New to hobby

[ElvisReef]

hello everyone

So I wanted some advice , have had my 20g tank for about 2 months now. Had a starfish (sand sifting) in my tank that I noticed was missing a limb one night to the next , and by the 3rd night he only had 2 limbs left.

I have a hawkish , 2 saltwater Millie’s and a hermit crab I got from beach . Could the hermit crab have killed the star fish v I have been feeding it pellets and it has been eating them but I’m afraid it has not been enough for the little guy.

I might just have to put him back in wild as I am scared he might want to catch one of my fish

 

[KrisReef]

Likely the crab got hungry.

&
Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Hello and welcome to Reef2reef.

What do you mean a hermit crab you got at the beach? Is it terrestrial or fully aquatic?

Putting a starfish (besides micro brittle stars) in a nano tank is never a good idea. It is an almost guaranteed death due to starvation.

 

[ElvisReef]

Hello and welcome to Reef2reef.

What do you mean a hermit crab you got at the beach? Is it terrestrial or fully aquatic?

Putting a starfish (besides micro brittle stars) in a nano tank is never a good idea. It is an almost guaranteed death due to starvation.

Fully aquatic , it was living fine till that guy went in there

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Fully aquatic , it was living fine till that guy went in there

They lose their limbs do to stress (in this case its likely its malnourished, and stressed from the crab), so I wouldn't expect it to survive in your tank. I would rehome the starfish.

 

[goosemans]

Sand sifters basically melt and the hermit crab is just doing his job eating the dead tissue.

 

[vetteguy53081]

hello everyone

So I wanted some advice , have had my 20g tank for about 2 months now. Had a starfish (sand sifting) in my tank that I noticed was missing a limb one night to the next , and by the 3rd night he only had 2 limbs left.

I have a hawkish , 2 saltwater Millie’s and a hermit crab I got from beach . Could the hermit crab have killed the star fish v I have been feeding it pellets and it has been eating them but I’m afraid it has not been enough for the little guy.

I might just have to put him back in wild as I am scared he might want to catch one of my fish

Often when losing a leg, it can be high nitrate or phosphate and starvation in which your tank is way too clean for most any invert

 

[ElvisReef]

been over doing it on water tests and I’ve pretty much been super good so far

 

[ElvisReef]

Often when losing a leg, it can be high nitrate or phosphate and starvation in which your tank is way too clean for most any invert

But yes I’m such a noob that I got the starfish this early in

 

[vetteguy53081]

But yes I’m such a noob that I got the starfish this early in

Moving forward, add no inverts until tank is at least a month old, better 2 months, No Anemones for 6 months and no stars for 3 moths. Snails can be added when there is presence of algae

 

[goosemans]

But yes I’m such a noob that I got the starfish this early in

It’s okay to be a noob. We’ve all been there at one point. Tiger conches are pretty cool and sift through the sand. Mine would eat those algae wafers when I felt like there wasn’t enough for him to sift. Maybe try one of those

 

[KrisReef]

This tank is cycled and doing great for a new setup. Missteps are common and a great way to learn as you go, ime.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, most true starfish (at least the reef-safe ones) are doomed to live short lives in our tanks at this point, with most I've seen (that survive beyond the first ~2 weeks) tending to only live ~8-13 months before (presumably) starving to death.

Sometimes large tanks can produce enough natural food for the stars to support them for a few years, but even with large tanks it's a gamble at best right now.

Usually, the first sign people catch that something is wrong is the star dropping limbs (though sometimes they don't drop any and just move on to the next step); from there, they basically disintegrate.

Personally, at this point, I'd recommend avoiding any true starfish other than some kinds of Aquilonastra ("Asterina") stars, which can reproduce fast enough to be considered pests by some people regardless (I personally like them though).

Brittle/Serpent Stars (Ophiuroids) are a much better choice at the moment, as these tend to do very well in our tanks - I would avoid the Green Serpent Star, Ophiarachna incrassata, however, as it's known to be predatory.

 

[ElvisReef]

Moving forward, add no inverts until tank is at least a month old, better 2 months, No Anemones for 6 months and no stars for 3 moths. Snails can be added when there is presence of algae

question i dont have any lights yet.
quickly realizing that even the small tanks are big monies.
what are the recommended lights for future coral
and will the light help me grow the algae.
more dumb questions to come.

im yet to do a water change because water parameters seem to stay stable due to the fact that its pretty new.
should i still be doing some type of water changes to get myself in the habit.

 

[ElvisReef]

Moving forward, add no inverts until tank is at least a month old, better 2 months, No Anemones for 6 months and no stars for 3 moths. Snails can be added when there is presence of algae

ok got it.
hopefully the inverts in there will survive.

 

[ElvisReef]

I got 3 fish in my tank
1 flame hawkfish
2 saltwater mollies

how often should i be feeding them live brine shrimp.
do i switch up with some pellets or keep them only on live

 

[ElvisReef]

It’s okay to be a noob. We’ve all been there at one point. Tiger conches are pretty cool and sift through the sand. Mine would eat those algae wafers when I felt like there wasn’t enough for him to sift. Maybe try one of those

hmm alage wafer didnt even know that was a thing.
thanks for the nice message. i cant wait to have my tank thriving with coral, fish and inverts

 

[ElvisReef]

This tank is cycled and doing great for a new setup. Missteps are common and a great way to learn as you go, ime.

thank you for that kris. I made sure to start small since i really had and have very little knowledge on fish/reef keeping. I hope to come across more ppl like you to keep me motivated while I stumble

 

[vetteguy53081]

I got 3 fish in my tank
1 flame hawkfish
2 saltwater mollies

how often should i be feeding them live brine shrimp.
do i switch up with some pellets or keep them only on live

You can do one to 2x daily but other foods such as formula 1 frozen, LRS fish frenzy, TDO pellets, plankton and flakes

 

[ElvisReef]

Yeah, most true starfish (at least the reef-safe ones) are doomed to live short lives in our tanks at this point, with most I've seen (that survive beyond the first ~2 weeks) tending to only live ~8-13 months before (presumably) starving to death.

Sometimes large tanks can produce enough natural food for the stars to support them for a few years, but even with large tanks it's a gamble at best right now.

Usually, the first sign people catch that something is wrong is the star dropping limbs (though sometimes they don't drop any and just move on to the next step); from there, they basically disintegrate.

Personally, at this point, I'd recommend avoiding any true starfish other than some kinds of Aquilonastra ("Asterina") stars, which can reproduce fast enough to be considered pests by some people regardless (I personally like them though).

Brittle/Serpent Stars (Ophiuroids) are a much better choice at the moment, as these tend to do very well in our tanks - I would avoid the Green Serpent Star, Ophiarachna incrassata, however, as it's known to be predatory.

great information , as fascinating as the little guys are i think i will stay away from these little guys atleast till my tank is much dirtier (lol)