reef safe starfish

carlos413

Member
I am looking for a reef safe starfish. I rather a small one less than eight inches for a maximum. Thank you.
 

reef_dart21

Member
Brittle or Serpeant starfish, both very interesting looking, and easy to moderate care.
No spot feeding neccesary they are deterius eaters so they will benifit your tank and stay moderately small
Brittle starfish tend to grow larger in size so pik a Serpeant Starfish i have 1
 

carlos413

Member
Originally Posted by Reef_Dart21
http:///forum/post/3096184
Brittle or Serpeant starfish, both very interesting looking, and easy to moderate care.
No spot feeding neccesary they are deterius eaters so they will benifit your tank and stay moderately small
Brittle starfish tend to grow larger in size so pik a Serpeant Starfish i have 1
I did a search and found that the brittle is slightly smaller than the serpeant.
 

reef_dart21

Member
Originally Posted by carlos413
http:///forum/post/3096192
I did a search and found that the brittle is slightly smaller than the serpeant.
once ophiura (or however you spell her name) come she will agree
Brittles have very large arms while serpeants stay small
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Reef_Dart21
http:///forum/post/3096184
Brittle or Serpeant starfish, both very interesting looking, and easy to moderate care.
No spot feeding neccesary they are deterius eaters so they will benifit your tank and stay moderately small
Brittle starfish tend to grow larger in size so pik a Serpeant Starfish i have 1


If you put serpents or brittle stars in your tank you will almost never see them...they completely live in the rocks. They are GREAT as part of the CUC.
A froma red star fish... SWF sells them as just red star but it is reef safe and very pretty. I had a nobby star in my reef with no problems at all, SWF says not reef safe
. Here is a picture of mine that I kept in a 55g yeas ago...Stars need a mature tank or they will starve.
 

reef_dart21

Member
the knobby starfish is cannibilistic, carnivore (eats small fish) and likes hard and soft coral just like the choclate chip
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Reef_Dart21
http:///forum/post/3096433
the knobby starfish is cannibilistic, carnivore (eats small fish) and likes hard and soft coral just like the choclate chip

I had two in my tank for 2 years...never bothered anything in my reef. I put a CC in and it ate coral immediately..LFS said reef safe, I removed it..they would not replace my coral.
 

jackri

Active Member
Love my serpent star... I try and feed it a little shrimp pellet every week -- have had him around a year but likes to hide during the day.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by jackri
http:///forum/post/3100051
Love my serpent star... I try and feed it a little shrimp pellet every week -- have had him around a year but likes to hide during the day.
+1 but they are not out where you can see them..It is a treat when mine comes out...I do feed him chunks of shrimp..all I see are his arms grabbing it.
 

meowzer

Moderator
I bought one...thought it died cause I hadn't seen it in like 2 months. One day I was looking in a hole in the rock, and I found it. To this day, I never see it unless I shine a light just right in this hole in rock. IT never comes out, and I even watch the tank at night
 

jackri

Active Member
My wanders out for food.. so I make sure he gets some now and then. Cool when you do see him but he's not the "star" attraction of my tank anyways... get it?
 

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by carlos413
http:///forum/post/3096192
I did a search and found that the brittle is slightly smaller than the serpeant.
There is no biological difference between brittle and serpentstars, so I am afraid this distinction is not true.
All of these stars should be spot fed.
Please give specific parameters of your tank. How old is it? How much LR? Inhabitants?
All seastars are delicate and definitely a lot of care needs to be taken in researching, selecting and acclimating. A large number will starve to death in our systems :(
 

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3096274

If you put serpents or brittle stars in your tank you will almost never see them...they completely live in the rocks. They are GREAT as part of the CUC.
A froma red star fish... SWF sells them as just red star but it is reef safe and very pretty. I had a nobby star in my reef with no problems at all, SWF says not reef safe %%. Here is a picture of mine that I kept in a 55g yeas ago...Stars need a mature tank or they will starve.
The star in this picture is Echinaster echinophorus. As mentioned, it needs a mature tank with a lot of LR, as it can not be spot fed and will frequently starve. IMO, it is reef safe, though uncommon in the hobby.
Fromia milleporella is a tiny red star - same requirements for a large mature reef tank or it will starve.
This is NOT the same knobby star as the African red, Protoreaster linckii, which is predatory and not reef safe. It is a relative of the chocolate chip or general star. Very different beasts confused by using common names :(
 

tankster

New Member
I think the best choice of Starfish for reef aqaurium is Spotted Linckia Linckia multiflora. They usually around 2-3 inches, I have few of them in my 150 gallon, they live forever.
 

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by Tankster
http:///forum/post/3107144
I think the best choice of Starfish for reef aqaurium is Spotted Linckia Linckia multiflora. They usually around 2-3 inches, I have few of them in my 150 gallon, they live forever.

I would definitely agree, though still they are not suitable for many tanks under 55g that are not reefs tanks with a lot of LR. However they are by far the hardiest of Linckia stars and a very good choice for many tanks.
 

truperc

Member
I don't want to hijack this thread, but it seems silly to start another one.
Are Frommia's the best option for a reef safe starfish that fits the typical body type that most people envision for a starfish.
And one that will be visible.
Also, is there one Frommia that is better then the rest?
 

ophiura

Active Member
Fromia, IMO are some of the most delicate stars and really really need a very large mature reef tank with at least 100+lbs of LR. even the tiny Fromia milleporella. They can not be spot fed and do tend to starve in smaller systems. Live rock is critical, as are pristine REEF parameters (what is good for fish can be fatal for these guys). Acclimation must be a drip acclimation for several hours, IMO. Most that I see at LFS are already suffering from acclimation shock and mostly this would be irreversible.
In larger tanks with a lot of LR available, and with a healthy specimen, long term survival is probably pretty good (I mean say a 125 with 150+lbs of LR that is a full mature reef system, 6+ months old).
As for being visible. There is no guarantee that any will sit out in the front of the tank. :( They will cruise around feeding on the LR, in any crevice and such they can get into.
 
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