Sand sifting starfish: Inevitable starvation?

[JLAudio]

I bought one from saltwaterfish.com and put little thought into it, and just read the little caption and it said nothing about the fact they will starve in most tanks.

Is spot feeding out of the question?

Any suggestions or experiences?

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Silver slides once a week or krill.

 

[JLAudio]

Really? I read online that they rarely accept spot feeding. Im gonna give it a try

 

[D1J8Z]

I have had one for 2 years never spot fed ever.... healthy as can be

 

[JLAudio]

I have had one for 2 years never spot fed ever.... healthy as can be

how big is your tank?

 

[Tonyscoots84]

well i would guess it will starve if your sandbed is not matured and full of life.... i would jus spot feed whatever they said up top jus place the star right on whatever you feed em i dont no what they eat :scratch:

 

[reefkprZ]

sand sifting starfish eat microfauna i that dwells in your sand bed, without an relatively well established sand bed and large enough area they will starve. spot feeding whole krill isnt going to work. you can try spot feeding it small meaty foods, tiny chunks of krill, silversides, other starfish (asterinas) cyclops, mysis, urchins,clams, it may or may not work. usually if the tank is not large enough the creature wreaks havok on the populations of the sand bed whilst slowly starving to death. the best chance for success is in an extremly large tank with a well established DSB.

 

[Deanos]

Research before buying.

 

[meschaefer]

.... the best chance for success is in an extremly large tank with a well established DSB.

I have had them in the past and you can not spot feed sand sifting starfish. As quoted above, you need a well established DSB to keep them alive, the problem is that they eat the micro fauna that are needed to keep a DSB in top shape.

 

[jhale]

they also don't shift that much sand

they should be another "pass" species within the hobby.

 

[D1J8Z]

origanly in a 36 collum with ONE fish and corals... now in a 180 still no problem

 

[meschaefer]

origanly in a 36 collum with ONE fish and corals... now in a 180 still no problem

Allow me to make an assumption here, with all probability that I am wrong in my assumption. You emphasize that the tank only had ONE fish without any problem, as if such a low number of fish would be a problem. In fact it may have been a benefit which allowed your sand sifting star to survive. With only one fish, there would have been little competition for the food that your star needed to survive. Unless of course that fish was a sand sifting goby of some sort.

I'll say it again, sand sifting starfish do not eat detritus. They eat micro fauna. They are a predator, not a scavenger and are somewhat insatiable. I have watched the decimate a live sand bed and I have watched them starve to death in very large tanks that did not have a live sand bed.

 

[D1J8Z]

this is from liveaquaria


This peaceful omnivore will effectively clean even the largest home aquarium of detritus and left over food. Like other starfish, the Sand Sifting Sea Star will also consume small invertebrates, including shrimp, urchins, mollusks, bivalves, or other small sea stars. As such, the Sand Sifting Sea Star should be actively fed a varied diet consisting of natural food sources, especially in well-established marine aquariums. Otherwise, this voracious feeder will quickly clean your aquarium of Detritus and then burrow into your substrate, starve, and eventually begin to decay.

 

[meschaefer]

oh... ok..

also form liveaquaria's website

Chromis: "small schools of the Blue Green Reef Chromis add a dazzling and dramatic shimmer of beauty to almost any well-established reef system."

Naso Tang: "A 125 gallon or larger aquarium is necessary to provide plenty of swimming room, and places to hide"

Six Line Wrasse: "generally peaceful"

Mandarin: "It should be kept in a well-established 30 gallon or larger aquarium"

 

[Deanos]

Can't always trust the info someone gives when they stand to make money from that same advice :lol2:

:wow: They really said 6 lines are generally peaceful?! :supermad:

 

[leoskee]

Six Line Wrasse: "generally peaceful"


WTF??? Yeah, if kept in a tank by itself. lol.

 

[meschaefer]

Can't always trust the info someone gives when they stand to make money from that same advice :lol2:

:wow: They really said 6 lines are generally peaceful?! :supermad:

They did. In their defense, they then proceed to qualify that by saying they may be aggressive towards peaceful wrasses. That doesn't change the fact that they actually used the term "generally peaceful".

 

[reefkprZ]

generally peacefull 6 line? he is the most aggressive fish in my tank, only my female tomatoe was worse when she had eggs. I really hate some vendor reccomendations and advice. like one LFS oh green gonipora are a great begginner coral. sure if you want to convince some one they cant keep begginner coral alive. or "non photosynthetic gogonians are easy they dont need special lights".......:irked:

in SWF.coms defense I must say here is their info on the sand sifterSize:3-5 inchesCare Level:ModerateReef Safe:Feed in sandbedOrigin:Indian OceanAcclimation Time:3+ hours

 

[fernandokng]

Can you clarify the statement on the chromis? I thought that was true...

oh... ok..

also form liveaquaria's website

Chromis: "small schools of the Blue Green Reef Chromis add a dazzling and dramatic shimmer of beauty to almost any well-established reef system."

Naso Tang: "A 125 gallon or larger aquarium is necessary to provide plenty of swimming room, and places to hide"

Six Line Wrasse: "generally peaceful"

Mandarin: "It should be kept in a well-established 30 gallon or larger aquarium"

 

[meschaefer]

Can you clarify the statement on the chromis? I thought that was true...

Very few people, novices as well as experienced hobbyists, have been able to keep a school of them for sufficient length of time. Most people find that they start to kill each other off until you are left with one or two.