paulcoates
Member
I was looking at my two sand sifters today and I noticed that they are on top of each other.
Any idea what is going on here?
Any idea what is going on here?
Sand Sifting Star Behavior
- Thread starter paulcoates
- Start date
paulcoates
Member
Crushed Coral
paulcoates
Member
my LFS said they would be fine. In fact, he pretty much setup my tank.
Does anyone know what they are doing?
Does anyone know what they are doing?
paulcoates
Member
People on here stated you cant have them in live sand because they will kill everything in the sand over a period of a few months, now you cant have them in crushed coral?
If anyone knows what this action is, let me know.
I dont think they are mating. I have been told that is not how they mate
If anyone knows what this action is, let me know.
I dont think they are mating. I have been told that is not how they mate
greatfullreefer
Active Member
Originally posted by paulcoates
People on here stated you cant have them in live sand because they will kill everything in the sand over a period of a few months, now you cant have them in crushed coral?
I believe you misunderstood what people were saying, yes they will deplete the sand of beneficial infauna rendering it dead. This is why most people will not add them to their tank. (kind of like if you dont want a goat to eat your grass then dont get a goat)
CC is not a suitable substrate for them and they will starve to death in under a year.
unleashed
Active Member
Originally posted by paulcoates
my LFS said they would be fine. In fact, he pretty much setup my tank.
Does anyone know what they are doing?
how many times have we asked our LFS's about a certain product species or just for informational purposes and accually got the right answer?im not saying they are always wrong mind you.I persoannly use 3 different LFS for supplies one for fish and live stock the others for just supplies.just because something has worked for your LFS does not mean its a good idea in the home aquarium.they have a rotating stock of life comming and going if they have a death its a tax write off and they just replace it they dont keep the fish for long so what may not effect them in their tanks doesnt mean it wont in a for life tank.ask them questions but research dont take for granted these ppl know what are doing or talking about. i have come to find that most of them dont have a single clue.ditch the cc or ditch the stars.
rangermonroe
Member
Mine do that now and again. I don't know what they are doing.
I separated them a few times...right back at it
I separated them a few times...right back at it
kaotik
Member
I hate LFS's because of that exact reason. You'd think that since they are dealing with live animals that they would know exactly how to care for each one. Why do we get all of these opposite answers from LFS's. 
It would be different if the product we were purchasing from them wasn't going to die when they give us incorrect information. IMO I think a sand-sifting star would do better in sand (hence the name "sand" sifting) but there are always exceptions. I also believe that they will do best in a well established tank where it wouldnt matter much if they were eating a lot of sand bacteria since there is so much to begin with anyways. Like GreatfullReefer said:
(kind of like if you dont want a goat to eat your grass then dont get a goat)
But if you had so much grass that it would grow back before the goat could eat all of it, then you could get a goat.
Just my 2 pennies!!
P.S. I dont know if stars do this, but maybe they are eating the bacteria off of eachother??? :thinking:
It would be different if the product we were purchasing from them wasn't going to die when they give us incorrect information. IMO I think a sand-sifting star would do better in sand (hence the name "sand" sifting) but there are always exceptions. I also believe that they will do best in a well established tank where it wouldnt matter much if they were eating a lot of sand bacteria since there is so much to begin with anyways. Like GreatfullReefer said: (kind of like if you dont want a goat to eat your grass then dont get a goat)
But if you had so much grass that it would grow back before the goat could eat all of it, then you could get a goat.
Just my 2 pennies!!
P.S. I dont know if stars do this, but maybe they are eating the bacteria off of eachother??? :thinking:
greatfullreefer
Active Member
To my knowledge they dont eat the bacteria, they eat the micro infauna(critters like pods and worms) which keep your sand bed tilled and stirred to aide in the denitrification process. Without these critters the build up of nutrients could eventually lead to an entire tank crash.
We do have a resident starfish expert Ophiura may be able to add a little something as my experience is somewhat limited.
We do have a resident starfish expert Ophiura may be able to add a little something as my experience is somewhat limited.
ophiura
Active Member
Yup, I've got the answer (or got it from a seastar pal):
What you are bearing witness to is what's known and documented as "pseudocopulation". This was documented by Ohshim and Ikeda in 3 papers in 1934. in the Proceedings of the Imperial Academy vol. 10: 125-128 and 180-182. There' probably a few other scattered papers-but it seems to be noted primarily as novel behavior in starfish. Not much is known about
it-quantitative rates of success/advantage/reprod. success, etc. Likewise, I know they do it-but haven't ever really had a chance to develop my knowledge on the subject. Insofar as is known, it *is* the only starfish that is thought to behave in this fashion.
However, this is not to imply that you will get reproduction in these stars.....
What you are bearing witness to is what's known and documented as "pseudocopulation". This was documented by Ohshim and Ikeda in 3 papers in 1934. in the Proceedings of the Imperial Academy vol. 10: 125-128 and 180-182. There' probably a few other scattered papers-but it seems to be noted primarily as novel behavior in starfish. Not much is known about
it-quantitative rates of success/advantage/reprod. success, etc. Likewise, I know they do it-but haven't ever really had a chance to develop my knowledge on the subject. Insofar as is known, it *is* the only starfish that is thought to behave in this fashion.
However, this is not to imply that you will get reproduction in these stars.....
