When is it OK to put a Starfish in a tank?

[kcobain111]

I Want to get a starfish. I have had my tank running for a little over a month there's 2 clowns to emereald crabs and 1 fire shrimp. 70lbs of live rock and i was wondering when it's ok to put a starfish in? Can i put one in now?

 

[ivanfj]

As long as ammonia, nitrite are at 0 and nitrate is at rock bottom, you are pretty well set for a starfish. But also, you gotta make sure you don't have huge fluctuation on temp, salinity, and on other water parameter. They cannot take any significant changes in your water. And when you acclimatize them, make sure you do it slowly. The drip method works best and I would suggest a minimum of 3-4 hours of dripping.

 

[kcobain111]

So if my tank right now stay's at .20 nitrates ppm then a star fish is no good? i can't seem to make is stay down any further than that. I have done water changes but it's still .20 i hear that it's safe for fish and mine are doing fine as well as inverts. but you say rock bottom and mine is not.

 

[ivanfj]

Originally posted by kcobain111
So if my tank right now stay's at .20 nitrates ppm then a star fish is no good? i can't seem to make is stay down any further than that. I have done water changes but it's still .20 i hear that it's safe for fish and mine are doing fine as well as inverts. but you say rock bottom and mine is not.
.02 is pretty good to be honest

You should be good for one. Just becareful about which starfish you choose. Try avoiding the linckia species. A white sand sifting starfish is a good beginner starfish.

 

[trainfever]

When you do a water change, how much water do you remove and do you vacuum the substrate when you do a change? Also how much and how often do you feed your fish? Maybe you are feeding too much and too often which could be causing your nitrate from lowering.