Sandsifting stars...Good or bad?

[CHILL]

Not sure if I have made an error here or not. We went on a reef shopping spree yesterday and purchased 2 sand sifting starfish for our 180 reef. These guys were pretty large and I am concerned that they may have been a bad purchase. The LFS where we bought them (that I trust) didn't think they were an issue, but from a little bit of follow up they seem to get mixed reviews.

We got them because our sandbed was looking dirty (even with the 3 fighting conchs) and wanted to clean it up. We have about 1 1/2" of sand on the bottom and the tank has been up and running for 3 months now.

The stars are fun to watch, but have we made a bad purchase? Will the stars cause issues with the entire reef system by eating all the good worms and such out of the sand?

Thanks
Chris

 

[Anonymous]

They will eat the organism in the sand. The current conventional wisdom is that the critters are necessary for the sandbed to function, but I'm doubting that.

The other problem witb them is how do you feed them after they have eaten the sanbed critters. Maybe someone who has kept them will have an answer.

 

[Anonymous]

To the best of my own knowledge Archaster typicus is a detritivore. This means that it won't be eating living organisms, but rather detritus. This is good, with the caveat being that a single star would be appropriate in your tank. See if you can nail down the species.

Oh yes, if you have a 'fuge, then the star can go back and forth between the 'fuge and the display.

 

[Anonymous]

I just did a quick search and found this... http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrice/inve ... sandsr.htm

A bit of interesting empirical data. I've never kept them myself, but this page seems to back up what I've heard.

Jim

 

[Anonymous]

I think this is probably the 20th time I've posted this, but here goes again:

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p ... ght=#53896

 

[Mihai]

I think this is probably the 20th time I've posted this, but here goes again:

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p ... ght=#53896

Then it might warm your heart to hear that everytime you post it again, somebody new gets to read it and learn something (in this case, me ).
Actually, I always asked myself if those stars kill the sandbed (these and the Nassarius sp.).

Thanks for the link,
Mihai

 

[Unarce]

I got chastised big time trying to explain how predacious these guys are on another forum years ago. People here seem to take the news much easier. :?

 

[Anonymous]

I think this is probably the 20th time I've posted this, but here goes again:

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p ... ght=#53896

Then it might warm your heart to hear that everytime you post it again, somebody new gets to read it and learn something (in this case, me ).
Actually, I always asked myself if those stars kill the sandbed (these and the Nassarius sp.).

Thanks for the link,
Mihai

If you click on Rob's profile, search his old posts (he only has like 50 or so), and look at his personal webpage, you'll find a boatload of info like this.

 

[CHILL]

So, I am to understand they are bad and should be removed in a hurry?

I run a shallow sand bed as it is and so the prospect of keeping them long term seems slim. Even worse would be to see them eating the conchs or posibly the Tiger Shrimp I just added (not sure they could catch it).

Now I just have to convince my fiance that they have to go back. Is there a star that I could put in? How about a Linkia? The tank is only 3 months old, will a Linkia survive?

Thanks for the info.
Chris

 

[Anonymous]

Although they will not eat your conchs or shrimp, I would take them back. I doubt they will survive long term anyway.
Linkia and fromia stars are possibilities but I would wait until the tank is more mature.

Jim

 

[elpescado]

Hold up people!
Just like any "maintenance" organism there are pros and cons. we cannot say that an animal is detrimental to all systems as every system is different. Every situation should be viewed on an individual basis. I have seen sand stars cause problems, and I have seen them be problem solvers. So, before anyone runs back to the petstore to return their sand star take into account the following:

If you are running a deep sand bed that relies on benthic fauna for its wellbeing, and you don't feed very heavy, then the sand stars may not be good for your system nor nassarius snails (which I have seed kill perfectly heathy snails and bivalves and eat them). If you do not rely on the sand bed for major nutrient processing or you have a deep sandbed but feed heavily then the sand stars can be very benificial.
At home in my 120 reef (2 inches of sand, with a 55 gal mud refugium) I use 3 sand stars that keep my sand free of any major algae buildup. They have never tryied to eat my plate coral, mushrooms, zoanthids, tridachnid clams, or any other major living creature in my tank. My spagetti worms even reproduce fast enough to keep up with the stars.
At work I use these stars mainly to keep the sand looking presentable to customers, and the same situation there, none of the stars have ever attacked any snails, clams, hermits, or corals.
If your sand bed is devoid of anything resembling food then the sand stars will feed on what ever they can easily capture.

We must all do our homework on any animal before purchasing it and decide if it is right for our tank.
Nassarius snails are in the same vote, can be very bennificial, can be harmful.

 

[EmilyB]

I'm not keeping a deep sand bed but a shallow one in a 230g. My SSS has not depleted the spaghetti worms....lol... pods do not live in the sand...btw....so no shortage of those.. :lol: No complaints so far..

(dead sand bed puller before all this)

 

[Anonymous]

How can Nassarius snails be harmful?
~wings~

 

[Baianotang]

They are good.

 

[Mihai]

How can Nassarius snails be harmful?
~wings~

That's an excellent question. I wonder what do they eat under the sandbed where they spend most of their time. I'm hoping somebody that knows will chime in.

BTW, I love your signature. Super-geekish . What's with the avatar though? I've been trying to figure it out for a long time now...

M.

 

[Anonymous]

How can Nassarius snails be harmful?
~wings~

They're not. They eat detritus, and cannot kill anything else and eat it as elpesco as eluded. He's confused.
There are other snails that, if you don't know what you're looking at, can be confused with nassarius snails. Some of these are predatory, and some are falsely sold as nassarius at times.

Jim

 

[Anonymous]

How can Nassarius snails be harmful?
~wings~

That's an excellent question. I wonder what do they eat under the sandbed where they spend most of their time. I'm hoping somebody that knows will chime in.

BTW, I love your signature. Super-geekish . What's with the avatar though? I've been trying to figure it out for a long time now...

M.

Thanks!... it's just a picture of a fried chicken wing. It was a naso tang at one point, but I got into some hot water with the tang police and since then changed it to a "roast chicken". :lol:
~wings~

 

[Anonymous]

How can Nassarius snails be harmful?
~wings~

They're not. They eat detritus, and cannot kill anything else and eat it as elpesco as eluded. He's confused.
There are other snails that, if you don't know what you're looking at, can be confused with nassarius snails. Some of these are predatory, and some are falsely sold as nassarius at times.

Jim

Not entirely true Jim. There are several species of Nassarius, and I doubt feeding studies have been done on all of them, especially under conditions where they may be starved, as in an aquarium. I'd consider them a small risk, but it's not fair to say they cannot kill anything.

http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MR03008.htm

 

[Anonymous]

I'd also be very curious what this paper has to say, but the PC I'm on doesn't have Acrobat Reader... :roll: Can someone tell me what it says about the snails actively predating, if anything?

The natural diet and degree of hunger of Nassarius festivus...

mollus.oupjournals.org/cgi/reprint/69/4/392

 

[Anonymous]

I've yet to witness/hear/read about aquarium variety nassarius snails attacking healthy animals. The are obligate scavengers. I'm not speaking of an entire genus here, just ones that are likey to be purchased in groups, and end up in your reef tank. Those are after all the animals that we're concerned with.

Jim