found a starfish!! got an id?

blayz77

Member
ok so i dunno where the hell it came from but i glanced at my tank and Bam there is a starfish on the glass here got a couple pics mayby someone can tell me what kind it is..

 

blayz77

Member
if i had to guess based on the starfish this website sells it looks like it could be a very smail spotted linckia but im not sure
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by Blayz77
http:///forum/post/2955987
if i had to guess based on the starfish this website sells it looks like it could be a very smail spotted linckia but im not sure
I really don't know what it is but Linckia typically have 6 arms.
 

mr_x

Active Member
i have astreas with 3 and 4 arms also. are these just juvenile or damaged specimens?
 

spanko

Active Member
Yup looks like a sand sifter. (Astropecten polycanthus)
Here is a picture from live aquaria.
http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20080204195512/www.***********.com/images/categories/product/p-86408-seastar.jpg
 

spanko

Active Member
Originally Posted by jayking232003
http:///forum/post/2956244
No sand sifting star I've ever seen goes on the glass. Mine stays on the bottom in the sand.
Got to images.google.com and search for sand sifting starfish. You will see many pics of them on the glass.
 

defcon11

Member
Originally Posted by jayking232003
http:///forum/post/2956244
No sand sifting star I've ever seen goes on the glass. Mine stays on the bottom in the sand.
Mine goes on the glass all the time to eat the algae. Next time it does it I'll take a pic and try and post it. It might realize that there is nothing in the tank that is going to eat it.
 

blayz77

Member
hmm ok ill ahve to take a closer look at him next time i see him thx for the pic of the sandsifting star.. he was hiding in my tank in the upper right corner behind my mag-float most of the day in the shade, mayby trying to stay out of the light? are they nocturnal? it had looked at one point it was holding onto one of the little critters that are on my rocks all the time. then the next thing you know he was gone and i havent seen the starfish since.
when i saw him for the first time yesterday it had been late at night when the lights were off in the tank. i hope he survives the cycling process i think its kinda neat to have a starfish in there. it gives me something to look at lol
 

mr_x

Active Member
i don't think it's a sand sifting star, but if it is, i believe the fact that it's on the glass indicates that he's having trouble finding food, or is stressed from everything that happened to him recently.
i don't know how true it is, but i heard from an unreliable source that if the tips of the starfish's legs are curled like that, he's not doing well.
 

blayz77

Member
yeah im worried that he wont make it. even though he is really small ive read up on sand sifting stars. and apparently they have a real big appetite. and with my tank being brand new there isnt going to be much for him to eat i imagine. after he dissapeared on me ive looked all over for it and cant find it.
i guess theres not much i can do about it.
 

defcon11

Member
Originally Posted by Blayz77
http:///forum/post/2957771
and apparently they have a real big appetite. and with my tank being brand new there isnt going to be much for him to eat i imagine. .
Just cut a small piece of nori (seaweed) and bury cover it with sand. The starfish should find it and feast away. Try cutting a piece about the size of the body, and check back the next day to see if it is gone.
 
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