Hey! Neat starfish!

[Royal Gramma]

I would really like a chocolate chip star.

 

Tank stats:

25 gal

12 lbs LR

20 lbs crushed coral

Heavily aererated

Moderatly filtered

Not a good light at this point, hoping to get a better one

 

Tank chemistry:

pH 8.1

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

SG 1.023

75 degrees

 

Tank fish wish list:

1 Royal Gramma

1 pair common clowns

1 blue damsel

1 lawnmower blenny

1 coral shrimp

1 chocolate chip starfish

Lotsa little snails

 

Just wondering if the starfish would be okay. The tank is cycled andthe LR is smothered with several kinds of algae. Such as coralline, green, brown and a whole heck of a lot more kinds.

Thank you!

Carrie

[tinyreef]

the blennie may have the hardest time imo actually.

 

starfish? ??? direct feedings=work (yo no se)

[reefskunk]

ive heard from my sis and a friend that choco stars are the devil.

 

-who told you YOU could die?! BAD STARFISH!-

[fishymissy]

Chocolate chips are cool starfish....but a word of warning. They are not considered reef safe....meaning that you cannot keep them with clams, scallops, mushroom corals or polyps. I have also heard of them eating frogspawn corals and even the occasional snail. So if you intend to keep your tank as a fish only tank, then you shouldn't have a problem. It would be a good idea to direct feed the starfish a couple of times a week with pieces of clam, squid, silversides, etc....

You will also need to take your salinity up to 1.025 as they are very intolerant of low salinity levels. One more thing, you will have to acclimate it very, very slowly. We are talking hours here. Sudden changes in salinity/ph will cause the star to slowly disinigrate in your tank.

 

To be on the safe side, it might be a good idea to have your LFS hold the star for you for one week....that way you can tell if the store acclimated it properly too.

 

The reason I say that is because awhile ago, I bought a brittlestar from the LFS, I was very careful to acclimate it properly and it slowly "fell apart" in my tank. I just happened to be at the same store the next day and I noticed that all their brittles were doing the same thing!

 

Good luck!

[Royal Gramma]

Ummm, thank you fishymissy, you post was the only one I could understand!!

So I need to acclamate it in the bag for a couple hours? Or what do I do?

Should I get it before I get my fish so it can acclimate in peace?

I would like to do the damsel pretty soon, but if it is better for the fish I don't mind waiting.

Is my tank no ready for the star or do I need to wait.

I was told that fish couldn't handle such high SG well... Oh well. I'll raise it if thats what the star needs.

Thanks so much!

Carrie

[gobies]

Being somewhat paranoid with my first fish, here's what I did for him:

 

Starting out:

1. Prepare a batch of sw the day before. Keep it the same temp as the tank water. (I'm lucky here -- given the size of my mixing jug and the heat from the powerhead, I don't need to use a heater for this.)

2. When you get the critter, float the bag in the tank.

3. Get an empty sw mixing bucket ready. This is where you'll acclimate the critter(s).

4. Get a piece of silicone tubing and tie a simple overhand knot in it near one end.

5. Submerse the entire length of tubing in the tank. Make sure the entire length gets filled with water.

6. Put your thumb over the end near the knot, hold the other end in the tank, and put the first end into the acclimation bucket. Let go of the knot end. Your siphon should start automatically.

7. Take the critter's bag and put it in the acclimation tank. Open the bag.

8. Let the bag water flow out of the bag naturally as the tank water drips into the acclimation bucket.

 

The waiting game:

1. Take a break.

2. Check back in about 15 minutes. Make sure the siphon drip is not fast. Pull the bag out of the acclimation bucket.

3. Check back each hour or so. Each time, take some of the water out of the acclimation bucket and pour it down the drain.

4. Keep doing this for several hours.

5. If you siphon off more tank water than you have fresh sw, mix more fresh sw so you can add it tomorrow.

 

Finally!:

1. Depending on the type of critter, get a fine-mesh net or specimen container (a plastic food container will do in a pinch).

2. Get the critter into the container, along with some of the water.

3. Move the critter container over to the tank. Put it into the tank and let the critter out.

4. Take the siphon tube out of the tank.

5. Dump the water from the acclimation bucket.

6. Top off your tank with your fresh sw.

 

(And yes, you've done a water change in the process.)

 

Now, if the critter in question is a fish, there are some differences. First, you should be acclimating the fish to the quarantine tank. Second, you really should do a freshwater dip somewhere in this process. Suggestions on when, anyone?

[Royal Gramma]

Those where good instructions, but only one problem, I don't have that many buckets....

So, can I get my star now, or should I wait untill all the other fish are there?

Carrie

[gobies]

I thought I got that down to two buckets, maybe three at the outside...? ???

 

Sorry, can't answer the starfish question -- don't know squat about them.

[Royal Gramma]

Thats okay, I need to get another bucket anyway.....

Okay, I'll jsut wait for someone who does know squat about them!!

,

Carrie

[fishymissy]

You can add the starfish as long as your tank is done cycling. Doesn't really matter one way or the other on which order to add a starfish. You can do as Gobies suggested with the bucket or you can do the same thing in the bag. Just make sure that small amounts of your tank water are added slowly over time. And yes, it's very important that when you take water out of the bag or bucket that you dump that into the sink and not your tank.

Your fish will be fine at 1.025 that is natural seawater levels....

 

When you get your fish, yes it's a good idea to QT them before adding them to your main tank, but I have to disagree with the freshwater dip. If not done correctly, it will do much more harm than good. This is just my opinion though....

 

HTH:D

[Royal Gramma]

Well, it is done cycling.

Here is what I plan on doing when I put him in.

Get rid of almost all the water in the bag. Add a little bit of the tank water every fifteen minutes untill it is full, then I realese him.

Sound good?

I hope so...

Thanks,

Carrie

[lizbeth]

Originally posted by Royal Gramma

Well, it is done cycling.

Here is what I plan on doing when I put him in.

Get rid of almost all the water in the bag. Add a little bit of the tank water every fifteen minutes untill it is full, then I realese him.

 

Yep that's a good way to kill him in the first day. IF YOU DUMP THE BAG WATER OUT AND PUT TANK WATER IN FROM YOUR TANK YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST DROP HIM INTO YOUR TANK

 

Acclimation New Specimens Fish and invertebrates

Here are simple acclimation procedures for newly arrived specimens. To reduce any additional stress on your fish you should turn off all the lights on the tank before introducing the new fish. The following easy steps need to be followed and completed within one hour.

One- Float the unopened bag in the display or quarantine tank for fifteen minutes to equalize the water temperature in the shipping bag.

Two- Open the bag by cutting it just below the metal staple and add one cup of aquarium water into the shipping bag.

Three- Wait five minutes before you add another cup of aquarium water. Repeat these steps every five minutes until the shipping bag in filled.

Four- Remove half of the water in the shipping bag into a waste container. Add another cup of aquarium water and wait five minutes before you add another cup.

Five- When the shipping bag becomes filled the second time you can then safely net the fish and place it into your tank.

Six- Discard both the shipping water and the water in the waste container.

Seven- Leave the fish with the lights off for the rest of the day to allow it to settle into its new environment.

 

 

Acclimation New Specimens Corals and Clams

Here are simple acclimation procedures for newly arrived specimens. To reduce any additional stress on your corals you should turn off all the lights on the tank so it can slowly acclimate itself to your lighting. It is recommend placing the coral or clam in the bottom part of the tank and over the next two weeks slowly acclimate it to your lighting. You can follow the same acclimation procedures above or use the following drip method. Some corals may slime during shipping which is natural part of there condition. The following easy steps need to be followed and completed within one hour.

One- Float the unopened bag in the display or quarantine tank for a fifteen minutes to equalize the water temperature in the shipping bag.

Two- Open the bag by cutting a small hole in it just below the metal staple.

Three- Take a airline hose and attach a airline control valve at one end. Place the other end in the display or quarantine tank and adjust the valve so you get one drop per three seconds.

Four- When the bag is filled you should close the valve, remove the hose from the shipping container and discard half of the water in a waste container.

Five- Place the airline hose back in the bag and continue to drip the aquarium water into the bag.

Six- When the bag is filled you can then discard both the shipping water and the water in the waste container.

Seven- Place the coral in the lower part of the tank and leave the lights off for at least three hours.

 

I'd use the acclimation instructions for coral.

[Royal Gramma]

Wow phew, I am glad I didn't do the thing I mentioned. I'll do that lizbeth.

Thank you all so much for your help, is is greatly apprciated.

Carrie

[SBGRAD24]

You also might want to heat your tank up a little before putting anything in it. 75 degrees is pretty cold for the tropical specimens we put in our tanks.

[JLTRUK]

you guys and your bags...floating something is real darn easy

 

 

go to any local fish store and buy one of those plastic containers that they use when they take the fish out of their tanks.

 

you know the one that has the little plastic handle things on it so it hangs on your tanks...ya you know the one I'm talking about

 

well, use that to float your stuff, thats all I have used for the last 7 years to introduce anything into the tanks I work with...and follow all the directions you would normally use to float something

 

you get home, you toss that little plastic thingy in your tank, you dump all the water and the new addition into the plastic container and proceed to float it...there you go.

 

Its much easier than messing around with bags...

 

 

*ya ya ya I know I brought back an old post**

[jdsabin1]

You could get a couple of harlequin shrimp and then you get to have a brand new live chocolate chip starfish in your tank every other week as you watch the harlequins devour him alive. They turn him over, one feeds him to keep him alive and then they slowly eat his legs off. Basically they eat everything but the chips.

 

As a sidenote, then you don't have to mess around with hours of acclimation at all. I just toss mine on in!

 

Pretty cool but you gotta have the stomach for it.

 

[foo]

Introducing a startfish initially is more touchy than coral.

I've done it right and I've done it WRONG.

The MOST critical thing to be aware of is differences in salinity between the new starfish's water and your tank water. Starfish do not tolerate differences in osmotic pressure hardly at all.

Don't even think about doing freshwater dips with your starfish they will melt and they don't like being exposed to air either.

You defintely need to do the set up a slow drip to equalize the salinity very slowly in a manner similar to what lizbeth described.

I made the mistake of rushing the acclimation one time and after a couple of days the starfish died and melted into a puddle of mush. Don't rush the accilmation, you're almost guranteed to have a dead starfish if you do. You may even want to take a couple of hours to complete it.

[cmoreash]

wtf guys this thread is OLD

[foo]

Sorry. Didn't see that JLTRUK resurrected a really old post. I just saw some advice that IMO was wrong and responded.

Does anyone close old threads or do they stay open on this board forever?

[JLTRUK]

I just wanted people to be more relaxad about introducing stuff and propose the plastic container idea...just helping out

 

yah sorry about resurecting an old topic...