Starfish ID

[ginpang]

Looks like a protoreaster. Was received and sold under chocolate chip starfish.

1st attempt at feeding it to harlequin shrimp was seemingly typical. She went after it, stood on it's head flipped it over and dragged it somewhere. Then proceeded to inspect the tubefeet and let it go!!!

I took it out and put it in one of our plankton tanks. Waited a few days tried it again .
2 nd attempt ignored it

Then tried a 3rd time a few days later figuring she'd be super hungry fasting for almost 25 days ( with a few asterinas here and there) .
I put the starfish next to her as she usually grabs it out of my hands.

She actually ran away from it.

I had gone and gotten a "regular" P. Nodosus as back up. As soon as I dropped it in she came to take it.

It has red/brown tubefeet instead of the beige colour of nodosus and linckii. Otherwise basically looks like a faded version of choco chip.

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[ginpang]

Here she is with a regular choco chip

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[ginpang]

Another angle on dark tube feet.


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[ginpang]

And here's the regular beige tubefeet with white tips

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[gogo7]

this is interesting gingpang.

 

[ginpang]

Starfish ID

Thanks! Apparently everyone seems as puzzled as I .
Since no answers [emoji53]

My best guess so far would've been colour variations depending on geographic location but that wouldn't explain taste differences (? )If that's the case . A subspecies might explain an adaptation or defence mechanism that regular choco chip do not possess.

I was hoping an echinoderm expert would chime In.


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[pagojoe]

I think it's interesting too, but I don't know enough about echinoderms to be any help. If your curiosity can't be satisfied, you could always track down Dr. Gordon Hendler of LACM and see if he can't give you an ID. He'd probably be interested in the shrimp behavior also.

 

[ginpang]

Thank you for the reference @ pagojoe.


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[Monkeyfish]

OP - Did you ever find out the sp. of the star?

 

[ginpang]

No unfortunately I didn't follow through on the endeavour.
Life got a bit hectic , our parrots made babies we had to ween with a serynge every few hours.

Clownfish and gobiodons made babies too and my rotifer culture keeps crashing with flatworms and medusa hydroids.

Anywho I tried feeding it to the harlequin shrimp a fourth time after letting her scavenge on very sparse asterina population for about 10 days and she finally took it.

She seemed reluctant at first but she eventually went for it.

I'll try and upload the video later .


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[ginpang]

It's happening again...with another light cream coloured one.

It usually goes through a regular chocolate chip in 3 weeks to a month.

She's been working on this one for 2 weeks and only two arms are gone.

She let's it go pretty often and goes back I'm guessing when she has no alternative.

I will wait to see if she sheds in the next few days for they usually slow down feeding when they are about to molt.

If not I think [emoji848] this time it could be interesting info to send

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