help me help a newbie please....

[nice1bruva]

hi guys.
im trying desperately to get as much advise as i can for a guy in the UK who is a newbie.
he has bought a feather starfish which as many of us know do NOT fare well in captive systems.

i KNOW he shopuld have left it in the store but hey...we've all made impulse purchases when starting out and the life of the creature(s) in question are my concern at this time.
the storekeeper hasn't exactly helped him either with the old 'yeah...it'll be fine' attitude.
:mad2:

here's a couple of pics...
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j308/minkinslappa/Unidentified_2.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j308/minkinslappa/Unidentified_1.jpg


myself....i would steer well clear of feathers due to their feeding requirements but as this guy hasn't then what can he do with regards to care and feeding???
...reallly not my area this?????
:confused:


also an ID on the crab hitchin' a ride would help too...and is it detrimental to the star???
:confused:


all i have been able to tell him is to cover any inlets for the time being and i'll get back to him with the other issues once i have sought more advise.

The feather is a dark green

The crab has black and white strips on its main body with long front claws.
(i have seen the crab type before but damned if i can find a link now)
:rolleyes:

thanks guys.
:)

[Sk8r]

Phytoplankton and cyclopeeze. Not sure whether this guy is herbivore or carnivore, but that covers both bases. DT's or Phytofeast. Both are sponsors of the forum and can be clicked on above.

Not sure about the crab, but consider that predators usually hang near their prey. Most crabs that hitchhike are not friendly.

[nice1bruva]

and there you are again sk8r!
:D
thanks dood....i really no nothing about these guys as i was advised to steer clear many years ago and have never so much as looked at one since.
would love one though as they are gorgeous creatures!
i'll pass the advise on and thanks again!
:)

[dc]

Try posting those pictures in the invert forum. There are several people that may be able to help you.

[nice1bruva]

thank you dc....any chance of a mod moving the whole post?
thanks
:)

[dc]

Sure.

[moved]

[nice1bruva]

i guess no-one knows then?

[Lev F.]

I'm pretty sure the crab is just hitching a ride. I don't think he's doing much or any harm to the Crinoid. Feed the star Phyto and Cyclopeeze. They are not extremely hard to feed, like most people think, but they are very delicate and easily get damaged in shipping, and that's why most of them are doomed. They are still pretty challenging though. My LFS has had one for 3 years, and it was a green one like that. As for the crab, don't worry about him. Feed him flakes or pellets just like your fish.

[ophiuroid]

Many of these animals have commensal crabs and it is unlikely it is doing any harm apart from stealing food.

I personally disagree with the above in terms of them not being hard to feed. They are exceedingly delicate but unlike basketstars are VERY particular in the particle size food they ingest. Very few people will have success with them, including crinoid specialists, unless this is a very large tank, with a very large refugium and a constant supply of spawning invertebrates. Now and then someone has success, but what works in their tanks may not be what people think is working.

In the reference I have at least on Caribbean forms, most have things like stomach contents consisting MOSTLY of diatoms less than 485 microns in length. The reference, written by echinoderm biologists, says that in general the diet of crinoids consists of zooplankton (forams, larvae) phytoplankton (diatoms and unicellular algae) and particulate matter .05 to .40 mm in diameter. Quite specific feeding range, and sometimes quite specific food types.

It is IMPERATIVE that the water quality is ideal, especially specific gravity, which should be 1.025-1.026.

[Lev F.]

I didn't state that they were not hard to feed, just not impossible. I should have re-worded my post better, what I wanted to come out of it is, that they are extremely delicate, and most get damaged in shipping and are doomed from the start. Sorry if this caused any mis-information. Anyway. Ophiuroid, Thanks for the analysis on their stomach contents. That could help to determine what they do and do not accept. :D

[nice1bruva]

thanks guys
:)
all info is being passed on....i for one will definetly leave them in the LFS as i always have.
:(