safe Linckia multiflora if you are hoping to have any reef animals in the future.

 

[offshore80]

Yes, It's in my 46 reef. a very established tank with lots of live rock. If I knew now I wouldn't of bought him. They are just always in the LFS. I feel good that it's acclimated well to my system. But, I also realize now that I was lucky.