A few general points here, and they are
VERY important, because these are a delicate and overstressed resource.
There is no reef safe starfish that is suitable for a 15g tank. Simple as that.
Because some stars are "reef safe," it means that they feed on algal/bacterial films (*not* macroalgae), the animals that feed on it, and/or bryozoans, sponges, tunicates, etc. For this, you need lots of healthy mature LR (the tank should be 6 months old, minimum). Some individuals may be attracted to dead fish or other dead animals, but not all.
It is impossible to have enough LR in a 15g tank.
BTW, there certainly are stars that do not eat corals, and there certainly are stars that do. From my point of view, if people stay away from these stars because they are worried about their corals, then I am very happy. Very few people should attempt to keep them.
The minimum tank size, IMO, is a 55g with at least that much LR.
They simply
cannot be spot fed, and they can quickly eat everything they need off the LR in smaller systems (
not typically coralline which should be the least of anyone's worries- if you don't want to lose something that will regrow
PLEASE don't get one of these stars, when it dies, it won't come back).
This includes all
Linckia,
Fromia and other reef safe stars. The mortality rate is very high, especially within the first month after introduction, when most die of acclimation stress.
Few make it past 1 year, dying of starvation long before. They can take many months to starve (8-12months). The small
Fromia milleporella is well known for this.
Tanks in the 55g range that have had success with a
Linckia star tend to be very mature (multi year) reef tanks packed full of LR.
The best luck is with tanks in the 100g range with at least that much LR for a single reef safe star. More than one requires a larger system with more LR for best long term success.
For tanks in the 55g range, the only reasonable choice would be a
Linckia multiflora, a much smaller species than things like the blue
Linckia or puple "
Linckia" (really
Tamaria stria and one which a few people report eating mushrooms, etc).
The mortality rate of all reef safe stars is incredibly high. Acclimation is key at all stages of transport, with a 4 hour acclimation being the minimum, IMO, depending on your specific gravity and that of your LFS.
It is important to have a tank with reef salinity (1.025-1.026) to minimize stress on these animals. Also best to keep one per tank to avoid competition for food.
A 15g tank is prone to many fluctuations in water parameters, another reason these stars should not be kept in one. I wouldn't even consider it in my 15, even with 25+ lbs of LR.
Sand sifters stars are well known for dying of starvation at about the 8 month mark, unless in a large system. However, they are not suitable for a system using a functional DSB. They also stay burried.
Brittlestars (and serpentstars- there is no difference) are a better choice because they can be spot fed. Avoid the green, a known predator.
The knobby stars like generals, red africans and chocolate chips are not reef safe and will gladly consume snails, clams, scallops and many crustaceans, but this fact makes them easy to spot feed.
An excellent article on these stars:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... toonen.htm
