Reef safe starfish??

[cdeakle]

Is there such a thing? If you know of one please let me know!!

I have a 55 gallon reef with a 250 watt 12,000k sunburst, 12 gallon sump, 75 pounds of LR, VERY shallow sand bed(bare in some places). Inhabitants include:

Six line
Blenny
Anemone
Branching Frodspawn
Hairy Mushroom
Leather coral
Xooanthid
Cleaner shrimp
3 Emerald crabs
1 zebra hermit
1 blue legged hermit
1 orange legged hermit
5 red tipped hermits
25-50 assorted snails

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Ophioderma (a.k.a. serpent star).

 

[Anonymous]

Linkia, Fromia, Nordoa, Asterina are all reef-safe....along with some brittle and serpent stars. One brittle to avoid is the spiny green brittle star...(Something incrassata is the latin name?)...they have a bright green body, yellow spines, and they like to catch fish, snails, anything.

 

[MandarinFish]

Linkia, Fromia, Nordoa, Asterina are all reef-safe....along with some brittle and serpent stars. One brittle to avoid is the spiny green brittle star...(Something incrassata is the latin name?)...they have a bright green body, yellow spines, and they like to catch fish, snails, anything.

Ophioderma (a.k.a. serpent star).

Any more specifics on these? I am familiar with linkias, but I got one and it perished quickly in spite of my best efforts.

I am interested in reef-safe and hardy starfish also. Fromias are magnificent. Has anyone keep Fromias for a length of time?

Also, could I get more information on the Nordoa, Asterina, and Ophioderma species? I did a Google search and found very little, much less the all important *where* to obtain these animals....

 

[kparton]

When I set up my tank the first time, about 2 years ago, I bought my inverts online and they sent me the wrong package. What I got was an assortment of crabs, 2 brittle stars, 2 serpent stars, and 2 blue linkias.

I hadn't ordered any stars myself, so I had no idea of how to acclimate them, they were all dead within a week I think.

After that, I did a great deal of reading on how to acclimate and feed these animals and decided never to buy a blue linkia even though they're beautiful. This time after my cycle, I got 2 serpent stars and I acclimated them slowly over 4 hours. I also released them into the water without ever exposing them to air. They have done extremely well in my tank and actually come out everyday at feeding time to forage. They're probably the best conversation pieces in my tank right now. I highly recommend them.

I know that brittle stars (stay away from the green) are also supposed to be hardy if acclimated correctly. The only reason I didn't get one is because I've heard they never come out during the day and will probably rarely ever be seen.

I know nothing about the fromias.

 

[teevee]

I think that any Fromia sp. would be a good choice for a beginner (with an large and established tank), versus a Linkia sp., which are apparently trickier. Remember to acclimatize properly, and ensure you have a stable environment before you buy.

 

[ElMonoCalvo]

How about Echinaster sp. sea stars? Are they reef safe and is anybody keeping them?

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm, Greg Scheimer wrote a nice little piece about Nordoa (?) I think, and how it was predating on Asterina stars in his reef tank for Adv. Aq. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Anonymous]

Here is a general article on Linkia stars by Rob Toonen:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... toonen.htm
and the piece by Greg Scheimer:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... allery.htm

 

[Anonymous]

Another by Rob about basket stars:
http://www.reefs.org/library/article/r_toonen17.html
We have what I *think* are Tamaria stria stars (they look like purple linkias) in a 180 gallon reef at school, and I've never witnessed them eating corals.

There was a thread here that John Brandt and Greg Scheimer replied to about an Echinaster star, I'll try and find that as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Oops, I guess it was just Greg that replied. Anyway, here it is:
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=37191&start=0
Hope this helps,
Matt

 

[Anonymous]

Serpeant stars, linckia stars, and brittle stars are all a safe bet...stay away from the knobby stars (like the one i got) such as Protoreaster Nodosus....

 

[Anonymous]

Blue linkas(LINKI?) are safe and have real nice colors.