Hi, I recently bough a feather star and wondering if there is anything I should know about this seastar...... I did the google search and found that they are really hard to take care of and require plankton. Is there another alternative to keeping them alive? Also guess I should have read more about it but will it harm my corals?
Feather Star
- Thread starter VOD
- Start date
jdieck
New member
Sorry but IMO they should be left at sea as there are not well known nor stablished proper means of husbandry.
Note From Calfo and Fenner Book:
"Crinoid Feather Stars and Sea Lilies are categorically tragic aquarium subjects from any perspective in the industry adn troughout the chain of custody upon import. Both are very delicateto handle and ship, on top of which they are also impractical, perhaps impossible, for the average aquarist to keep in an aquarium.
The mortality of Crinoids as a rule is high when handled, and we wish to make it clear: the casual harvest and keeping of these animals is to be discouraged outside species specific displays until the primary obstacles of collection and husbandry are fully surmoned."
In summary; if you can, take it back and recover your money.
Note From Calfo and Fenner Book:
"Crinoid Feather Stars and Sea Lilies are categorically tragic aquarium subjects from any perspective in the industry adn troughout the chain of custody upon import. Both are very delicateto handle and ship, on top of which they are also impractical, perhaps impossible, for the average aquarist to keep in an aquarium.
The mortality of Crinoids as a rule is high when handled, and we wish to make it clear: the casual harvest and keeping of these animals is to be discouraged outside species specific displays until the primary obstacles of collection and husbandry are fully surmoned."
In summary; if you can, take it back and recover your money.
Check few pages back on this forum, there were two posts about feather stars and their feeding, including drawing of continuous feeding device.
More advanced methods are at this forum, sponsors area- Fauna Marin - Gorgonians tank thread, C. Stottlemire article, Kolognecoral's posts, Jens Kallmeyer's too and others.
Can you post a picture? Is it from Californian or Florida waters or Indo-Pacific import? Some kinds of starts survive, some just seize feeding and die, there are some research papers, available online. Unfortunately, only pieces of information available on the web. Contribute yours.
Is it open all day long or only at the night?
Prolonged feeding all time, when it is open, may help.
You may try live food (rotifers, even baby brine for some stars), Fauna Marin or Timo food, or more readily available substitutes within 200 micron range (food particle should fit the feeding groove on the arm).
More advanced methods are at this forum, sponsors area- Fauna Marin - Gorgonians tank thread, C. Stottlemire article, Kolognecoral's posts, Jens Kallmeyer's too and others.
Can you post a picture? Is it from Californian or Florida waters or Indo-Pacific import? Some kinds of starts survive, some just seize feeding and die, there are some research papers, available online. Unfortunately, only pieces of information available on the web. Contribute yours.
Is it open all day long or only at the night?
Prolonged feeding all time, when it is open, may help.
You may try live food (rotifers, even baby brine for some stars), Fauna Marin or Timo food, or more readily available substitutes within 200 micron range (food particle should fit the feeding groove on the arm).
philter4
New member
I've kept them for long periods, 2 or more years at a time, using a drip method to feed them at night. See the earlier post for drawings of the system for feeding it was a few days back in this forum. The other advantage is I collect them myself so there is no lag in care from the ocean to home. This means less stress, as there is only 1 handler and they are not shipped, as well as they get fed from the day they are collected. I had one grow from a 4 inch animal with a few arms to so big in a 40 gal tank that it couldn't open up all the way without hitting the sides of the tank and had to give it away. While I agree that most if not all of the ones collected for the trade are doomed to starve, it can be done with some effort and a healthy animal from the start.
It opens and closes during the day. It seems to be more active at night and generally stays in one area. Here are some pics
<a href="http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/Vodalian/?action=view¤t=DSC00127.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/Vodalian/DSC00127.jpg" border="0" alt="Feather SeaStar"></a>
<a href="http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/Vodalian/?action=view¤t=DSC00121.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/Vodalian/DSC00121.jpg" border="0" alt="Feather SeaStar"></a>
<a href="http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/Vodalian/?action=view¤t=DSC00127.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/Vodalian/DSC00127.jpg" border="0" alt="Feather SeaStar"></a>
<a href="http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/Vodalian/?action=view¤t=DSC00121.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f234/Vodalian/DSC00121.jpg" border="0" alt="Feather SeaStar"></a>
VOD:
Lucky you, this one is quite tolerant, unlike the one below it:
You can see radial feeding posture, used in low currents (or vertical posture in high flow), you can use this as indicator of flow, but ultimate choice will make your feather star.
I have the same for almost an year.:
It could be Lamprometra palmata or Dichrometra . Name can be useful during detailed search, particularly article on their feeding.
This one even better, open day and night, tolerates bright light:
What the green one will need (I may be mistaken, but it seems to me to be important for them):
- hiding place for a day, dark cave. It should be right under their chosen place of feeding. They come out in the evening, and crawl down in the morning. It could be coral, even sps - no conflict with feather stars, polyps not even closed. In my case it was big Christmas tree rock (green, Madracis decactis), with half-shell under it, placed on two rocks, this created small dark cave. Later used a couple of small pieces of LR for making a dark cave, but watch for a place, that star likes.
- watch for losing arms or tips or arms, something with water quality (if you are feeding well). Alkalinity better to be in low-middle range, but not below 7 dKH or higher 11 dKH, water shouldn't become yellowish, have turf algae smell (bog), do not have red slime or dinoflagellates. This will not kill at once, you should have time to solve the poblem. Cleaning, water change and frequently changed carbon at this time, at least.
- protect them from being shredded by powerheads or being sucked into intakes/outflows.
- Continuous feeding, or more than two feedings each night. For example, 7:30 PM, 9, 10:30, and in the morning, 1-2 times. Keep them open for a feeding as long as possible.
- Feed variety of foods, everything you can find, and give star a choice. From 40-50 micron Oyster eggs, Golden pearls, Argent Labs Hatch Fry or Hikari First Bites to Cyclop eeze (this is too big, 800 microns, but youngest crustaceans could be used). Article on feeding mentioned 240 micron as a maximum size for these species.
Variety of phytoplankton, live or dried (PhytoFeast, DT's or ESV or PhytoPlan), small zooplankton (ZoPlan is readily available, RotiFeast is larger, Reef Roids, Rod's Food, whatever is available and affordable), don't forget about existence of specialized food, Fauna Marin and Timo. I'm not using them yet, but would like to.
But: I'm culturing live SS-rotifers (super small), that takes time and they have to be enriched.
Kolognecoral had this mottled green feather star too, more on her feeding.
More keepers of other feather stars:
Sailfin's experience with feather stars. More.
steveweast fed cyclopese, rotifers and Oyster eggs. Stottlemire - "baby brine, Roti-Feast, and Shellfish Diet."
Charles Messing's Crinoids information, especially Diet page.
Bob Fenner's article.
HTH
Post anything useful, that you will find or notice, for us.
Lucky you, this one is quite tolerant, unlike the one below it:
You can see radial feeding posture, used in low currents (or vertical posture in high flow), you can use this as indicator of flow, but ultimate choice will make your feather star.
I have the same for almost an year.:
It could be Lamprometra palmata or Dichrometra . Name can be useful during detailed search, particularly article on their feeding.
This one even better, open day and night, tolerates bright light:
What the green one will need (I may be mistaken, but it seems to me to be important for them):
- hiding place for a day, dark cave. It should be right under their chosen place of feeding. They come out in the evening, and crawl down in the morning. It could be coral, even sps - no conflict with feather stars, polyps not even closed. In my case it was big Christmas tree rock (green, Madracis decactis), with half-shell under it, placed on two rocks, this created small dark cave. Later used a couple of small pieces of LR for making a dark cave, but watch for a place, that star likes.
- watch for losing arms or tips or arms, something with water quality (if you are feeding well). Alkalinity better to be in low-middle range, but not below 7 dKH or higher 11 dKH, water shouldn't become yellowish, have turf algae smell (bog), do not have red slime or dinoflagellates. This will not kill at once, you should have time to solve the poblem. Cleaning, water change and frequently changed carbon at this time, at least.
- protect them from being shredded by powerheads or being sucked into intakes/outflows.
- Continuous feeding, or more than two feedings each night. For example, 7:30 PM, 9, 10:30, and in the morning, 1-2 times. Keep them open for a feeding as long as possible.
- Feed variety of foods, everything you can find, and give star a choice. From 40-50 micron Oyster eggs, Golden pearls, Argent Labs Hatch Fry or Hikari First Bites to Cyclop eeze (this is too big, 800 microns, but youngest crustaceans could be used). Article on feeding mentioned 240 micron as a maximum size for these species.
Variety of phytoplankton, live or dried (PhytoFeast, DT's or ESV or PhytoPlan), small zooplankton (ZoPlan is readily available, RotiFeast is larger, Reef Roids, Rod's Food, whatever is available and affordable), don't forget about existence of specialized food, Fauna Marin and Timo. I'm not using them yet, but would like to.
But: I'm culturing live SS-rotifers (super small), that takes time and they have to be enriched.
Kolognecoral had this mottled green feather star too, more on her feeding.
More keepers of other feather stars:
Sailfin's experience with feather stars. More.
steveweast fed cyclopese, rotifers and Oyster eggs. Stottlemire - "baby brine, Roti-Feast, and Shellfish Diet."
Charles Messing's Crinoids information, especially Diet page.
Bob Fenner's article.
HTH
Post anything useful, that you will find or notice, for us.
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