Sand Sifting Starfish...

[YellowDesmo998]

Thinking about getting one for my 24DX. Besides a few blue legs and scarlet hermits, I don't have anything to stir the sand. It's not live sand but I believe sand sifting stars eat detritus and not living organisms in the sand. Correct?

 

[Illuminati]

They are scavengers, anything edible and it's gone. I had a brittle star in my cube for a couple weeks, biggest mistake I ever made. It was way to big for my nanocube. Tore apart the rockwork to get him out.

Check out www.sealifeflorida.com, he has some nano starfishes. If you go local do your homework and find a small species.
I have seen others with bright red small starfishes, I'd love to know what species they were.

 

[Doglover_50]

another easier option is get some nassarius snails.

 

[Agu]

Sand sifting starfish will eat everything in a 24 gallon sandbed including life that you want, and then starve to death.

 

[drummereef]

Totally agree with Agu. A very poor option.

 

[GobyJohnKenobi]

10 cerith snails and 2 nassarius should do the job.

 

[YellowDesmo998]

I just picked up some pretty large Cerith snails and they are moving the sand a little. I also got a small fighting conch but she stays buried most of the time with her eyes sticking out of the sand. Not what I expected but her "trunk" does get to the diatoms just below the sand line on the glass.

 

[mattman7858]

i have a sand sifting star in my 45 gallon and its great, moves the sand eats detritus and it almost never goes on the rocks. i dont know how it'd work in a smaller tank but i love it

 

[Doglover_50]

i just put one in my 70---it is big. can't imagine one in a nano. And I suspect it would starve very soon.

 

[hawaiian_boi]

i have a sand sifting star and a green brittle star in my 20 long and i have no problems with them. but i do feed my brittle by hand

 

[hawaiian_boi]

i have a sand sifting star and a green brittle star in my 20 long and i have no problems with them. but i do feed my brittle by hand