Sand sifting star fish

[masonicman]

I put a sand sifting star fish in the tank on Sunday. I acclimated it for a good while first. When I put it in it sunk to the bottom and immediately submerse it as normal. I have not seen any evidence of it since. Should I be concerned?

Parameters are right before anyone ask.
sand bed about 3 1/2 to 4 inches.

 

[AZDesertRat]

I hope you don't plan on having a functioning deep sand bed. SS Stars are not detritus eaters but eat live things instead. It will soon wipe out all your red worms, mini brittle stars and pods out of your sand bed. I made that mistake a few years ago and it took months of live sand donations and bottles of Ocean Pods to get it back again. Also if its in a 55 it will soon starve. Just a word of warning.

 

[masonicman]

I just put it in Sunday. The guy a the LFS never metioned this. I have not seen it since. Is this normal or is it dead. If I do see it I will get it out immediatley. Also there is not alot of clear surface bottom for it to move around. So if it's alive and it surfaces I can get to it.

 

[AZDesertRat]

They will bury themselves just below the surface, thats normal. The problem is they are predators and will eat everything in their path. If it can get to nassarius snails and other sand dwellers it willl eat them too.
I usually try to keep plenty of nassarius, cerith, golden astrea and turbo snails and possibly one fighting conch but it may grow pretty fast in a 55. Some people don't like any hermits and I did have trouble with blue leg hermits but scarlets don't seem top bother anything, for me anyway.

 

[masonicman]

So just check any open surface area and I should be able to find it right? They don't go under rocks right? If this is the case then there is not alot of places it could be in my tank if it's alive.

 

[rbrusletto]

how can you tell if a sand sifting starfish is starving?

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

You probably can't tell till it's too late.

Damn those LFS guys. I got one too being told that it will help keep the sand clean and stirred up. I really hate dirty sand. I like it WHITE. I guess it'll keep it clean alright.. clean of everything. But you know.. my sand still isn't really white either.

I've never heard this before. I trust you but I gotta get verification from an official source.

As far as keeping them alive... they are very hardy stars. It's probably just hiding. I only see mine every 2-3 weeks or so.

 

[masonicman]

Well I'm going star fishing later today. If I see it then it coming out

 

[AZDesertRat]

You usually cannot tell until its too late. They just seem to turn to mush and lose their arms.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

It could be anywhere hypothetically... but you could probably find it really easy by just running your finger or something across the sand in front of you tank a 1/2" deep. It's probably right there.

 

[MarineFishGuy]

I had 2 in my 75.
I did not know about the issue with them starving at first.
After 3 months the arms started falling off the first one.
2 months later the second one disintegrated as well.
I now use Strombus Conchs and they do a much better job keeping the sand white.
I am still trying to re-seed my sand bed as well.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Damn... I just figured it out. My sand is still dirty b/c that damn star is killing all the critters that help to keep it clean. You wouldn't know how many times I went to LFS and told them my sand needed to be clean like theirs, what do I do. They all say the same stuff... sand star.

What are bristle-works.. you can't buy those can you? I thought those were bad and you wanted something to eat them. I must be thinking about some other worms.

 

[masonicman]

Well my star fish only been in the tank 2 days. That's not long enough to do real damage. I'll find it today when I get home and take it back to the LFS for credit for something else.

 

[Mr.Kook]

Boy this is the first ive heard of this too. Wounder if my lfs will take mine back......lol
My g/f likes this red spiked star fish maybe i could swap them

 

[MarineFishGuy]

Bristle Worms are actually a hotly debated topic by some.
I have many in my tank and generally feel they are beneficial.
They cleanup the leftovers, I see them sneaking out at feeding time for scraps and especially after dark.
If they get especially large they can become a nuisance, but be careful removing them, they can pack a bee like sting.
I have never been able to attribute any untimely deaths directly to bristle worms myself.
I don't think you can buy them, but if you have bought liverock they are probably in your tank already.

Be careful of the Chocolate Chip Stars (I think this is what you are referring to with the red spikes). I have read they are not entirely reef safe. Same goes for Green Brittle Stars.
They have been known to take small fish when sleeping.
YMMV, proceed with caution and do your homework first.
I learned that lesson this time.

 

[tbar]

I sometimes go a week or so without seeing my SS Star. he is a favorite in our tank. He got stuck in my old PH a couple of times about 6 to 8 months ago. My wife got him out but he was a double amputee for a while. I was surprised how long it took for him to grow back, about 4 months. He used to climb the class alot but not anymore.

 

[AZDesertRat]

All star fish are carnivores. Chocolate Chip stars are one of the worst. You cannot imagine how fast they can be when they stalk and eat a fish.

 

[masonicman]

I got my SS star fish out yesterday and took it back to the LFS. I got a bunch of snails for it.

 

[quincy2008]

What about brittle stars? Many of the so called experts recommend them for reef tanks.

 

[syded70]

I had a large brittle and found that he was ambushing small fish (Chromis) and eating them. I had no idea they were like that