Stunningly patterned/colored reef-safe starfish?

[Anonymous]

Are there any? If so, who offers them to order online? Thanks...

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

I have read that only the Blue Starfish is reef safe. It is bright blue, no patern or markings. On the other hand, I saw pics in a book the other day of both a four and a six legged one.

The four leg was pretty cool.

B

 

[Rich-n-poor]

i have a red linka and previously a yellow linka star in my reef tank and they have never bothered my corals

The blue star you mention is also a linka but is notoriously hard to keep I have seen purple linkas also but know little about them

stars requires specific gravity of 1.025 in order to regulate the internal hydralics by which they move. lower than this and they will most likely melt away or lose their arms

I have kept stars for almost 5 years in both fish only and now my reef and i still am afraid to try a blue one I wouldnt recommend one unless you have pristine water and alot of expierence

HTH

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chocolate chunk pics

 

[Greg3333]

The star with the best survuval rate in the home aquaria is the Linckia Multiflora.

I tried to add an image, but this BB won't allow prentheses within UBB code.

However, I have included a hyperlink to a google page with numerous references to above mentioned echinoderm: Linckia Multiflora

 

[davelin315]

Thanks Greg, I've had one of those in my tank for almost a year now and never knew which linkia star it was. Now I know. It is easy to keep and it pinched 2 arms off when I first put it in my tank and those 2 turned into their own little starfish (although one got eaten by an urchin and the other was given to a friend).

 

[White-Queen]

That star is awesome....

Dave, if you do anymore leg pinching in the future (and can save it from the urchin) send one my way! Lol!

Angela <><

 

[Green Mariner]

 

[Clownkeeper]

I have an Orange Knobby Star in my 55 and does fine with everything. Dont bother corals and shrooms.. It was a 5 legged star but now it only has 3 due to sitting on the heater and burning 2 legs and then them falling off. but is doing great... eats all kinds of stuff it finds on the LR...

Troy

 

[pathos]

may i suggest this red serpent star? i have had this one in my tank for over two years now, he's about 12" across. extremely mellow and not at all like his yellow or green brittlestar cousins. this has proven to be a wonderful species for a reef. A bit rare I think, but worth it if you can find one. I do have to watch my SG and for the record I keep it hovering around 1.026.

 

[Jacob1]

Rich-n-poor,

Do you target feed these starfish to get the sucess that you have had. How do you meet their food requirements in these different setups? Just wondering in case I try one in the future.

Thanks
Jake

 

[Rich-n-poor]

Jacob,

I dont feed my linkas at all they spend most of their time scavaging about the tank and eating algea off the front glass they are almost always visible

I have tried giving them a frozen algea based food and they took this readily but i dont think it is necessary if you have a good tank up and running

A linka starfish should be firm to the touch when you buy him if hes healthy and i think this matters most in survivial rate. I have seen alot of melting stars in LFS tanks.

I do feed my tank heavily so that leaves them plenty to scavange

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recession

 

[bluereef1]

i have an orange general star that is reef safe and beggs for a treat by hanging from the top of the tank. I feed him chopped up clams and he shows up every time to get fed once a week. He is about 8 inches accross!
I love gulfview

 

[davelin315]

Chocolate chip stars are excellent for a reef environment as they won't mess with anyone and will graze harmlessly on detritus and algae on the glass only.

 

[davelin315]

PSYCH! Just kidding.

They are pretty damn beautiful with that brown coloration though!

 

[SPC]

I was under the impression that star fish have a tendendency to eat the sand critters and that is why they are not kept with DSB set ups.
Steve

 

[Cresta]

I've heard all "chocolate chip star" shaped starfish will more or less bother your corals. That's what my LFS told me. I have blue linka and red fromia. They are very sensitive to salinity difference. It took me 3 days of slow drip to acclimate them to my tank. If it is shocked by salinity difference, you wouldn't know until a week later. Basically, all its internals are busted, but will still eat and act normal until it dissolve completely. I've had them for about 1 year now.

 

[Cruiser]

Currently, in my 300 gallon reef:
"the wolf pack"
1 Blue linka starfish ~ 2 years
3 Red Serpent Stars ~ 3 years (largest is about 18" in diameter).
6 Maroon / brown Hawaiian brittle stars ~ 8 months.
1 Brown / black striped serpent star ~ 1 year
1 Green brittle star ~ 2 months (very small)
1 Brittle star (species/name unk to me)newest addition. Appears to have scared my Multifaciatus gobies into hiding on the opposite end of the tank from this star!

No problems with any of these starfish regarding harming / damaging corals & invertebrates. The 3 red serpent stars do occasionally fight between themselves - one trying to pin the other down

Have been looking for a purple Linka!

Steve/SPC: Only the burrowing sand star is detrimental to DSB, due to its predatory nature. Of course they can't completely decimate a DSB, but, they can come close!

 

[MattM]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SPC:
<STRONG>I was under the impression that star fish have a tendendency to eat the sand critters and that is why they are not kept with DSB set ups.
Steve</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That is only true of the white ones normally sold as "sand sifting stars". I don't remember the genus right now. The others mentioned here feed on detritus, algae, and somtimes micro-fauna that lives on/in algae.