reef safe starfish

[nitrotmann]

Besides the Brittle starfish and the Serpent starfish, are there any other stars that are considered reef safe? I've got a chocolate chip one, but I know he'll need to find a new home when I start to turn the tank into a reef setup. Its a 55 gallon fish and reef wannabe.
Thanks

 

[jamparty]

Originally Posted by nitrotmann
Besides the Brittle starfish and the Serpent starfish, are there any other stars that are considered reef safe? I've got a chocolate chip one, but I know he'll need to find a new home when I start to turn the tank into a reef setup. Its a 55 gallon fish and reef wannabe.
Thanks
white sand sifters

 

[trippkid]

Usually just the Linkia varieties are reef safe, and they can be difficult to keep. Tank should be fully matured(1 or 2yrs.) before putting one in, to give it the best chance, IMO.

 

[wangotango]

both sand sifters and linkias require larger tanks. the only type of linkia that might work in a 55 would be a multiflora. hopefully ophiura will chime in, as she is the expert.
-Justin

 

[nitrotmann]

okay, thanks. I tried going through the saltwater site's star listings, but they were incomplete.

 

[essop3]

There are none I would recomend for a 55g.

 

[ninjamini]

The only question for most all reef keepers is weather they will die in 3-4 weeks or 5-8 months.
The shorter if you acclimate poorly. The longer for it to starve to death.

 

[myreef05]

For what it's worth; I had a white sand sifting star in my 55 for exactly 1 year and have had him now in a 125 gallon for a little over 1 year as well.

 

[wilson2]

i have these little mini starfish that resemble a sand sifting star, but are less than 1/2 inch, and they are dividing like crazy, do you think they are safe???

 

[farslayer]

Probably asterinas, which are safe.

 

[reefer545]

asterinas are not always safe, as they may eat coral, but usually dont. Tile Stars and other Fromia Stars are reef safe. I had a pink and orange tile star for JUST under a year in a 24 g, but my fiance caused a major tank crash while I was out of town. She did not refill the tank enough to go through my overflow after acclimating a couple new corals, and my water stopped circulating for almost 7 hours. My bio load would have been a bit high, but totally managable. it was the most horrible day I have ever had with my tank, but ALL my corals survived. Not much else though. I tell the story so as to NOT support what the previous posters all believe pertaining to the length of time a star will live in a small tank.

 

[ophiura]

But this is not the general experience, nor do most stars show any signs of any problems before dying. So it may have been fine, or it may have been starving.
Usually I recommend that you need a year to 18 months to know if the star is going to be OK, but even then...it is ok in YOUR system and whatever may be unique to it.
In general, I would propose that people not rely on this. Because what we know is that success with these types of stars is pretty heavily correlated with the amount of surface area of LR available for it...and their just isn't much in small tanks.
Sometimes these stars will take to spot feeding, but don't count on it.
Once an established tank, with say 70lbs of rock, a Linckia multiflora I think would be suitable (depending on tank parameters).