reef safe star fish

[duke62]

ive looked at a couple of star fish that say they are reef safe but im not getting 1 until i get some feed back from u guys.what type of star fish can i house in my reef that is totally safe.i have the serpant star and they are all well and good but im looking for a beautiful colored starfish that will pop out at u when u see it.i house sps,lps,and all differerent types of zoas and shrooms,and 2 clams.

 

[House of Laughter]

Duke, sorry to say that serpents are NOT reef safe - they are coral safe, yes, but they are known to eat fish that cave/crevice sleep (most fish).

Fromias are some of the nicest colors for the reef and are reef/fish safe

HTH

House

 

[MatthewScars]

Check out Linkia starfish.

They are pretty difficult to care for, but are extremely awesome. I saw on in WWoF a few months ago.

 

[duke62]

ive had my serpant for 2 years and it has not eaten any of my fish :scratchch ill check out fromias

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

As Dean says, the only predictable fish (or invert) is a dead one.

 

[KathyC]

Good reading about Linkias..especially the section on what they require tank-size wise and what they eat.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/toonen.htm

 

[e.muehlbauer]

I once had a blue Linckia.....the only way to see it was to check the tank at night with a flashlight...even though it was very large, it was always completely hidden during the day.

 

[BZOFIQ]

any linkia, blue or red.

 

[noelskii]

mmm linkia starfish! those things are everywhere and huge here in the philippine reef!

 

[Pedro Nuno Ferreira]

Hi
Here is some more information about sea stars

Starfish: Considerations of the Common (and Commonly Misunderstood) Varieties

Beware of the Green Brittle Star, Ophiaracna incrassata as it is a vicious predator, even if it lives quietly for many months or even years...one day its nature will call...and fish will start to disappear.

Ophiarachna incrassata, the infamous Green Brittle Star, and a few related kin are the rare exceptions to the otherwise reef-safe and well-behaved Ophiuroid serpent and brittle starfish class. In some tanks O. incrassata will behave for months or even years, while in other tanks they tend to catch and kill motile creatures whenever possible They are active predators, which arch their central disk above their legs to form a trap for fishes and other prey. A lurker pictured here.​

Linkia multiflora is a good choice as it remains smaller than other Linkia sea stars and has proven to be hardier and long lived and not fussy about food. cybermeez as got one My Linkia Multiflora Starfish

Cybermeez's Linkia multiflora

and I ordered one for me as I intend to experiment bacteria film feeding with it. Being reportedly hardier, smaller, and not fussy about food (R. Shimek; Alf Jacob Nielsen; Svein A Fossa) it is my choice to do the experiment and in addition to that it is a beautiful sea star.
Be very careful with the acclimatization of sea stars as many of them suffer a lot with transport, like Linkia multiflora, so always do a slow acclimatization as it is regarded imperative. Be sure to check the salinity of the water in which the Linkia is at the LFS and compare it with the one of your tank that you checked before going to the LFS. If it is higher 1 or to ppt than the one in the LFS, then you should consider two possibilities

a) you ask the LFS to perform the salinity adjustment in the course of several days, after which you go and collect it

b) you bring it home with a lot of water from the tank in which it was housed in the LFS, say 1 or 2 galons, and prepare a small tank or container were you can hold it with temperature and circulation in that water and drip in it over the course of several days the same amount of water held, with water from your main tank where you are going to house it. Once it is done, then you move the sea star.

Cheers
Pedro Nuno;-)

 

[duke62]

wow some acclimation period.thanks pedro