Sand sifters dead

[IPowderBlueTang]

I also have a sand sifting star, that the local Lfs said was safe, it almost wiped out my snail population. It will catch unhealthy fish and kill them. I feed it chunks of supermarket shrimp so it's content and don't go after the snails or unsuspecting sleeping fish! It also will eat corals as I have seen. Now it resides in a 20 gal with a few snails, tiger cowrie and tiger sea cucumber.

 

[romunov]

Sounds a standard case of starvation to me...

 

[Dawn II]

Sudden melty legs and sudden disintegration afyer 2 1/2 years is not starvation. I have tiny things in my tank- Hectori goby, white ray shrimp goby- who fared ok with the starving stars searching out prey at night. I think the other forum (I posted there at the same time) that had a similar experience with virus that wiped out their stars sounds more plausible.

 

[Javeo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7314782#post7314782 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capncapo
As they say, you can lead a horse to water .....

How true

 

[sabergrl]

IPowderBlueTang,

Do you put the shrimp on top of the sand, or push it down in the sand?

Thanks for your help

 

[Dawn II]

lol

 

[romunov]

Sudden melty legs and sudden disintegration afyer 2 1/2 years is not starvation.

The star may have had food and reserves for 2 1/2 years. Melting and losing parts is quite common, believed to be cause of starvation.

 

[Rascal1371]

re: sand sifting stars - scavengers or predators

re: sand sifting stars - scavengers or predators

I used to have one of these in my tank until I started doing research on DSBs and turned up info that they are predatory. I did a ton more research which confirmed this info. (ex: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sndsftstrfaqs.htm) Based on what I read and IME, they prey on the microfauna (pods, worms, etc. . . ) in the sand bed and on the live rock.

I had mine for over a year and towards the end of that time started to see it more on the rock and sometimes even the glass -- spending less time "sifting" the sand. I concluded it was running out of food in the sand.

Here's the important part. When I removed and returned the star, I noticed a HUGE increase in microfauna in my tank, especially the sandbed. The little worm tracks in my sandbed had all but disappeared but came back within a month. Same with pod activity. Nitrates also dropped after 4-6 weeks. For sifting/detrivore duty, I now use & recommend nassarius snails instead. All of this is anectodal I know, so take it for what it's worth.

For cool-looking and detrivorious sea stars (other than serpant & brittle), I am open to the suggestions & experiences of others.