I was in petco the other day and saw some very small starfish called "red starfish". I don't think they were Fromias because they had somewhat spiny probes on the top of the starfish whereas the fromias don't. Can anyone give me any input on any other starfish that might be considered a red starfish? These are only 10 dollars and I want to try one but I don't want it to eat corals or something.
What is a red starfish?
- Thread starter Roblox84
- Start date
SushiGirl
Premium Member
Thanks! As those two are both reef safe I will buy one tommorow and try it out. It's only 11 bucks so it's not too much too lose. Anyway, do you have any tips on acclimating these guy's? I heard that starfish don't acclimate too well, but im hopeful because the ones at the store seem to be acclimated nicely. They were all moving around the tank and just lookin' healthy.
Absolutely. I guess I feel as though i'm rescuing the starfish, kind of like getting a dog from a pound. It probably doesn't have much of a life in petco so hopefully it will do much better in my bigger tank. And I think it should do well because i've had the tank established for almost 3 years.
mscarpena
New member
I can tell you right now that I am sure petco did not acclimate them properly so it will die in a few months. Just because they are healthy today does not mean anything. They for some reason take a few weeks to a few months for them to die from improper acclimation. Also starfish are very hard to care for. If you do buy one they need to be drip acclimated for about 3 hours. Very sensitive to any changes and need a large tank for food. 125+ gallons IMO. Sorry to rain on your parade. Just trying to help.
Not at all raining on my parade. I could use as much info. as possible since I want to expand my reefing knowledge. Starfish are not something that I would normally buy due to the fact that they are not hardy, but since they were at petco I figured that if it has any slight chance of surviving it would be better off in my tank. My aquarium has lots of pods, algae and there are sponges everywhere so i'm really hoping that it finds something to eat. I am also setting up a 125g so if it's still alive within the next few months it will definately be going in there.
DoubleM 10
Active member
i guess the only real way to answer this question is literally. its a starfish that happens to be red
there are alot of starfish that are red in color in some way. i guess this is to vague a question
there are alot of starfish that are red in color in some way. i guess this is to vague a question
Its the one in the second link
mscarpena
New member
Neat starfish. A 125 should be enough, but I would not count on them acclimating them properly, but if you are OK with taking a chance neat starfish. Just do some research to see what they eat. The mention light so they may eat some sort of algae and if that algae is commercially available you will have your food source for them. I am not sure of what they eat though.
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