what is a good reef safe starfish for ISU tank

[dellrio]

everyone in the club wants a starfish.. they want a blue linkia but i thought they were hard to keep alive.. they do not want a brittle star or serpent star.. it needs to be easy to care for and something that would prolly climb up the glass a bit.. thanks for any suggestions...

[Atticus]

You can get the normal white sand star. I had one that lived forever. They look more recognizable as a starfish than serpents and they only cost $14 reatil.

[Atticus]

I would suggest against going with any of linkias. You are right that they are damn near impossible for long term. Hard enough to get one that doesn't have its stomach hanging out after shipping.

[dellrio]

do u know anything about marbled stars? they do not wand a sandsifter star. i also heard purple/burgandy linkias do much better in captivity...

[Atticus]

I have heard that too... I don't know if there is any real proof behind the reds or purples being hardier or not. If they want a not sand sifting, reef safe, not serpent looking starfish they are going to have a rough time.... Like I said I suggest the white sand sifter for longevity and looks.

[drmooncricket]

The linkia's only eat diatoms found on live rock, that’s it...so for one small linkia you would need about a 55 gallon tank with about 100 pounds of live rock that has been running for about a year... what going to happen is the star fish will start eating the diatoms and go from rock to rock... buy the time he is finished the rock he first started on will have more food on it for him to eat... but not many people have had luck keeping any of these species alive for more that 1 year...IMO

[dellrio]

i think they only have like 80 pounds of live rock.... i hate the idea of a linkia.. but thats what they want.... and they will not start adding coral to the tank untill they get a starfish to replace there old star.. which is not reef safe... and i really want to get it moving.. b/c i have several pieces of coral in my tank meant for the school and i am tired of keeping it here... so either way.. we need to get soemthing in there...
the reason we NEED the star is b/c for the people who know nothing about coral.. the star is their favorite thing.. and many of the club members are really upset it needs to go.... i know this sounds ridiculous.. but... thats the way it is.. as stupid as it seems... there must be a good star out there.... something...

the reason i thought a sand sifter is a bad idea is because i hear they can eat all the creatures in the sand....

also this tank uses crushed coral.. if that makes any difference.. i do not know... i know nearly nothing about starfish...



thanks everyone for your help...

[Atticus]

The sifter would be great in a cc bed. That is the substrate i use. You need something that will stir it up and eat what is in it. With cc you are not looking for as many "critters" as you like to see in a DSB.

[dellrio]

hmm... i think i may just get the sand sifter...

what about the fromia star? ive never actually seen one in a store before...

[FlyGTI]

BTW Lindsey and Nick, saw that you'd been down to Janna's and left some suckers there. Bought two of 'em myself!

[dellrio]

hey thanks!! thats awesome!!! we've sold 4 now!!! yea!!!

[Atticus]

Originally posted by FlyGTI
BTW Lindsey and Nick, saw that you'd been down to Janna's and left some suckers there. Bought two of 'em myself! Suckers?

[dellrio]

yea.. delicious lollipops for $1 that will last 2 a couple days almost... they r for raising funds for the marine bio club.

[CCAniman]

If I remember correctly the starfish that is in the ISU tank is a sand sifting starfish, unless that has died and they have already replaced it.

[dellrio]

i dunno.. they have a giant cushion star which is now in my sump... wanna buy it?