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Nano Tank Starfish, Recomendations?


blur1221

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10 Gal nano tank been up for 2 mo now, wife is begging for a cute small starfish. No brittle's (not cute enough) any suggestions? Need to be reef safe

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dahliaheartsyou
10 Gal nano tank been up for 2 mo now, wife is begging for a cute small starfish. No brittle's (not cute enough) any suggestions? Need to be reef safe

 

2 months isn't a long time and 10 gallons is really small... starfish in nanos usually slowly die...

The only one that would fit would is the Fromia I guess...

from reefkeeping online " Some Fromia are considered to be sponge and tunicate predators, but the diets of most are not known. Fromia species appear to do well for awhile in established aquaria, presumably as there may be a source of sponges and small sessile animals for them to eat. They seldom persist much more than a year or so, before they "run out of gas and sputter to a stop."

 

Maybe you can talk her into something else, some ideas:

pom pom crab

porcelain crab

hermits, emerald mithrax(with caution)

scarlet shrimp

coral banded shrimp

sexy shrimps

pistol shrimp

 

Really, the only starfish that seem to thrive are the Asterinid Stars, which are really easy and cheap to buy, although smaller, and easy to take care of.

also, here is the whole article: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rs/index.php

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lakshwadeep

brittles "not cute enough" :(

 

Micro brittle stars are harmless and good CUC members. When they're moving, they look like little monkeys.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have been curious about keeping a starfish in my nano as well. From what I can tell, most stars cannot survive in small reef tanks. If they can, a lot of them seem to enjoy munching on coral. Am I right?

 

I would be happy with a brittle/serpent star, I just wonder if it will eat coral too?

 

Some help on the subject would be much appreciated. What kind of star could you keep in a small nano tank that won't mess with your coral?

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No, they don't eat coral. The most dangerous species is the large green brittle star that is an active fish predator. Micro stars are just too small to be any danger, but it's sometimes hard to find them for sale.

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revaltion131

This 'cute' thing doesn't really fit in with the starfish thread, but if she doesn't want brittle stars, and you want something that would be pleasing to watch in a smaller tank, try a harlequin shrimp. The reason I say it doesn't fit in with the star thread is because it's what they chow down on...

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fromia/linka == dead star fish and polluted tank. Go with a brittle or go with a harlequin shrimp pair for 'cute' look.

 

You will have to feed both btw.

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  • 11 months later...

I've heard good things about the red/orange bali stars. Apparently they only grow 2-3 inches. Any ideas if these would be good for a nano? Or would they still fall victim to an insufficient food source?

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They are not good candidates for nano tanks. Brittle is about your only choice.

 

I am not doubting your opinion, but i would like to know why and understand why the 2-3 inch starfish would be bad.

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I am not doubting your opinion, but i would like to know why and understand why the 2-3 inch starfish would be bad.

 

 

Its not the size of everything that matters. Its the diet. What's a 2-3 inch starfish gonna eat once it decimates everything in the tank? Same thing applies for mandarins...

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Its not the size of everything that matters. Its the diet. What's a 2-3 inch starfish gonna eat once it decimates everything in the tank? Same thing applies for mandarins...

 

the same food your fish and some of your corals eat...

 

they will readily come out during feeding and will happily accept brine or mysis shrimp..even from your hand..

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Other than a brittle sea star, there is no such thing as a suitable nano appropriate starfish.

 

+1.

 

Unfortunately most seastars that will accept prepared food (Protoreaster, Iconaster, etc.) also like to munch on coral...in general. (Someone please let me know of a species that doesn't.)

 

The ones that are safe with coral generally need to graze on lots and lots of mature live rock (Linckia, Fromia, Nardoa, etc.) as they do not accept prepared food. A nano tank simply won't provide them with enough food.

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+1.

 

Unfortunately most seastars that will accept prepared food (Protoreaster, Iconaster, etc.) also like to munch on coral...in general. (Someone please let me know of a species that doesn't.)

 

The ones that are safe with coral generally need to graze on lots and lots of mature live rock (Linckia, Fromia, Nardoa, etc.) as they do not accept prepared food. A nano tank simply won't provide them with enough food.

 

Thank you Wombat, you post has been most helpful. As I did more research on these smaller bali stars I found out that they are from the Fromia family. So it seems that after a few months they would slowly start to die of starvation. It's a shame their diets and specific needs are still a mystery from what I've been able to gather. I think a 3 inch star in my 29g would be the perfect size.

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I have had a 3" fromia star in my 10 gallon for a little over a year now and it seems to be just fine. It has yet to bother any of my mushrooms and zoas although it will get on them sometimes but not often. It mainly just chills either on my LR or on the glass.

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