Primeval Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 i'm looking for a star for my 20gal hex. specs are below. what cheap/small starfish would be acceptable in my tank for someone that is still somewhat new at saltwater? I love these things Link to comment
Fishfreak218 Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 none really...unless you didnt plant on keeping coral, otherwise they are hard to take care of Link to comment
Nuhtty Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Not much room in a smaller tank like that for most stars. A brittle star **could** work, but the bigger the better as far as amount of live rock and available food. Mini brittles and asterina are always good, but those are generally better for refugiums and such rather than display tanks...you dont see them much anyway. All of the "visible" stars...the ones that you will see often and that brighten up a tank (linkia especially) are pretty difficult to care for and usually starve, even in very large tanks. Link to comment
Fishfreak218 Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 well Choclate Chip Starfish are easier then Linkias and Fromia [sp] so i would suggest that if your not planning on Coral Link to comment
Primeval Posted January 19, 2006 Author Share Posted January 19, 2006 I have alot of detritus in on my sand right now. cant they be fed supplement food? choc chip? arent they known for eating sleeping fish? Link to comment
Nuhtty Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 arent they known for eating sleeping fish? Never kept one myself, but a good friend of mine lost a clown to his CC star. He took it out of the tank and smashed it in his driveway. Funny to watch. Link to comment
Primeval Posted January 19, 2006 Author Share Posted January 19, 2006 I plan on keeping my fish alive. Will a sand sifter sea star bother any livestock? I understand stars eat alot and eventually starve, but I am more looking for one for my entertainment rather than a cleanup crew. I wouldnt mind feeding one once detritus ran out. I just dont want any of my fish or future fish eaten Link to comment
c est ma Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Investigate brittle stars. You may not ever see the whole animal but you will almost always see the sinuous arms sticking out of holes in your rock feeling for food. I find them fascinating. I suspect serpent stars are similar. --Diane PS: Avoid green brittle stars--notorious fish predators... Link to comment
Primeval Posted January 19, 2006 Author Share Posted January 19, 2006 are these small? I do not have a large sandbed due to the shape of my tank Link to comment
fishwife Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Never kept one myself, but a good friend of mine lost a clown to his CC star. He took it out of the tank and smashed it in his driveway. Funny to watch.Why is that funny? He put a predator in his tank, then killed it for doing what predators do. Back on topic, I concur with Diane - I have a large brittle star in my 20L. They're good scavengers and harmless as long as you stick with the common stars and not one of the green or red predatory ones. They live in LR, not in the sand. Link to comment
c est ma Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Well, there are apparently many species that come in different sizes. Some people get "mini" brittles as hitchhikers that are very small. I got two hitchers that are a nice size for my 5.5g--I'd guess the carapace of the biggest one may be 1/2" in diameter or so, and the legs, if they were ever straight, would maybe stretch 5 or more inches. The ones I see in stores tend to be a lot bigger. Online vendors such as LiveAquaria will tell you the approximate size of the animals they have and their estimated adult size. You could also search these forums for brittle or serpent stars for others' experiences. Here are a couple of pictures of my hitchers when the ric frag was in a plastic isolation tank. Now I really enjoy searching the LR in my tank to see where their legs are sticking out. They seem to be great scavengers and watching them move food (such as cyclopeeze) up the underside of their legs is amazing--like a conveyor belt. And another plus--they seem to be active most of the time, always feeling up the rock! --Diane Link to comment
MadTownMax Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Diane - nice brittles, I never get lucky with cool hitchhikers like those! I recommend micro brittle starfish (stay 1/2" or less) or astrea's (also very small) for a 20-gallon - I don't know of any brittle starfish that stay small enough not to eat the smaller size of fish that will occupy a 20-gallon tank. I guess if you're "planning" on upgrading in the future you could go for a brittle or serpent star - leave all the rest for those with more experience and larger tanks, as the "soft" starfish are extremely hard to care for and require very stable conditions (even acclimating them takes 12-hours). Sand-sifters need a sandbed the footprint of a 120-gallon (4'X2') to have enough to eat. nutty - i'd do the same w/ a choc chip - unless I knew somone w/ harlequin shrimp I could feed it to Fishwife - How large is your brittle starfish? most people don't realize that they've grown to 16" tip to tip, and sure they leave everything alone - until you forget to feed the tank for a day, or go away on vacation and they get hungry - and then anything and everything is a meal - same as any type of crab in my book - they don't go in my tank Link to comment
Primeval Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 I do not plan to upgrade anytime soon. I just upgraded from a 10gal AGA to this 20gal hex any more suggestions? Link to comment
jdavis28 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Why is that funny? He put a predator in his tank, then killed it for doing what predators do. Back on topic, I concur with Diane - I have a large brittle star in my 20L. They're good scavengers and harmless as long as you stick with the common stars and not one of the green or red predatory ones. They live in LR, not in the sand. I thought nuhtty's story was funny Link to comment
Samoyed Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Never kept one myself, but a good friend of mine lost a clown to his CC star. He took it out of the tank and smashed it in his driveway. Funny to watch. LMAO...brittle stars are awesome...or get chocolate chip stars and feed em to harlequin shrimp! Link to comment
c est ma Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Diane - nice brittles, I never get lucky with cool hitchhikers like those! I recommend micro brittle starfish (stay 1/2" or less) or astrea's (also very small) for a 20-gallon - I don't know of any brittle starfish that stay small enough not to eat the smaller size of fish that will occupy a 20-gallon tank. I guess if you're "planning" on upgrading in the future you could go for a brittle or serpent star - leave all the rest for those with more experience and larger tanks, as the "soft" starfish are extremely hard to care for and require very stable conditions (even acclimating them takes 12-hours). Sand-sifters need a sandbed the footprint of a 120-gallon (4'X2') to have enough to eat. nutty - i'd do the same w/ a choc chip - unless I knew somone w/ harlequin shrimp I could feed it to Fishwife - How large is your brittle starfish? most people don't realize that they've grown to 16" tip to tip, and sure they leave everything alone - until you forget to feed the tank for a day, or go away on vacation and they get hungry - and then anything and everything is a meal - same as any type of crab in my book - they don't go in my tank Well, I'd wondered about that, since I started watching mine and since I got that 2nd pic (not too clear, sorry--taken thru an older plastic container wall) that showed such a relatively large "mouth." But it does seem that most references and brittle/serpent star owners consider them reef-safe. Even my Shimek book, which usually has a more cautionary approach than many other sources, lists some species as reef-safe scavengers... I've wondered about mine since they're definitely not the micro kind but don't seem to resemble any of the larger species sold commercially either. For one thing, they certainly weren't super delicate to acclimate--they just sort of came along for the ride! At any rate, at the size they are now, I will not worry too much, but if they grow I guess I might. BTW, did you mean Asterina, not Astraea? --Diane Link to comment
Samoyed Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 BTW, did you mean Asterina, not Astraea? ========================================messed up quote no he meant astrea...aka torchus(sp?)! Link to comment
c est ma Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Well, I just thought, since we were talking about stars, he might have been thinking of the little star, not the snail... --Diane Link to comment
MadTownMax Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 yes - I meant the self-splitting white/grey stars that are about 1/4" across - not the snail Brittle stars can eat very large specimens compared to other stars - they can consume pieces of food about 1/2 the size of their carapace - it's kinda funny to see the huge lump in the middle of the carapace after they've eaten a large chunk of food Link to comment
Samoyed Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 oh i thought he meant snail...hey, for a fish you could get a yellow clown goby! Link to comment
Cuba Libre Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 When I was getting started in nano-reefing I made the mistake of buying a Linkia. It was pretty cool, but died after about 3 months (probably starved, but who really knows). That being said my tank is full of hitchikers both brittle and asterina. If I were you I would find someone nearby with plenty of hitchikers to spare. Link to comment
jejton Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Why is that funny? He put a predator in his tank, then killed it for doing what predators do. Back on topic, I concur with Diane - I have a large brittle star in my 20L. They're good scavengers and harmless as long as you stick with the common stars and not one of the green or red predatory ones. They live in LR, not in the sand. I agree with her Nughty your friend is an idiot who should never be allowed to own any animals, or have children under his care, again. He stupidly put incompatible animals together and then killed one for doing what it normally does. Its like shooting your dog for chasing a cat. Link to comment
Primeval Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 how big do they get? again, I dont plan on upgrading and my fish already really enjoy the little rockwork that I have. He isnt going to take over is he? Link to comment
aquaman7 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Never kept one myself, but a good friend of mine lost a clown to his CC star. He took it out of the tank and smashed it in his driveway. Funny to watch. ...whoa, hardcore . Link to comment
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