Are there any reef safe starfish?

my2rotties · #1 02-12-2009, 03:27 PM

I bought two pillow starfish a couple of months ago for my clean up crew. They were in a tank with mushrooms and softies and I was told they are safe. One was evicted to my sump over a week ago for eating my multi coloured ricordias, and is waiting to go back to the LFS (was trying to find the other pillow star).

This morning I found the other (I literally could not find him to evict him from my display) destroying my bubble coral. I bought the bubble from a canreefer and it was a pretty prime piece... now I am not too sure anymore. I don't want to take it out and stress it out anymore. It looks like a good chuck of it is gone from the skeleton though.

I have a sand sifting starfish which seems safe and two brittle starfish which I make certain to target feed since they look like they might eat a fish one day. However fish can get out of the way for the most part, corals are pretty defenseless...

Hubby wants to to bring it to the LFS and throw the starfish at them, but that's not really a solution to the problem. I was told they were safe and they were both with softies, so I guess the LFS and I both learned something more about starfish. I had asked about the pillows since I had a chocolate chip starfish that did the same thing. I didn't want a repeat but when you think about starfish I guess they would all be the same in the end any ways. I'm pretty steamed about the damage to my bubble coral and don't know if it will come back now.

If there are any reef safe starfish please let me know. I wanted them for my system since they are great cleaners and my puffer doesn't eat them.

My first instinct was to dry them out for show pieces but I will be making the drive to the city today to return to where I bought them from. It's not their fault I hate them at the moment... they deserve a chance. I am REALLY ticked off right now, not at anyone in particular, just my luck. MY bubble is looking worse now and I just brought it home last week. I am not sure how they work but it is missing a third of the bubble part and its mouth is open now. It is not wanting to inflate but the halides still have yet to go on.

A fun day in the hobby, but I still love it.

arnald · #2 02-12-2009, 03:35 PM

Drock169 · #3 02-12-2009, 03:40 PM

Reef-safe star would be any colour of linkia, fromia, opi stars, most brittle stars (avoid the coloured ones),basket stars (difficult to keep long term),white sand stars, and maybe a few others that I cant think of right now.

Avoid Pillow/cushion stars, chocolate chip stars, and any star in which the LFS cant identify

Whatigot · #4 02-12-2009, 04:10 PM

most common are the blue linkia and the red fromia (little red reef star).
My personal favourite is the fromia elegans.

They all have relatively poor shelf like in captivity compared to the wild, although my blue linkia is now about 8 months in my tank, my fromia elegans wasted away in front me over the course of 5 months.

Delphinus · #5 02-12-2009, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whatigot

They all have relatively poor shelf like in captivity compared to the wild,

That's a really good way of putting it. I find there are two categories of star: 1) it's not really reef safe (of varying degrees depending on type); or, 2) we don't really know what it eats (so hit and miss whether they adapt to whatever slimes they find in our tanks). Think I've tried 3 blue linckia's ("linkia" 's ? I never know how to spell it) and one lived about 20 months, but the other two lived very short lives (a couple months tops). I tried a red Fromia, same thing, only a couple weeks, and a purple linkia (not a linkia per se but looks just like it, I forget the latin on it), same thing, only a couple months and then it literally tore itself apart and I had 5 individual arms crawling around the tank until they eventually disappeared.

I don't bother trying stars anymore.

It's funny, I've heard the claim now a couple times that pillow stars are safe. I don't know, I get the heebie-jeebies just looking at them, how can they possibly be reef-safe? I don't believe it. Guess it depends on one's definition of "reef safe"...

rstar · #6 02-12-2009, 04:39 PM

Ive had a blue linkia that has been living in my tank about 3 years now actually he is the longest lived thing in my tanks, survived 2 moves and a 2 week strech in rubermaid while i set up my 90!

hillegom · #7 02-12-2009, 04:49 PM

rstar, What do you feed your blue linkia. I have always liked them, but was never sure if I had the ability to keep them.
Thanks

my2rotties · #8 02-12-2009, 05:28 PM

They are NOT reef safe. My bubble coral is half gone now that the halides ore on. It is a bare skeleton on the right hand side. SO far the left is out, but I am not sure if it can or will survive such a thing. I am not sure if it can regrow at where it was eaten or not, time will tell I guess.

The one ate a mushroom at $10 for the head and a ricordia head that was $20 the other got my bubble which was $80, pretty expensive lesson for me.

I am sicker the a dog today but a trip to the city to rehome them will be happening. I don't even want them in my sump since they might end up plugging a pump or something else in the near future. They were model citizens for about 5-6 weeks though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

That's a really good way of putting it. I find there are two categories of star: 1) it's not really reef safe (of varying degrees depending on type); or, 2) we don't really know what it eats (so hit and miss whether they adapt to whatever slimes they find in our tanks). Think I've tried 3 blue linckia's ("linkia" 's ? I never know how to spell it) and one lived about 20 months, but the other two lived very short lives (a couple months tops). I tried a red Fromia, same thing, only a couple weeks, and a purple linkia (not a linkia per se but looks just like it, I forget the latin on it), same thing, only a couple months and then it literally tore itself apart and I had 5 individual arms crawling around the tank until they eventually disappeared.

I don't bother trying stars anymore.

It's funny, I've heard the claim now a couple times that pillow stars are safe. I don't know, I get the heebie-jeebies just looking at them, how can they possibly be reef-safe? I don't believe it. Guess it depends on one's definition of "reef safe"...

Delphinus · #9 02-12-2009, 05:30 PM

Well, don't give up on the bubble until it's 100% gone. You'd be surprised what they can sometimes bounce back from.

rstar · #10 02-12-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hillegom

rstar, What do you feed your blue linkia. I have always liked them, but was never sure if I had the ability to keep them.
Thanks

Ive never actually fed it anything special, just let it wander around and do its own thing!!