Orange Starfish

[AlooGoby]

Dear Mr Calfo,

Thoroughly enjoyed your article on starfish, and heartily agree with your views on taking the time and effort to look after these beauties.

Having said that, I have an orange starfish (he is the same as this one I found in photos http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=4730&papass=&sort=1&thecat=574), and have no idea what to feed him.

I am afraid I am guilty of expecting him to live on "detritus" in my tank per the LFS advice. You talk about target feeding several times a week. Can you let me know what and how I should feed?

I have mainly fish and live rock and currently feed flake and frozen brine shrimp or plankton daily.

Many thanks for your help

 

[Anthony Calfo]

Cheers, my friend... thanks for your kind words.

The starfish you are referring to is commonly cited as a Fromia species in popular literature. Fromia diets run the gamut from herbivorous to detritavore and sediment feeders to "carnivore" (eating carion and living sessile invertebrates). That said, I suspect this one is not going to be inclined toward "non-reef-safe" habits (eating live sessile inverts as many other Asteroid brethren do) nor do I honestly think this star will feed much on microalgae.

Instead, do experiment with by offering small amounts of a wide variety of meats of marine origin. If you try say a half dozen or more withy little or no response, yours may favor sediments and detritus. If the matter, it will be more difficult to keep it alive in smaller (under 100 gall) or younger (under 1 year old) tanks IMO.

If you find that yours responds to any specific food or foods offered, please do post a mention of it for the benefit of all (with a picture of yours).

Feeding mixed foods (like Formula brand or Lifeline types) with some greenstuffs in them may still be helpful/necessary. Do try this as well

With kind regards,

Anthony

 

[AlooGoby]

Thanks Anthony,

Appreciate your help. I believe I identified him yesterday as a Fromia Milleporella, if that helps.

Will try feeding and see what happens. The main problem at the moment is that the offered food is being blown away by the current!

 

[Anthony Calfo]

very welcome my friend... and as to the food being blown away, it is - as you have suspected - perhaps a stocking problem. This sea star may very well be ill-suited to being kept ion this tank. In a larger, older tank it could quite possible live wilth little or no target feeding.

Without moving it to another aquarium, you will just need to get creative withg target feeding. No worries. It is a beauty of a sea star and well worth the effort

Perhaps a large "feeding hat" will do the trcik - the cut-off top of a large soda pop bottle dropped atop the animal (as we do wilth feeding hungry corals like Tubastrea)... drop/squirt food into the top for extended feeding time without having to interrupt water flow/power for the rest of the tank.

But do experiment with different meaty foods and indlude some green component to the diet.

kindly,

Anthony