WONDER ABOUT CHOCO CHIP STARFISH???? advice here

[fasturtle30]

talking about starfish then i want to add in the future a choco chip starfish so since the information said :

"Chocolate chip stars are often seen on the aquarium glass in search of their next meal. This star will also eat many types of corals and is not recommended for reef aquariums. In the home aquarium you can place small bits of fish or shrimp near the star to "hand" feed it.
Chocolate Chip Starfish are excellent cleaners in the fish only aquarium. Their ability to digest a wide assortment of animals makes them unadvisable in the reef aquarium however.

So it would be advisable that i put one while i have FOWLR and remove or give it to a friend when i decide to go for REEF and add corals?

 

[b.branscombe]

That should be fine as long as you know someone in advance who will take the star when you add coral. I have one in my FOWLR and I like him a lot.

 

[fasturtle30]

thanks brans yes i have a friend whos have those actually in a reef one and looks pretty healthy but i have someone who is gonna love it if give it for free lol
so only the white sand or gren brittle or maybe the orange one would survive the reef live right? their profile says they r reef safe ! ???

 

[b.branscombe]

The problem with choc. chip stars in a reef is not them surviving, but everything else.

I personally would stay away from sand sifting stars and green brittles. The sand sifters generally exhaust their food supply in short order and starve to death. The green brittle is a known fish predator.

I currently have two huge tiger brittle stars in my 220g reef. The largest one is about a foot long arm tip to arm tip.

 

[fasturtle30]

i will keep that in mindbrans thanks, so where did u buy these tiger brittle one? cant find the info online right now

 

[Jaroby]

Brittle/serpent (though not the green variety), fromis, and linkia stars are all safe to have. Brittle and serpent stars will sift the sand to be good addition as a cleaner but not a visible starfish. For visibility, along with great color go with a linkia or fromis star. Striking colors and they stay on your rockwork surface and tank walls.

Chocolate chip (more a devourer of immobile objects such as dead fish and corals) and Green serpent stars (green, thorny, carniverous, shaped like safe brittle stars...love to set traps for their prey including the fish inhabitants when hungry enough) are to be avoided for a reef if you value the livestock. Without corals the Chocochip would be a fine addition. Feed a green serpent enough and your livestock should be safe

 

[fasturtle30]

yeah jaroby i just like the shape of choco chip and it would be only a cleaner when i keep FO but removed before i out corals !

http://www.petsolutions.com/Chocolate+Chip+Starfish-I-175300L-I-C-16119-C-.aspx

or this one very colorful as well:

http://www.petsolutions.com/Chocolate+Chip+Starfish+Red+Orange-I-175305L-I-C-16119-C-.aspx

 

[shag26272]

I remember when I first started reefing, my LFS sold me a chocolate chip for my reef tank, Ive never seen soft corals dissapear faster, it just moved over my Xenia and it dissapeared

 

[fasturtle30]

thats cool means if you take care of their food and dont starve them out, you wont see a disater over your tank?