Starfish in a 40gallon?

[MoJal]

My tank is brand new, so I know I won't be trying a starfish in it anytime soon. But does anyone know if there is a good starfish for this sized tank? Also is there any livestock I should specifically avoid adding if I want to add a starfish once my tank is mature? I don't want it to starve to death. Was looking at the sand sifting star, but would prefer something more colorful if possible. Most of all, want something that we'll actually see from time to time, so I'm not sure a sand sifter would be ideal for that. 

[Tired]

None of the starfish-shaped stars will likely do well in a tank that size. A sand-sifter will starve. Chocolate chip stars may work, MAYBE, with plenty of feeding, but get large (8" or so) and will eat your coral if you get any. Asterina stars are a possibility if you can get some though- they're considered a pest, and can overpopulate if you overfeed the tank, but are starfish-shaped, small, and cute. 

 

For an easy starfish, look at brittle and serpent stars. Don't get a green one, they're fish-eaters, but the rest should be safe with most other creatures. Easily fed, easily kept. You may not see the entire star, but will see the legs reaching out of the rockwork. 

[MoJal]

21 minutes ago, Tired said:

None of the starfish-shaped stars will likely do well in a tank that size. A sand-sifter will starve. Chocolate chip stars may work, MAYBE, with plenty of feeding, but get large (8" or so) and will eat your coral if you get any. Asterina stars are a possibility if you can get some though- they're considered a pest, and can overpopulate if you overfeed the tank, but are starfish-shaped, small, and cute. 

 

For an easy starfish, look at brittle and serpent stars. Don't get a green one, they're fish-eaters, but the rest should be safe with most other creatures. Easily fed, easily kept. You may not see the entire star, but will see the legs reaching out of the rockwork. 

Thanks. I figured it would be too small for the especially star-like starfish, but wanted to hear other opinions. Bummer. They're one of my favorite things to watch at the fish store. Can't decide if I would want the little asterinas to show up. Sounds like they are troublemakers but they're so cute. My toddler would be so excited. 🤣

[Clown79]

The typical starfish often don't do well in home aquariums, we can't provide the amount of food they require nor often do we have all the life they need.

 

Asterina are cute, I like them. They keep things clean.

[Tired]

Only one type of asterina eats corals, and there are many others that don't. As long as you don't overfeed, they won't multiply out of control, so they're really nothing to worry about. The troublesome ones are larger, darker, and more heavily textured, and relatively rare in aquaria.

[Tamberav]

Fromia stars are popular but don't be fooled.... Their lifespans are shortened in our nano tanks and people just rebuy them since they are cheap. 

[MoJal]

On 10/21/2019 at 5:07 PM, Tamberav said:

Fromia stars are popular but don't be fooled.... Their lifespans are shortened in our nano tanks and people just rebuy them since they are cheap. 

Thanks for the heads up. Do you have a good resource for learning about lifespans of various species in captivity vs in the wild?

[Tamberav]

11 minutes ago, MoJal said:

Thanks for the heads up. Do you have a good resource for learning about lifespans of various species in captivity vs in the wild?

Well national geographic shows average life span as 35 years sooo.. in our nano tanks....welll...weeks to months to maybe a few years.

 

They starve very slowly. We are baby starfish killers.

[j.falk]

On 10/23/2019 at 10:50 AM, Tamberav said:

We are baby starfish killers.

😂