Red thorny sea star

[Jilly92]

This is my first starfish I got him about a week ago and was wondering how you tell if they're happy and healthy vs distressed? And yes, I see the hair algae. Kind of digging its vibes

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Unfortunately starfish belong in the ocean and just don't do well in fish tanks. Ime they usually wither away after about 6 months

 

[vetteguy53081]

As these are sold in captivity, nutrients and not being picked on will be a challenge .
As in your pic, if their suction feet are functioning and they’re moving around tank/ they’re happy
That gha is going to get out of control if not addressed Very soon
Pull off by hand as much as you can and check your nitrate and phosphate level.
Are you using rodi water or tap water from the faucet ?

 

[Jilly92]

As these are sold in captivity, nutrients and not being picked on will be a challenge .
As in your pic, if their suction feet are functioning and they’re moving around tank/ they’re happy
That gha is going to get out of control if not addressed Very soon
Pull off by hand as much as you can and check your nitrate and phosphate level.
Are you using rodi water or tap water from the faucet ?

Its because it was a copepod breeder tank and I was using the phytofeast. Ive got an emerald crab in there and he is a baller at eating it haha not worried about it. I like to mix it up with rodi and filtered tap w/dechlorinator. I added all the livestock about a week ago and the green hair was double that before the crab. I know how treacherous it can be in a DT though!

 

[Jilly92]

Unfortunately starfish belong in the ocean and just don't do well in fish tanks. Ime they usually wither away after about 6 months

Thats so sad I did not know that

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Thats so sad I did not know that

Brittle and serpent stars are a good alternative if you like those

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Its because it was a copepod breeder tank and I was using the phytofeast. Ive got an emerald crab in there and he is a baller at eating it haha not worried about it. I like to mix it up with rodi and filtered tap w/dechlorinator. I added all the livestock about a week ago and the green hair was double that before the crab. I know how treacherous it can be in a DT though!

Why do you mix in tap water? That seems like more of a freshwater thing. I would stick with straight rodi

 

[Jilly92]

Why do you mix in tap water? That seems like more of a freshwater thing. I would stick with straight rodi

Because of the trace elements that are stripped out in rodi, I add them back in through filtered tap

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Because of the trace elements that are stripped out in rodi, I add them back in through filtered tap

Right that is a freshwater thing. You want pure clean rodi. The trace elements come from the salt mix for saltwater aquariums.

 

[TwentyfiveCents]

Dont know if you are new to saltwater but the first thing you learn from just doing a bunch of research is RODI is a must, with the trace get some additive for that if your salt from water changes cant restore them.....dont see any corals in there so the consumption should not be a lot at all

 

[Jilly92]

Dont know if you are new to saltwater but the first thing you learn from just doing a bunch of research is RODI is a must, with the trace get some additive for that if your salt from water changes cant restore them.....dont see any corals in there so the consumption should not be a lot at all

I have an rodi system. I have 3 different saltwater tanks that I experimented on. And I found that the corals do better this way for me. I have a bunch of corals in DT. The only downfall thus far is dealing with different algae but that hasn't been too big of a problem either. I would only say that filtered tap would only be probably 5% of the makeup.

 

[Jilly92]

Dont know if you are new to saltwater but the first thing you learn from just doing a bunch of research is RODI is a must, with the trace get some additive for that if your salt from water changes cant restore them.....dont see any corals in there so the consumption should not be a lot at all

I do plan on getting all the additives i need but everything costs so I'm doing what I can within my means. Thank you for info

 

[TwentyfiveCents]

The pic I was responding to only had a star with 2 clowns. Have you tested the tap to see exactly what is in there? There is prob a lot more than just chlorine

 

[Hincapiej4]

Tap water has all types of bad stuff in it. You can get ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phos, etc etc. All terrible things for your tank. Your salt is what replenishes your trace elements, unless the trace elements you want are copper and other metals, then by all means. Why put tap water in if you have an RODI already..I just don't understand people.....

 

[TwentyfiveCents]

Its because she has magical tap water ......if your tap is not coming straight ought the ocean what exactly are the trace elements you think is being replaced from using that 5% tap?

 

[Jilly92]

The pic I was responding to only had a star with 2 clowns. Have you tested the tap to see exactly what is in there? There is prob a lot more than just chlorine

The filter i use filters out chlorine, chemical pollutants, copper, mercury, and lead.

 

[Jilly92]

Tap water has all types of bad suff in it. You can get ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phos, etc etc. All terrible things for your tank. Your salt is what replenishes your trace elements, unless the trace elements you want are copper and other metals, then by all means. Why put tap water in if you have an RODI already..I just don't understand people.....

I'm not using straight tap

 

[Jilly92]

Its because she has magical tap water ......if your tap is not coming straight ought the ocean what exactly are the trace elements you think is being replaced from using that 5% tap?

Manganese, zinc, sodium...

 

[Jilly92]

Tap water has all types of bad stuff in it. You can get ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phos, etc etc. All terrible things for your tank. Your salt is what replenishes your trace elements, unless the trace elements you want are copper and other metals, then by all means. Why put tap water in if you have an RODI already..I just don't understand people.....

Like I said I experimented with it and the corals did better when I added filtered rather than straight rodi. Thats just how I do things and its going great so you don't have to understand anything, even though I've explained it multiple times. I dont understand why people are so bothered by people that does something different. hahaha did I just ruin yalls night or something lol.

 

[Hincapiej4]

You said "filtered tap" which is still tap water if it hasn't gone through some sort of actual sterilization. My night isn't ruined, I'm just saying from personal experience, that your corals would ultimately be happier with water that you can actually control what goes into your tank with. The local gov changes their filtration sometimes, and they aren't going to tell you when. I had a friend that happened to, and her tanks died. I'm trying to help you, but keep trying to troll and act like you know everything. Might learn the hard way.