Are Sand Sifting Starfish worth getting?

[that Fish Guy]

Are Sand Sifting Starfish worth getting?

They seem like they just sit there and do nothing when I see them at the LFS.

Will they actually clean and stir up my sand or not really?

 

[TimeConsumer]

Definitely not worth getting. They will eat all of your sandbed fauna then starve to death.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

Don't do it

 

[SoLiD]

Unless you have a large amount of "live" sand for them to go through, I would suggest you pass. I've seen a friend grow "1" out from the 2" to about 7" in a large (240G) aquarium.

 

[billdogg]

IMHO, best left in the ocean. They will quickly decimate your sandbed, then slowly starve to death. Then you will be wondering where all the nitrate problems are coming from. Let the sandbed live!

 

[uny2bld]

Are Sand Sifting Starfish worth getting?

They seem like they just sit there and do nothing when I see them at the LFS.

Will they actually clean and stir up my sand or not really?

everything that is said above is accurate but there are exceptions. If you have a dsb, then I would say absolutely not. They would eat up the fauna in it and defeat the purpose of having a dsb.

However, if you have a shallow sand bed, they can be beneficial. They will indeed eat fauna but in this case, you aren't getting the functionality of a dsb so you will need to maintain a shallow bed and they will help you do that. They will eat much of the detritus and leftover food that your fish don't get to.

I still think it's a good idea that they eat some fauna too throughout their life so it's a good idea to "seed" your tank with fauna. I place a small rock from one of my larger tanks refugiums into my shallow bed tanks every few months to seed them. You can also buy some fauna every few months for the same result. I have had good luck doing both. Hope that helps!

 

[uny2bld]

^ the only thing I would add is not to get one if everything is going good (why mess with it) If you do have a shallow bed and notice a lot of detritus and leftover food ,etc. I see no harm in getting one if you seed it :fish1:

 

[Sk8r]

No. Absolutely no. If you want your sand sifted quietly and without fuss, get 3 nassarius snails per 50 gallons.

 

[that Fish Guy]

No. Absolutely no. If you want your sand sifted quietly and without fuss, get 3 nassarius snails per 50 gallons.

So Nassarius are good?

I never see them move around at all.

They just come up from the same spot when I feed the fish.

 

[TimeConsumer]

Nassarius are great. They eat detritus and sift the sand.

 

[sail33]

I've got a sand star because I was having a small cyano problem. He turns over the sand and the brown is gone.
I do think you are correct about eating all the life out of the sand. So... feed the sand star just as everything else in the tank is fed.
What other problems do you see ?

 

[worm5406]

I've got a sand star because I was having a small cyano problem. He turns over the sand and the brown is gone.
I do think you are correct about eating all the life out of the sand. So... feed the sand star just as everything else in the tank is fed.
What other problems do you see ?

The nassarius would do the same thing.

 

[SaltwaterSensei]

if you want sand/detritus cleaning abilities I've never have gone wronge with sea cucumbers. They're like litte sand cleaing factories. detritus laden sand goes in one end and pristine white sand pellets come out the other.

 

[Recliner]

I bought a 30 gal cube that has a sand sifting star. I bought the system for the coral and will be selling everything else. I have a tall 150 mixed reef with 2-3" sand bed. Is the starfish a bad idea for me too?

About a mobth ago I got 25 nassarius from reefcleaners

 

[avandss]

ok so if someone really wanted a star what would be the minimum/ideal tank size and best type of star to get?

 

[uny2bld]

ok so if someone really wanted a star what would be the minimum/ideal tank size and best type of star to get?

I've had several over the years in many of my tanks ranging from 29 gallons to 40 gallons and have had no issues. yes, nassarius snails will eat detritus as well; but they won't eat as much as a sand sifting star unless you have a ton of them. I like both options - it just depends on the type of system you have...

I use nassarius snails in tanks with dsbs and sand sifting stars or cucs in non-dsb tanks... Be careful with cucs though. If they die, they can nuke your tank.

And once again, if you do want stars or cucs, you should replenish the sandbed with critters occasionally

 

[avandss]

i was under the impression that you need a 250g + tank per star

 

[worm5406]

ok so if someone really wanted a star what would be the minimum/ideal tank size and best type of star to get?

Brittle's are nice and come in different sizes and colors.

 

[uny2bld]

i was under the impression that you need a 250g + tank per star

depends on the star. Linkia's require at least that if not bigger and only in an extremely established tank imo...

worm mentioned brittle stars and they are a great one to keep and some species can be kept in as small as a 2 gallon tank. Great for detritus and they don't need sand bed critters... But if you do want a sand sifting star, they are possible to keep without dying or disrupting your system..

 

[Stolireef]

if you want sand/detritus cleaning abilities I've never have gone wronge with sea cucumbers. They're like litte sand cleaing factories. detritus laden sand goes in one end and pristine white sand pellets come out the other.

+1 on this. I have two in my 110 and just love the pure white poop balls they leave behind.