Ophiura-Which Star is Right for Me?

450rguy

450rguy

Member
OK, I have a 55g display, 10g fuge, 10g sump, skimmer, 88lbs LR, and 2" sand bed. My tank is currently 2 months old with a stocking of 2 Zebra Turbos, 4 Nassirius, 3 Hermits, 1 Emerald Crab and as of yesterday I added 1 Percula Clown, 1 Coral Banded Shrimp, and a Zoo Colony of about 200+ Polyps. (My cycle happened fast with a combination of cured and uncured LR; haven't seen ammonia for more than a month now)
Tank will be a full reef, with the additional stockings of 1 more Perc, 1 Purple Firefish, 1 Red Head Goby, 1 Green Mandarin (at the 1 year mark-if I can find one to eat prepared foods), 2 Peppermint Shrimp, 1 Skunk Cleaner, 1 Clam (When I think I'm prepared for it) and possibly one other small fish. And of course...corals!
Now, knowing my setup and stocking, can I even have a star? If so, what would be recommended, and at what maturity level of my tank? My number one pick would be an Orange Linkia, but due to difficulty of keeping one, that's out of the question. My number 2 pick would be a Fromia, but I haven't found a lot of detailed info about this species.
Being blunt and stating the cold hard truth is fine with me. I'm new, but in my 1yr+ of research before going SW, I've payed attention to who knows their sh...tuff. When I started having conflicting opinions about stars, I knew who to ask.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Fromia is out too, regardless of small size :)
There is a chance with an orange...is it a good one? I couldn't tell you. IMO, it would be marginal. Might work, might not.
Linkia multiflora is a possible option here. In a full reef, it may be OK...relatively hardier than any other.
I will add that I really never recommend a Linckia to tanks
perhaps unless it is in the 200g+ range with loads of rock.
HOWEVER, let the tank mature (at least 6 mos. old), and check the parameters before you are really considering them. These things are quite delicate...also be wary of the LFS you buy from...if their specific gravity is low (below 1.024 at the minimum) I would not personally consider it.
 
450rguy

450rguy

Member
Thank you very much for your reply. Linkia multiflora...I had not heard of the star, thanks for the suggestion. It looks to be on "possibly do-able" list of reef safe stars. :) It's a very nice looking star also. I have yet to find the maximum adult size though.
As far as when to introduce the star, I had actually planned to wait until about the 1 yr mark. By then I should be relatively comfortable with maintaining my tank. Also, I want to get thru summer before I get anything so sensitive to fluctuations. I don't like AC until the really hot mid-summer months. I prefer the fresh air from open windows. So, I want to see how my setup handles the heat and see if I'm going to have to purchase a chiller.
Due to the health of stars being compromised during capture, shipping, poor acclimation, etc, I have one more "expert opinion" question. To receive a star in the best health possible, would it be better to use a reputable online retailer or a good LFS? My opinion leans toward an online retailer because the star has one less acclimation and the required handling/stress.
Thanks again for your reply.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I think you have a good plan in terms of waiting It is admirable

Linckia multiflora actually only gets to be 4'5" or so across the arm and disk (this is not arm tip to arm tip). It has been known to arm drop - asexually reproduce - in tanks as small as 29g (note, these are nonetheless packed reef tanks). Even more unusual is the fact that they have been reported as hitch hikers on LR...a journey no other Linckia is likely to survive, IMO. How frequent it is...probably not at all, but it has been reported.
As for ordering online...well, I would in general agree with you there. There are benefits to seeing them in an LFS, but if that LFS doesn't acclimate...
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
Ophiura, what would the ideal tank for a orange linckia.
Also, what about a biscuit or cushion type stars....ideal tank, ect.
I was eyeing an orange linckia today, hard to resist. But learned my lesson with a blue linckia....
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
For an orange, to be honest, I would still say a 100g with 125lbs of LR minimum. Do people get buy with less? Yes...but how much less, realistically, I don't know. So an ideal tank would be larger...actually the IDEAL tank would be 300g+ with 300 or more pounds of LR. All the rest of this is guesstimating.
Biscuit and cushion we would have to look at pictures to see what you are talking about.
The big cushion star on this site, IMO, would belong in a very large tank (they get very large) and were far more predatory than I would have expected.
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
pic 1 - Culcita novaeguineae.
pic 2 - Culcita sp. i believe this is the one swf sells. awesome pic here.
pic 3 - Choriaster granulatus.
these are all cushion type....looking for some buscuit type I saw yesturday.


 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
There is a reason you don't see them often, IMO.
I believe the first 3 are quite predatory and get rather large.
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
Also, i may have made a mistake. I was going to get a brittle or serpent. When i was getting it, I saw some sandsifting stars. And yes, i got one. It seem to be ok for my tank. But I am sure it isn't now. I have a small 24aquapod, not much room to roam in the sand. They also eat benthic sand crustaceans, and I was thinking in my head just detritus and left over food and stuff. Oh well, should be ok until I return him....or should I? So the question is, should i return him like i think i should....and should i replace him with a serpent or brittle. Or would none of them be ok for my tank?
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
A sandsifter star will starve in your tank within a few months. They are terrible for a sand bed. Almost certain to die.
A brittlestar (serpentstar is the SAME thing) would be fine, however, avoid the green. I do not recommend these stars just as clean up animals. They should be spot fed.
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
Just as I thought, at least i made a mistake that can be fixed.
so a brittle(serpent) would be ok. is there really any difference in a brittle or serpent. And why not a green? Would i feed the same as my chocolate chip?
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
There is no biological difference between brittle and serpentstars; this is a distinction made in the hobby only...and hobbyists are inconsistent to say the least in applying the names. Both are common names for the same group of animals.
The green is a known predator in the wild. Other large species may also pose some risk...but then so do hermits, crabs and several other animals we put in a tank.
Yes, you should spot feed it a diversity of foods.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
They would benefit from a variety, but they are not likely to eat a nori sheet, if that is what you mean. Maybe spirulina pellets. Or a pellet designed for omnivores or herbivores as well as meaty stuff.
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
got it, thanks.
Talked to my lfs and he said he'd trade him....so thats great. I think i might do it this weekend.
Besides brittle/serpent and cc.... what others are ok in captivity?....or i should say that you recommend.
 
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