Sand sifting stars

[KyleP]

Comments on these? Are they reef safe? Do they eat algae in the sand? What about red cyano? Are they difficult to keep alive? There are ten of them at my local LFS and I do need something to sift the sand bed. Thanks.

 

[greenbean36191]

They're difficult to keep alive because they feed on infauna in the sand. They are pretty picky about which type and size of animals they eat though, so even in a well stocked sandbed there often isn't much food for them. Most also don't take to target feeding, so they languish for about a year and then fall apart.

 

[KyleP]

Thanks for the info greenbean. I will steer away from them. I ended up ordering some fighting conchs instead.