Star Fish ID Help Please! Big, clear pics!

[sarahkucera]

After looking at about a million pictures of starfish I am unable to identify this starfish.
Can anyone help me?
Thanks in advance.

<img src="http://www.midnightmadness.org/sarah/saltwater/010107/DSC05044.JPG" width=600 height=590>


<img src="http://www.midnightmadness.org/sarah/saltwater/010107/DSC05048.JPG" width=600 height=457>


<img src="http://www.midnightmadness.org/sarah/saltwater/010107/DSC05050.JPG" width=600 height=552>


<img src="http://www.midnightmadness.org/sarah/saltwater/010107/DSC05051.JPG" width=600 height=537>

 

[saltycreefer]

Looks like a bahamas star.

 

[dawnskaybug]

Oldmans starfish If you touch it you will become impotent

 

[sarahkucera]

dawnskaybug, I'm looking for serious answers here. I didn't go through the trouble to post this looking for jokes.
I am honestly puzzled about what gave you the idea that this is a joke posting?
I am genuinely having trouble with this ID, as it is either a Bahamas Star or a Cushion Star, and I can find no pictures of either in any sort of a green color and the little bugger hasn't eaten anything in my tank yet.

 

[dawnskaybug]

My bad
Just a joke
At least it was a bump????
How big is it???

 

[LeslieH]

Is it from the tropical Atlantic/Caribbean region? Then it's likely to be Oreaster reticulatus. The juveniles tend to be light green in color.

O. reticulatus is omnivorous & has two main feeding methods - either as a microphage eating detritus/microalgae/etc directly from sand bottoms or as an opportunistic predator on sponges, heart urchins, & even other Oreaster.

 

[sarahkucera]

I have no idea where it is from.
I didn't think it would be this difficult to ID it or else I would have taken a pass on it.
So far it hung out in my tank for the entire day and hasn't eaten anything it shouldn't have.

 

[LeslieH]

Just one day in your tank? Give it some time. Stars can go a while without eating.

 

[Lev F.]

I second Oreaster Reticulatus.

 

[05Xrunner]

its a green Bahama star..I have one..but to bad I paid $15 for mine

They are not reef safe..mine eats aptasia anytime I had one in my tank..I dont have anymore. I have some zoa's and it has crawled over them many times and hasnt tried to eat them. but they are not reef safe and will eat many things...Mine was eating a choc. chip star when i bought it.

Ohh yours looks like its REALLY nice...little brighter green then mine. If you dont want it. I would take it off your hands

 

[Grey Reefer]

definitely Oreaster reticulatus (Cushion sea star)
Those starfish can get up 18" inches across and they mostly live on sea grass beds and sand flats. They are pretty much in the same boat as horseshoe crabs are as far as being in a reef tank. Not enough room when they grow up or food in the tank to feed on.

 

[sarahkucera]

05Xrunner....thanks for the pic, it's nice to see another identical one to mine.
I definitely don't think it's something that belongs in the common LFS trade in the long run, but for right now it's just cruising along and seems to be leaving cleaner rocks and sand behind in its wake.
Still hasn't eaten anything I wouldn't want it to eat.
I can't even imagine what a blundering monster the thing would be if it got to be an adult starfish, as I've seen a million pictures of people holding them out of the water on vacation like idiots. (I wonder what it would feel like if giant fish could grab us and hold us under the water to show off what they caught on vacation to the shore?)
I don't know quite what to do with it at this point, but for now it's here.
*waves*
Thanks for the help and pics everyone!

 

[05Xrunner]

I like mine....and until it gets really big I am going to let him cruise my tank...But if I ever get to the point where its like 10" or so...I will take a vacation with it and let it go in the water in the gulf of mexico

 

[dawnskaybug]

You guys should see some of the Blue lankia(SP) I see here
Also a red starfish maybe 5 feet wide

 

[Rendos]

sarahkucera - have you already bought this?
If so, may I ask why you are trying to ID it now instead of before purchasing it? I would recommend doing research on animals before purchasing to ensure that you have the ability to provide for it's needs.
I hope you don't take that in a harsh way...just food for thought.

 

[sarahkucera]

Rendos......

I didn't purchase it, someone dumped it off at a PetCo by throwing it into their LR tank, and they had no ID on it and didn't know what it was or what was appropriate for it and couldn't sell it, so I took it home figuring it wouldn't be too difficult to ID while drip acclimating and if I couldn't give it a proper home then I could post it "free to appropriate home" on the trading forum while it hung out in my tank (in a separator if need be).

I totally and 100% agree with the fact that all livestock must be researched before adding it to a tank. I can't stand people who put carpet nems in 29 gallon biocubes with tiny PC lights and then post "why is my nem dying?" or people who put a little hepatus tang in a tiny tank because it's little and cute and don't realize that hippos need a minimum of 125 gallons to swim freely because they grow huge.

Good recomendation Rendos, I know that there are many people out there who need to learn how to do research before tossing things into their tanks, especially those "Nemo" people.