Red Starfish reef safe?

[attml]

My 5 year old twin daughters and I were at the LFS and one of my daughters fell in love with a red starfish looks just like one in the " Reef Packages Icon" on Saltwaterfish.com but is red. I told her that if she was good Santa might bring it for her (it is all that she is talking about). My questions are these: are red stars reef safe and what do they eat? If worse comes to worse I could put it in my 30 gallon swfo tank (base rock & crushed coral surface but would perfer to put it in my 55 gal reef if it is safe to do so). Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[simm]

hehehe we know. You get the kids to ask santa for your toys. LOL jk. kinda like the home **** commercial. The little girl asking santa for a 13amp circular saw. No really it was either a red linka or a red serpant. They should be safe.

 

[attml]

Yeah, I thought the sump configuration and calcium reactor would be a stretch for Santa! Any idea on what they eat - Thanks!

 

[simm]

Meat Eaters if you have one like the blue linka. Any free floating stuff such as krill, shrimp etc.

 

[attml]

Thanks Sammy!

 

[ophiura]

If it looks like the icon, but a different color, it is most definitely NOT a meat eater, and needs a large mature reef tank to survive. If it has knobs on it like a chocolate chip, general or red african then it is not reef safe.
The reef safe stars feed on bacterial films, and the critters that feed on it. You must acclimate them very slowly, over at least 4+ hours using a drip method. Very few survive acclimation, which often kills them within 1 month. Many starve in systems without enough LR in about 1 year. Most can not be spot fed anything, and there should not be other similar stars in the tank, unless it is a very large system.
Reef conditions must be pristine; they do not tolerate fluctuation in water parameters. Specific gravity should be 1.025-1.026, stable PH, alk, etc.
I have never heard a report of anyone successfully feeding a Linckia krill or other things, so I would be very interested in anyone who has successfully kept one and fed it this. Most people report that they will not show any interest in prepared foods.
Sammy's link is a really great one.
(Aside to Sammy, are links to advanced aquarist generally OK? It is affiliated with another board. Still trying to sort this out since I have had posts deleted because the author is affiliated with another board...I still find this confusing and am trying to understand)

 

[simm]

Well the icon definatly does not show a red general and I believe we all agree they are not safe. If it looks anything like the icon but red it is a red linkand is reef safe and does eat meaty foods says most of my marine books. Either we are talking about something else or all my books are false. Weather be a red serpant, marble, orage sea star or linka star can be fed meaty foods such as clams, shrip, mussel or fish.

 

[ophiura]

Red generals, red africans, etc...knobby guys, are not reef safe and are meat eaters (snails, clams, corals). But attml said that the star looks like the blue Linckia on the "reef packages" icon, in which case it is likely to be a red reef safe star (though without a photo, hard to be sure). In this case, it is not a meat eater...which is why it is reef safe (in most cases).
It is quite possibly not a Linckia, which is a catch all name for a lot of reef safe stars. We are not real sure exactly what they eat, but very very few are reported to take any formulations or spot feeding. Sometimes they will eat a dead fish or so, but that is about it. Not saying that is true for all of them, but definitely most of them.
Red serpents can certainly be fed meaty things, but I have not seen any reference to Linckia taking anything, and indeed, they are not generally considered to prey on such large things in the wild. Can you tell me which books these are? I'd like to check them out.

 

[attml]

Hi to all and thanks for all of the advice! I have a definitive ID on my Starfish. It is a Red & Black Sea Star (Formia milleporella) and is listed as reef safe. Santa landed on the roof about 2.5 hours ago and was nice enough to stick around and have a few beers as he acclimated the little guy! I will have pictures up in a few minutes!

 

[jja]

This thread has got me thinking. I bought a red star about a month ago and he does have bumps all over him but not as raised as a choc. chip. Much smaller and more of them. It is fairly large but I have only seen him mainly on the glass and occasionaly on the bottom. 90% of the time it is on the glass. Should I take it out or just keep a close eye as I do have corals? Also would it even bother them-open brain,bubble,hammerhead,xenia,mushrooms. The lfs said it would be fine? I know that doesn't mean a lot and that is why I am asking.