Sand Sifting Sea Star???????

[TheSimpleGuy]

I was given a sand sifting sea star and I'm concerned that it could be eating my capepods or doing some other tyepe up undesireable things in my aquarium.

I have been advised on the "New to the Hobby" forum (by some guy w/ 800+posts in a 3mos. period) that they can destroy much of the beneficial stuff going on in the sand bed. So what do you guys think about them? I've got a 75gal w/120lbs. LR so not too much area he can sift through the sand. Should I give this guy to my LFS?

 

[ROB2005]

I would strongly recommend that you do, if you desire to keep your sandbed live with fauna.

 

[TheSimpleGuy]

Will do. thanks

 

[SabrinaJean]

Yeah the books say he needs 100G or more to live well, plus he goes eat the good stuff. I just sold mine to the LFS because I want it to have a better home and not die from starvation

 

[buckeyegirl]

I was told they were OK to have if you don't have a DSB?? That they keep the sand stirred up and cleaner looking.

 

[Grey Reefer]

Sand sifting stars are really for the XL reefs tanks. They can quickly deplete the fauna in a sand bed. I put them in the same category as horseshoe crabs. They would do fine in a Large SW planted tank with lots of open sand bed. Anything else would be detrimental to your reef tank and the starfish.

 

[ROB2005]

The problem with those stars that once they begin the decaying process after starvation has taken it's toll, they can foul up the water and give you headaches you would best avoid not having those stars there in the first place.



I would recommend a 300+ gallon tank for those who wish to keep these stars, as they may not cause any real issues of sandbed fauna decimation. They do a pretty decent job of turning your sand over, but it comes at the expense of having the live fauna in your sandbed decimated in the smaller tanks.

 

[buckeyegirl]

That is a good point - if the star dies under the sand, I wouldn't know it. Thanks for the info. My apologies to TheSimpleGuy for hijacking your thread

 

[baloutang]

Boy, my sand sifter has been thriving in my shallow sand bed for 2 years. I don't know what he's eating, but I never spot feed the guy and he's always moving matter around. I still have tons of worms, but now I'm concerned there's not enough food for him. Can they be spot fed?

 

[ROB2005]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12309106#post12309106 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by baloutang
Boy, my sand sifter has been thriving in my shallow sand bed for 2 years. I don't know what he's eating, but I never spot feed the guy and he's always moving matter around. I still have tons of worms, but now I'm concerned there's not enough food for him. Can they be spot fed?

Yeah you can, just try to catch him when he is moving about and place a piece of mussel, clam or silverside fish in the path of his movement and he should consume it.