sand dollar questions

[jiffy]

so me and my gf went out to ft.desoto today and grabbed up some sand dollars and a few other things, they were literally everywhere you walk once you got a decent ways out...

are they beneficial to a reef tank?
how long will they live in captivity?
if they die will it harm the tank in anyway?

 

[jiffy]

bump

 

[skinz78]

I've never seen anyone have them in their tank, I would imagine they are the same as a sand sifting star in feeding requirements.

 

[jiffy]

what do they eat? amI put them in there, and in 10min they were gone I didn't even get to see them bury themselves..

 

[boehm742]

From what ive read the success rate of these in our reef tanks is next to none. But Ive never seen anyone try on here, so why not?

 

[jiffy]

do they secrete anything into the water column when they die? or will they harm anything in my tank if they die?

 

[skinz78]

I'd imagine they would eat detritus.

As with anything if they die yes they will add ammonia but I doubt they would release harmful toxins.

 

[Hyprviperx]

they are in the family of starfish, they're pentaradial, i would assume they would be similar to the starfish or echinoderms in care, but maybe more delicate... not sure of the food, but like Skinz78 said probably a detritivore

 

[jiffy]

sounds good, but I've always wondered what that yellow/green stuff is that you get all over ur hands when you touch them?

 

[KLR]

They need to be treated just like sand stars. They need a really deep and nutrient filled sand bed. If they do not have that they will die. Also they are finicky to things like water parameter and temp changes. Most of these will not live in a captive environment,but it is possible.

You should try googling care info on them,to see if you can find some more detailed tips.

Goodluck!

 

[jiffy]

so should I add more live sand to the tank? and I'll google more info thanks klr

 

[skinz78]

How deep is your sandbed?

 

[jiffy]

no more than in inch high