Bali Red Starfish

[mje113]

Let me start by saying that I know I'm a BIG jerk for trying to keep a tiny Bali Red Starfish in a Pico tank. Unfortunately against my better judgement I bowed to my wife's in-LFS pressure (she REALLY wanted one).

 

I didn't do enough reading before hand--however now that I've scoured NR and come to the realization that a tank that size and that immature can't support the nutritional needs of the starfish. Now my options seem to be either banish him to my more mature 8 gallon where he'll inevitably be eaten alive by my bumblebee shrimp or return him to the LFS where some other idiot will surely buy him--cursing him to the same fate.

 

OR I could do some more internet research! I found this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A100m5EpfFI

and thought to myself, "hey my starfish spends most of his day on my glass--it should be pretty easy to hand-feed him!"

 

I prepared a nice sized-piece of mysis and maneuvered it very close to his mouth. Sure enough within seconds he turned his stomach inside-out and slowly over the next 30 minutes digested the mysis then sucked it all back inside himself.

 

 

The pic is a bit blurry (still working on my camera skills) but what you are seeing is is blurry, opaque stomach with some white mysis attached.

 

So the question is if I feed him manually once or twice a week do I have a good chance of keeping him alive and happy?

[TheUnfocusedOne]

Sounds like your mind is made up about keeping him. I've never heard about someone handing feeding, so hey you'll be the first.

 

Best of luck!

[mje113]

Sounds like your mind is made up about keeping him.

 

Well, not necessarily--which is why I was posing the question about hand feeding being a feasible replacement for their "normal" scavenged diet. If there's an argument that it won't work I'm all ears. I guess it sounds like it hasn't been tried (at least around these parts) so I figure it's worth the effort.

 

Best of luck!

 

Thanks a bunch! I'll definitely update this thread on how it goes.

[ApiratenamedJohn]

My fiancé keeps hounding me about getting a star too. Lol I just tell her the micro stars and asterinas will have to do.

[paratiddies]

What is it with women and starfish? The only thing my gf cares about in my tank are the asterinas :/

 

And best of luck with the hand feeding, keep us posted

[mmcguffi]

Ive heard of this before and Ive been considering doing it myself in my 6 gal

 

I would just make sure you try to feed it a diverse diet and as often as you can

 

I have no idea if they can be sustained long-term like this though

 

 

 

 

here's a post about fromia that I find informative--not exactly the same thing but I imagine they are similar enough

 

I have published work on echinoderms, yes. However my echinoderm research is all focused on sub-Arctic sea urchins, not sea stars. Lucky for you I know several sea star researchers. And lucky for you I wanted to buy a Fromia for my 115g a few months ago and got some info on them straight from the authorities.

 

Fromia have diets very similar to most fringe zone benthic sea stars. They eat a variety of naturally occurring microorganisms on the sand bed, including amphipods, various worms, and especially clams and bivalves. In an aquarium setting they will scavenge for goodies all over the tank, though they like to stick to the sand more than rockwork/glass (which they will venture on to occasionally). They need a lot of food - some sea stars can eat several times their body weight PER DAY. This is why most of them starve to death in aquariums. Starvation can take several months, but it almost always happens in nanos simply because there isn't enough sand to house a sustainable buffet. You would certainly have to feed them suppliments. The best is fresh oysters, soaked in a vitamin supplement (anything for inverts will work) cut into small chunks and placed right underneath the star (they move slow). They also make little food disk things commercially that you can try, though fresh works best. Another thing to keep in mind is that they have a very short lifespan in captivity. Most will never make it to 2 years, despite being fed. They're tough in nanos simply because of their food demands... it can really spike your nites and phos levels. Also, they can get 6" or more, so not really suitable for the smaller nanos.

 

Hopefully that helps

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3301557

[mje113]

Thanks mmcguffi, great thread find. Several times their body weight PER DAY? That's seems like a lot. I'll see how feeding daily works out.