Feather Starfish?

[Cary Meredith]

So who has kept a feather starfish, I just ordered one, they look cool and I think I can keep it good, if you have had success with one let me know how, also if you have had issues, don't want this to die they look so awesome.

Thanks in advance
Cary

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

A very hard animal.

#reefsquad DO we know of anyone who has these?

 

[Cary Meredith]

A very hard animal.

Thanks want to give this a try, I only do it once if it isn't easy.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Thanks want to give this a try, I only do it once if it isn't easy.

Its similar to NPS corals and clams n bivalves. Keeping water clean AND "dirty" at the same time is a trick. Ive studied the NPS methods a LOT, have a ton of bivalves , but haven't worked up the courage for these yet. YET.

sorry I hit the reefsquad button after I posted

 

[Maritimer]

I've never met anyone with 1-year plus success with one of these. A shame, because they're stinkin' gorgeous, and have a fascinating connection with the ancient past . . .

Wishing you luck with the one on the way!

Filter-feeders are ... challenging. Maybe look into how the folks with NPS tanks are doing it?

~Bruce

 

[Roboson]

They require huge amounts of swimming room, and special food requirements. They're not easier creatures to keep.

 

[Cary Meredith]

Thanks everyone, I do have a 125 gallon so plenty of room

 

[tripdad]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/marks-rimless-nps-paradise.256387/#post-3028719
Take a look here, he seems to have some good success with filter feeders.

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

They require huge amounts of swimming room, and special food requirements. They're not easier creatures to keep.

They do not require a lot of room to swim as they will only swim if they are stressed.

Did you do any research before deciding to try one? This is not an animal that you can be successful with on a whim. Different species have different specialized diets and require constant feeding throughout the day. The water has to be very stable and especially with no nitrates.

If you "think you can keep one good", what do you plan to feed it? Are you aware that most do not actually feed on the commonly available foods? Note that they can take up to a year to starve as noted by the apparent limit of how long most end up keeping them before they fall apart.

Next time you should probably ask the questions before buying such a demanding animal. It's an animal that requires a tank to be built for it, rather than hoping it will thrive in an average system.

 

[Cary Meredith]

Next time you should probably ask the questions before buying such a demanding animal

I have researched and was looking for additional suggestions, I know they are a filter feeder, I have numerous other filter feeders that have done very well, I was just wondering if anyone else has kept them with success. I have been feeding Phytoplankton for a few months now and that plus microvert is my plan for feeding, I spot feed every filter feeder after lights out after I have shut off pumps.

 

[Tahoe61]

They do not require a lot of room to swim as they will only swim if they are stressed.

Did you do any research before deciding to try one? This is not an animal that you can be successful with on a whim. Different species have different specialized diets and require constant feeding throughout the day. The water has to be very stable and especially with no nitrates.

If you "think you can keep one good", what do you plan to feed it? Are you aware that most do not actually feed on the commonly available foods? Note that they can take up to a year to starve as noted by the apparent limit of how long most end up keeping them before they fall apart.

Next time you should probably ask the questions before buying such a demanding animal. It's an animal that requires a tank to be built for it, rather than hoping it will thrive in an average system.

^ Pretty sure you're the only one that I have ever seen keep one longer term.

My only comment is that I think hobbyist should think long and hard before they create a market for them. Feather and Baskets stars are going to be found for sale and collected if hobbyist buy them. Rarely can a hobbyist recreate the environment that they come from. There needs to be a constant supply of suspended particulate matter.

 

[jason_mazzy]

Have you written any papers or blogs with your successful methods?

They do not require a lot of room to swim as they will only swim if they are stressed.

Did you do any research before deciding to try one? This is not an animal that you can be successful with on a whim. Different species have different specialized diets and require constant feeding throughout the day. The water has to be very stable and especially with no nitrates.

If you "think you can keep one good", what do you plan to feed it? Are you aware that most do not actually feed on the commonly available foods? Note that they can take up to a year to starve as noted by the apparent limit of how long most end up keeping them before they fall apart.

Next time you should probably ask the questions before buying such a demanding animal. It's an animal that requires a tank to be built for it, rather than hoping it will thrive in an average system.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

They do not require a lot of room to swim as they will only swim if they are stressed.

Did you do any research before deciding to try one? This is not an animal that you can be successful with on a whim. Different species have different specialized diets and require constant feeding throughout the day. The water has to be very stable and especially with no nitrates.

If you "think you can keep one good", what do you plan to feed it? Are you aware that most do not actually feed on the commonly available foods? Note that they can take up to a year to starve as noted by the apparent limit of how long most end up keeping them before they fall apart.

Next time you should probably ask the questions before buying such a demanding animal. It's an animal that requires a tank to be built for it, rather than hoping it will thrive in an average system.

Have you written any papers or blogs with your successful methods?

Inquiring minds, want to know

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

I have not written much about it because I fear that it may encourage people to randomly try to keep them when it's more complicated than as if I had "cracked the code" for keeping any feather star without fail. I'm actually surprised someone remembers me being successful with them cause it has been a long time. I haven't kept any for many years because I know I can only keep the one species and I have never seen it available since. Maybe I will write an article about them now as I wasn't really a writer back when I had these guys.

What I found is that there is ONE species I and a friend were able to keep long term (about 4 years) when an old LFS got in 4 or 5 similar individuals. They would eat small frozen foods such as cyclops and ova with mine being fed 3-4 times a day and my friend's (username "slapshot" on the forums) was fed even more often with an automatic refrigerated feeder. The species we had was pretty easily identifiable as having a colorful stripe down the main arm usually orange or yellow and grey "feathers" coming off the arms, they were also very sticky (other types of crinoids are not). We also found that they were incredibly sensitive to nitrates like no other animal we have encountered and this was they ultimate downfall as be both eventually experienced nitrate spikes. If you have any more specific questions I would be happy to try to answer them.

I can't believe this was 8 years ago! Time flies.

I miss this guy

They had very sticky arms. Don't worry, mine regrew them.

 

[Harleybronco67]

I've kept a green one for about 14 months( until I tried to move it to a new system) just setup a species only tank a few months ago and added these two beauties yesterday they really enjoy a high flow and must be target fed 5-6 times a day amazing creatures to watch

 

[Cary Meredith]

I've kept a green one for about 14 months( until I tried to move it to a new system) just setup a species only tank a few months ago and added these two beauties yesterday they really enjoy a high flow and must be target fed 5-6 times a day amazing creatures to watch

Nice, I didn't end up getting one, the supplier never got one in so thought just forget it for right now, they are stunning.