Need help with Starfish ID

[phishman1]

I was walking the beach the other day in Flagler Beach in Florida for lunch, when I came across the following:
- A starfish of some kind
Since I have a Natural seawater tank I'm playing around with I took it home and it is doing very well.
I also took home a clam and learned a valuable lesson, they only live about 3 days in a home tank system......yuk, what a mess....
So, cleaned up that mess, changed water, tested, and everything is fine...
If anyone knows what kind of starfish I have and what it needs to survive better let me know.
- IT IS APPRIXIMATELY THE SIZE OF A CHOC CHIP, BUT IS BLUISH ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE STAR AND SORT OR ORANGE ON THE INSIDE STAR PORTION.
IT LIKES TO BURY ITSELF OR MOVE AROUND ON THE SUBSTRATE, BUT NEVER SEEMS TO "CLIMB" THE GLASS.
JIM

 

[chris200058]

That sounds sorta like a blue linkia it is blue and it doesn't clean glass it just plays in the substrate and climbs the live rock.
Although I haven't heard of any blue Linkia stars in florida they usually come from FIJI
http://www.marinedepotlive.com/1303574.html

 

[phishman1]

Definately not the same star. The one I found is more like the traditional star shape. Blue outer with orange/yellow inner star.l

 

[ophiura]

I suspect you might have an Astropecten or Luidiabased on your description of its behavior and location. Are the arms kind of flat and quite pointed? I do not know if it will do well in a tank, but I guess you can try...is the tank cycled, and is there anything else in it? Most are quite voracious...but I am not sure it will take prepared foods. Definitely not an algae eater...some species are even known to be cannibalistic.

 

[phishman1]

I went to Barnes and Noble last night and you are correct, some sort of Astropectan star.
Not for the reef tank, so I left it in my "experimental" seawater tank.
People have told me for quite a while now that you cannot start a salt water tank from water from the ocean. Well I tried it, it seems to be going fine.
The saving grace was apparently the skimmer, it does indeed remove quite a bit of gunk.
Its a 30 gallon with a large skimmer and an Emperor 280 for filtration. No live rock, just some left over coral (dead) that was laying around.
6 fish from the surf (some kind of jacks I believe and 4 damsels for color.
One serpent star found in the surf, and a starfish which was on the beach stranded.