anniebanana267 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Hi, I have a 36 gallon growing reef tank with around 8 hermit crabs and 6 fish and I want to get a Linckia Sea Star but it’s labeled as difficult to keep, and I’ve read in some places that they eat inverts. If I do get one, will it eat my crabs? And what will it eat? Any input is appreciated Quote Link to comment
Kellie in CA Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Yeah, unfortunately stars don't do well in nanos. The death is usually slow and painful to watch. 1 Quote Link to comment
1891Bro Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 1 minute ago, Kellie in CA said: Yeah, unfortunately stars don't do well in nanos. The death is usually slow and painful to watch. Unless! Get some harlequin shrimp! Make the death interesting! 1 Quote Link to comment
LeCharlesMuhDickens Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Those things are impossible to keep alive unless the tank is gigantic, they just run out of food. I’ve heard of people spot feeding them but I don’t think long term success is possible in a nano. 1 Quote Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 1 hour ago, 1891Bro said: It’ll die. +1 1 Quote Link to comment
1891Bro Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 1 hour ago, HarryPotter said: +1 You shoulda plus oned my harlequin idea. 2 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 +1 it will die, they starve slowly so it could take months... but it will still die. What exactly they feed on no one knows... some say sponges or bacterial film. Whatever it is... there isn't enough of it in a nano-tank. If you look around at the tanks here, you don't see linkia's for this reason. 1 Quote Link to comment
anniebanana267 Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 Alright I guess I get the idea. Really disappointed, wish there was more information on them out there before we get our hopes up. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 5 minutes ago, anniebanana267 said: Alright I guess I get the idea. Really disappointed, wish there was more information on them out there before we get our hopes up. Thanks for the input. There is info available on them. They graze for organic films, sponges, and algae. Alot of starfish eat double + their body size in food which makes a lot of them inappropriate to a nano tank as we simply can't provide the amount of food they need. 3 Quote Link to comment
anniebanana267 Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 9 hours ago, Clown79 said: There is info available on them. They graze for organic films, sponges, and algae. Alot of starfish eat double + their body size in food which makes a lot of them inappropriate to a nano tank as we simply can't provide the amount of food they need. I phrased that wrong. I have seen information on them, it’s just very mixed opinions on them that makes anything hard to believe. wow, I have got to say I haven’t heard of that ! That’s a lot of food. Quote Link to comment
1891Bro Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 6 minutes ago, anniebanana267 said: I phrased that wrong. I have seen information on them, it’s just very mixed opinions on them that makes anything hard to believe. wow, I have got to say I haven’t heard of that ! That’s a lot of food. One star and two harlequin shrimp make an awesome symbiotic couple. 3 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 7 minutes ago, anniebanana267 said: I phrased that wrong. I have seen information on them, it’s just very mixed opinions on them that makes anything hard to believe. wow, I have got to say I haven’t heard of that ! That’s a lot of food. there are tons of articles for livestock and their needs. Forums should not be the only source of info Quote Link to comment
1891Bro Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 52 minutes ago, Clown79 said: there are tons of articles for livestock and their needs. Forums should not be the only source of info 2 Quote Link to comment
dpoltsdsu Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Was just diving and I saw quite a few of them in the wild. They seemed to be congregated in areas with heavy sponge/algae growth. Beautiful starfish but beat kept in very large reefs or in the ocean. 2 Quote Link to comment
mndfreeze Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 There *ARE* starfish you can keep in smaller tanks. The carnivorous ones. Pretty much rules out a ton of other stuff you can have with it though, like corals and clams and stuff. All the reef safe ones generally just don't get enough food even in large tanks. Same goes for sandsifting varieties. They end up starving from lack of enough, replenishing fauna in the sandbed. 2 Quote Link to comment
anniebanana267 Posted May 16, 2018 Author Share Posted May 16, 2018 On 5/9/2018 at 10:13 PM, dpoltsdsu said: Was just diving and I saw quite a few of them in the wild. They seemed to be congregated in areas with heavy sponge/algae growth. Beautiful starfish but beat kept in very large reefs or in the ocean. Beautiful picture! Thank you for sharing Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.