Questions about serpant star eating habbits.

[katsafados]

I just bought a serpant starfish, and I've been feeding it chunks of king grab. Today when I fed my tank, the starfish got ahold of a chunk of my home made food. It spat out the crab meat (which was still whole) and put the new food into its mouth.
How do starfish eat? Do they put the food into the mouth, and enzymes break the food down, or does the food just sit in the mouth cavity and the star absorbes the nutrients? Is it wierd what my star did? Also how do you know if your star is healthy? What do you guys feed your stars? Any other tips?

 

[katsafados]

Heres a pic of Mr. Star
Attachment 231066

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Katsafados
http:///forum/post/3127754
I just bought a serpant starfish, and I've been feeding it chunks of king grab. Today when I fed my tank, the starfish got ahold of a chunk of my home made food. It spat out the crab meat (which was still whole) and put the new food into its mouth.
How do starfish eat? Do they put the food into the mouth, and enzymes break the food down, or does the food just sit in the mouth cavity and the star absorbes the nutrients? Is it wierd what my star did? Also how do you know if your star is healthy? What do you guys feed your stars? Any other tips?

I think crab meat is cooked..that is why it is in a solid state of chunks. Crabs are sea bugs (spiders). They have jelly guts until it is cooked. I THINK...I am no expert, I am going on what I saw in the castaway movie, with Tom Hanks...I don't eat crabs, lobster or shrimp myself.
I feed my star chunks of RAW peeled shrimp...everything raw from the sea will be a good food for a serpent star.

 

[katsafados]

AHHHHH I'm an idiot! lol
I think your right lol. Thats why the shell is bright red. When crabs get cooked they turn red. Well my crabs in my tank seem to love to eat their brother haha.
How often do you feed your stars? Also do you think it spit out the crab meat because it was cooked? Or do they usually do that?

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Katsafados
http:///forum/post/3127764
AHHHHH I'm an idiot! lol
I think your right lol. Thats why the shell is bright red. When crabs get cooked they turn red. Well my crabs in my tank seem to love to eat their brother haha.
How often do you feed your stars? Also do you think it spit out the crab meat because it was cooked? Or do they usually do that?

Crab, I believed was cooked, so I never fed my critters cooked seafood. I feed my critters RAW peeled shrimp...I thaw out one piece, cut it into three pieces...I feed the stars once each week..but my stars a huge, I mean huge..1 has legs and all about 14 inches (green brittle star)..another is half that size (green serpent star) and the other is nearly as large as the second (red serpent star).
They are a part of he CUC. Raw uneaten seafood will poison the tank, causing a huge ammonia spike... so never over feed. My crabs are algae eaters, they will nibble on shrimp, but that is not what they live on. So I do not feed them, they feed on what they find in the tank.
Also if a critter has died, I don't feed them...I only feed them if they have had no dead critters to feed on, which most of the time. My critters don't die often... thank goodness.