Star Fish

[johns]

I moved some of my live rock around last night and forgot to look for my sand sifting star fish. I don't know if I put a rock on top of either of them but am now worried about them. Question: Should I move the rock again and look for them or will they be able to crawl out from under a rock through the sand bed (about 2 to 3 inches of sand)?
Thanks

 

[ophiura]

It would depend on a lot...when have you last seen the stars? Because, in my experience, they don't burrow SO deep that you don't see them or a lump or something. But each could be different. It is hard to say if they would be trapped.
Do also keep in mind that, except in large (at least 100+ g systems) these stars will most likely starve to death within a year. I do not recommend keeping them.

 

[johns]

I saw the fish a couple of days ago...... but as I said I moved some live rock around last night and am afraid that I might of placed a rock on top of one of the star fish. I don't necessarily want to move the live rock again tonight but might end up doing so just to confirm if a star fish is under one of them.
thanks
John

 

[ophiura]

Good luck. If you have not tried it, I recommend trying to see if they will take to spot feeding. It may prevent them from starving in smaller systems. But few will take to it in general.

 

[vanos]

I haven't seen my fancy striped star fish in almost 3 months. In fact I tried to look for it by moving some rock around but couldn't. Then I saw it a day later. It came out so I spot fed it a piece of krill. I haven't seen it since. I hope they don't starve to death and somehow eat algae to survive. But if it did die, then I would hope to see some type of decay in the tank.