Starfish and Urchin... anyone know anything about them?

[Modemagic]

I was at the LFS today and they have a good sized 'red chocolate chip starfish' for sale. He's good sized prolly 5-6" from point to point. Anyone know if they are reef safe? I did some searching, but came up blank for a red chocolate chip star. basically he's all red, but the top of him in the center is brown. What do the stars eat? Algae primarily?

Anyone have and/or know anything about Urchins? Are they reef safe as well? They look cool, but if they will be a menace, no sense in getting one.

 

[Sk8r]

starfish are generally a problem, except for the brown brittle stars.

Urchins are a case of "putty your rocks," because they will nudge them, and if they're loose they will move. In general they're a good algae-eater and reef-friendly. I had a tripneustes gracillis that I was quite fond of [foster/smith] but it grew like a weed and I had to trade it on. I note you're a 75. You'll have a little more room for one, but be aware of the rock-moving. They will also pick up unsecured specimens and carry them about.

 

[BigBlue187]

Did it look like this guy?

If so then I would say no they are not reef safe. They have a little info on liveaquaria.com about them I think the are called Red Knob Sea Star.

As far a sea Urchins I'm not to sure but I think the will eat your corallie algea and knock any unsecuer corals over.

Hope this helps.

 

[Modemagic]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9453899#post9453899 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigBlue187
Did it look like this guy?

If so then I would say no they are not reef safe. They have a little info on liveaquaria.com about them I think the are called Red Knob Sea Star.

As far a sea Urchins I'm not to sure but I think the will eat your corallie algea and knock any unsecuer corals over.

Hope this helps.

Nope, thats not him. I browsed through their website and didn't see any that even remotely look like it. Makes me shy away from it since I can't find any info. on it.

 

[wesly2006]

I wouldnt buy a chocolate chip star for a reef tank. I have a small one and have had problems with him mowing over my clove polyps and even a colony of zoos hes on giant pain in my a$$.

 

[tibbs2]

If you get an urchin, I'd get a blue tuxedo urchin. They eat algae and corallin, are not too big. A little smaller than a baseball full size I believe. The one in my tank doesn't cause too much trouble.

As far as starfish, the only reef safe starfish besides the serpents and brittles are linckias. I bought a blue linckia from petco a few months ago and he seems to be doing OK. I have heard it can take almost a year before they starve to death if there is insufficient food in the tank for them.

Avoid the knobby starfish like the chocolate chips. They are coral killers.

Chris

 

[glaspie69]

A good rule of thump for any starfish is if thy have knobs or bumps on them they are NOT reef safe, if they are smooth they are generally reef safe. Now please keep in mind reef safe doesn't always mean fish safe, large brittle stars are notorious for catching and eating fish at night. HTH Jason

 

[acidlittle]

I had a white pincushion urchin in my 75 for about 6 months, he was a savior in clearing up my algea issues. Then I got an RODI no longer needed him and got rid of him. He also ate coralline like nobody's business, Plus if you have an acrylic aquarium, their jaws can scratch, as that is what he did when I put him in my sump..

as for the starfish, yeah I would avoid it, they like to mow down some coral colonies.

Thumbs up on the urchin if you don't have too many loose little things in your tank (mine liked to give snails and crabs a ride to the other side of the tank) and Thumbs down on the starfish!