good starfish for a reef tank

[ryan4321]

I have a red sea max 34 gallon tank and would like to know what would be a good star fish to get that is reef safe... I really wanna get a chocolate chip star fish but was told they will eat corals.....
Thanks!

 

[shawn843]

chocolate chips stars suck. not only are they not reef safe, but the one I had ate all my snails

 

[jtrzerocool]

Chocolate chip stars will eat your corals and anything else that they can find...i would recomend a brittle starfish or a serpant starfish...

 

[mboswell1982]

just make sure u dont get a green brittle

 

[ryan4321]

Thanks for the answers guys.. I was thinking about a serpant star they look pretty cool... what about an Blue Linckia Starfish ?? this site says that they are reef safe.. anyone own one of these ???

 

[ophiura]

Your tank is far to small for a blue Linckia, and probably any reef safe star.
What are your tank parameters?
How old is your tank?
Please understand that seastars are some of the most difficult animals we can keep. tank parameters must be ideal. And even then, many tanks are not suitable.
there are brittle and serpentstars that would be suitable because you can spot feed them. But most reef safe seastars are likely to starve in time.

 

[jackri]

If you really want one I would recommend a serpent star. You can always spot feed him a shrimp pellet or two a few times a week. They'll grab it, curl their arm around it and ingest it... but for a star to soley rely on scavenging is just wishful thinking.

 

[nihoa]

a differing opinion on choc chips, we have had one awhile and are loving him. one of the coolest critters in the tank really. the only thing he bothered in our tank was a fair sized feather duster that came on our liverock. if you keep an eye on it and feed when they show signs of being hungry i think you could be alright. that said i think there is quite a bit of variation between individuals which is where a lot of the contradicting opinions come from.

 

[jackri]

No offense... but I would NEVER put a chocolate chip star in my reef, unless you want to see things mowed down... definately not a reef safe star.

 

[ryan4321]

ok cool. thank again guys.. I'll probably stick with a red serpant star.. quick question what does spot feed mean?

 

[maryg]

Serpent Star.

Spot feeding is like target feeding. I use a turkey baster to spot feed my corals, anenomes, and star. Just defrost your food in some tanks water (I use my homemade food or frozen mysis, brine, or whatever) suck it up and gently squirt.
My daughter thinks my serpent is creapy. They are very gentle creatures. Looks can be deceiving.

 

[shawn843]

unless you are an insomniac and can watch a chocolate chip star all night when its doing a lot of its scavenging, youre not gonna be able to control what it wants to eat