Red sea stars

maleks.reef · Oct 10, 2021

Hi guys. I really want to get a red starfish but a lot of stuff I've read online has scared me away from it. My tank is 10 months old and seems to be doing okay so far.
I had a few bumps along the way but rn my main issue is algae.
So my question is, are red stars really THAT hard to keep? If you do own or did own a red star can you please share your experience? And lastly, how should I go about acclimation and introducing it to the tank?

Timfish · Oct 10, 2021

I guess ir depends on which species you're talking about. The red chocolate chip species should do well but it'll love corals. Any of the Fromia species I've avoided after realizing I never had one survive a year in any of my tanks.

maleks.reef · Oct 10, 2021

Timfish said:
I guess ir depends on which species you're talking about. The red chocolate chip species should do well but it'll love corals. Any of the Fromia species I've avoided after realizing I never had one survive a year in any of my tanks.

Yes, i was referring to the Fromia species. They are very beautiful and I generally really like starfish.
That sucks to hear, do you think it was because of something you did or do they just not live long in captivity?

Uncle99 · Oct 10, 2021

+1
Just going to die
I have no idea why, but something causes starvation, or that’s what it looks like as they slowly dissolve.
Many are predatory.

maleks.reef · Oct 10, 2021

Uncle99 said:
+1
Just going to die
I have no idea why, but something causes starvation, or that’s what it looks like as they slowly dissolve.

What if i target feed it every other day?

Timfish · Oct 10, 2021

Since they seem to die around 5-6 months I suspect we're not able to grow what they need to eat in our reef systems and they're jsut starving to death. The problem with target feeding them is we have no idea what they want.

youcallmenny1 · Oct 10, 2021

The only starfish I've ever had survive were brittles both big and small as well as asterinas.

maleks.reef · Oct 11, 2021

Timfish said:
Since they seem to die around 5-6 months I suspect we're not able to grow what they need to eat in our reef systems and they're jsut starving to death. The problem with target feeding them is we have no idea what they want.

If some people were successful at it then surely there is a way to do it. There has to be something that we can feed them.

Uncle99 · Oct 11, 2021

maleks.reef said:
What if i target feed it every other day?

You can certainly try.
Some believe it’s not the food itself a missing component in artificial versus natural seawater.

Timfish · Oct 11, 2021

maleks.reef said:
If some people were successful at it then surely there is a way to do it. There has to be something that we can feed them.

First thought is how is someone claiming success, determining they are successful? Fromia sp probably shuold live years if not decades and I'd think keeping one for a couple years would be comparable to keeping a cat or dog a couple years, not exactly successful IMO. Second is many of these animals may feed of biofilms and from what I've read and seen these are very complex and someone may have been lucky enough to accidentally get the right food for them growing but htat doesn't equate to knowing what food to feed them.

Dkmoo · Oct 11, 2021

Yeah no..

I've had the itch to get one many times and had to talk myself out of it every time o go into the LFS and see a pretty red one.

They just don't last, even in huge mature tanks. Something about not the right diet could be a cause but collectively as a hobby we don't have enough knowledge. I don't think any one on this forum have claimed true "success" with them - ie, multiple years, and reproducing.