ophiura
Active Member
PART II – Beasts of Burden and the Reef Ruiners
This is a continuation of the Invert of the Month series on seastars. General information was provided in Part I, which is a good place to start.
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=180772
The water parameters required for these stars should be considered the same. All echinoderms need to have stable specific gravity, around 1.025-1.026. Most also need a long slow acclimation, especially if your tank is much different from the LFS. Additionally, be sure to check for disintegration of the arm tips or whitish patches before purchase. All are prone to suffer from acclimation shock, which may set in up to a month after introduction.
The beast of burden:
Archaster typicus (Sand Sifter Star)
Similar in appearance but not commonly in the hobby:
Luidia sp
Astropecten sp
A popular type of star in the hobby due to an unfortunate misconception – that it eats algae and detritus. While some of these stars may take to spot feeding and scavenging, its actual diet seems to consist of microfauna found in the sand. This includes worms, crustaceans and other beneficial creatures in a sand bed. These stars should not be put in tanks that use a functional deep sand bed as they consume the critters that keep the sand bed healthy, as well as disturb the stratification of the sand bed. The drawback is that in tanks not using a sand bed, and a very large one at that, these stars may quickly starve to death unless they do take to spot feeding. For this reason, it is a no win situation. I suggest trying a variety of foods and putting it in their path, and hoping.
The simple fact is, however, that most WILL DIE in captivity within a year in all but extremely large tanks with very large surface areas of sand (meaning 100+ gallon tank with minimal live rock), after a long slow starvation. The death is characteristic, and involves the slow disintegration of the arms. Often it will turn up with an entire arm missing, and then another chunk, and another. Hermits and other scavengers may also go after the star at this time, and many owners may be led to believe that the hermits KILLED the star, when in reality they were taking advantage of a dying animal – something we buy them to do.
I do not recommend keeping these stars at all.
As an aside, a couple of stars turn up from the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico that may appear similar, so I've included them here. These are members of Luidia and Astropecten. They look quite like Archaster but are not close relatives. Behaviorally they may be similar, and will burrow into sand. But be forwarned if you are wandering around in Florida and want to bring one home. These can be highly predatory. How about a story about one?
Here is a story from the Echinoderm Newsletter (on the Smithsonian website).
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/iz/echinoderm/1999/luidia.htm
This is a continuation of the Invert of the Month series on seastars. General information was provided in Part I, which is a good place to start.
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=180772
The water parameters required for these stars should be considered the same. All echinoderms need to have stable specific gravity, around 1.025-1.026. Most also need a long slow acclimation, especially if your tank is much different from the LFS. Additionally, be sure to check for disintegration of the arm tips or whitish patches before purchase. All are prone to suffer from acclimation shock, which may set in up to a month after introduction.
The beast of burden:
Archaster typicus (Sand Sifter Star)
Similar in appearance but not commonly in the hobby:
Luidia sp
Astropecten sp
A popular type of star in the hobby due to an unfortunate misconception – that it eats algae and detritus. While some of these stars may take to spot feeding and scavenging, its actual diet seems to consist of microfauna found in the sand. This includes worms, crustaceans and other beneficial creatures in a sand bed. These stars should not be put in tanks that use a functional deep sand bed as they consume the critters that keep the sand bed healthy, as well as disturb the stratification of the sand bed. The drawback is that in tanks not using a sand bed, and a very large one at that, these stars may quickly starve to death unless they do take to spot feeding. For this reason, it is a no win situation. I suggest trying a variety of foods and putting it in their path, and hoping.
The simple fact is, however, that most WILL DIE in captivity within a year in all but extremely large tanks with very large surface areas of sand (meaning 100+ gallon tank with minimal live rock), after a long slow starvation. The death is characteristic, and involves the slow disintegration of the arms. Often it will turn up with an entire arm missing, and then another chunk, and another. Hermits and other scavengers may also go after the star at this time, and many owners may be led to believe that the hermits KILLED the star, when in reality they were taking advantage of a dying animal – something we buy them to do.
I do not recommend keeping these stars at all.
As an aside, a couple of stars turn up from the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico that may appear similar, so I've included them here. These are members of Luidia and Astropecten. They look quite like Archaster but are not close relatives. Behaviorally they may be similar, and will burrow into sand. But be forwarned if you are wandering around in Florida and want to bring one home. These can be highly predatory. How about a story about one?
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/iz/echinoderm/1999/luidia.htm
