sand Siffting Starfish?

[vito is hooked]

Good or Bad? I have two in my DT, should I put them in my FO tank? I read they eat good stuff as well as bad?

 

[Pea-brain]

Yes, they will eat all the beneficial sand critters in the tank. Even a 120 gallon for one is too small. Horrible starfish for any tank (without a harlequin shrimp ) pretty much.

Dan

 

[camlov2]

To clarify pea-brain's comment, DON'T get a harlequin shrimp thinking this will fix a problem. If I remember correctly the harlequin shrimp eats only starfish. You would then have to buy star fish regularly to feed the harlequin. Best option is to find a new home for the starfish.

Brian

 

[Pea-brain]

lol sorry your right camlov2. I keep forgetting which forum I'm posting in (doh). Harlequins only eat starfish, and I was implying that the only tank a sand sifter is good for is one where it is food.

Dan

 

[reefrf]

sand sifting star

sand sifting star

I have a sand sifting star in my 55. What exactly can you tell me is wrong about keeping these in a reef?


thx, Ron

 

[Pea-brain]

a quote from Greenbean36191:

"Agreed. One is most likely too many. They do such a good job of keeping the sand turned over because they're constantly searching for critters to eat. There are several species of star sold as sand sifters, and most of them don't eat anything you want eaten. Some will feed on detritus when other food is scarce, but it's not something they live off permanently. Others are so general in their carnivory that they have been used as a way to sample the diversity of the bottom. Others are extremely specific in their diets and only eat certain small snails or crustaceans that live in the sand.

In nearly all cases, a 120 is too small to produce enough food to keep even one alive long term. They eat the tiny critters that really make a sandbed work and then they can take up to 18 months to starve after they've exhausted their food, all the while showing no signs of ill-health.

"

 

[fredflyer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11598830#post11598830 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pea-brain
a quote from Greenbean36191:
They do such a good job of keeping the sand turned over ..."

Then what would you suggest to do the job of a sand sifter to turn the sand?

 

[Pea-brain]

I'm no expert but nass snails, cerith snails conches and some fish can stir the sand bed. I'm sure there are other options also (I use nass and cerith snails along with my jawfish and good flow to keep the sand bed clean)

 

[vito is hooked]

Thanks, I took out both stars, looks like there either going back to the LFS(There the ones who told me that I DEFINETLY need them) or, to the Gulf Of Mexico.

 

[greenbean36191]

Do not release them back into the wild! While the stars may be a local species, I imagine not everything in your tank is local. The likelihood of introducing invasive species this way is small, nothing from our tanks should ever go back to the wild after it's come into contact with anything from another area, because the risk is real.

 

[werkkrew]

The power is yours!

I agree though, don't release into the wild, while it might not seem like a big deal, many many problems throughout history came about from introducing a non native species to an area they don't belong in.

 

[vito is hooked]

Thanks, any other suggestions?

 

[Larah]

lfs=?

 

[tiger johnson]

lfs = local fish store

 

[vito is hooked]

How about my Ref???.....Live sand/Live rock/Cheato?

 

[sharko88]

It will eventually starve to death. Don't get one unless you plan on passing it along a group of friends.