to worry or not to worry

[faithenfire]

so i have a sand sifting sea star to clean up my sand-i'll be moving soon and he seems to be cleaning the sand very nicely. less detrius and blah blah blah

should i be worried that he's now climbing rocks? it was just after I fed the tank. Is he just looking for an easy meal?

pay no mind to the aptasia...

 

[johnike]

It's probably run out of sustainance in the sand, and is searching the rock for food.
Those stars really don't do very well in our tanks, unless it's a huge tank with a very well established sand bed.

 

[faithenfire]

yeah, i was planning on returning him before he died.
i thought it would be ok for a bit since the sand hasn't really ever been cleaned and it's been an established tank for probably nearly six years now

guess i'll have to take him back now while he is in good condition still

 

[Sk8r]

Good idea. Bravo for doing it.

 

[Betta132]

If you want the sand sifted, try nassarius snails. I probably mis-spelled that. They're burrowing snails that dive into sand, move it around, and eat gunk.

 

[faithenfire]

i have those, but the sand is dirty since i've used it as a deep sandbed. six years dirty. and we are moving in a month and i don't want to crash or re"cycle" the tank. i know that there will probably be a mini cycle, but i want to have as little stress as possible on the inhabitants

he seems to have returned to the sand. and is coming up when i feed frozen food. looks like he is asking for an easy dinner, like my shrimp and banded seastar

when he stays out, i'll take him back to the store. but right now he still seems at home

conclusion: not to worry yet...yet


second question: if he seems happy, should i take him out in the move or should i let him help me with the sand when we get to the new flat? since the sand will get stirred up and messy