Sand sifter not playing role

[radreef02]

So I was aware this thing won’t touch the glass or rocks.

My wife was excited to find this , is this normal or is he starving ?

 

[jabberwock]

I am useless but following

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

See my quote below:

I’ve heard they climb the glass when they’re looking for food and can’t find any in the sand bed.

Generally, people recommend large tanks and waiting until your tank is established before trying these (or pretty much any) sea stars, and the star survives on detritus in the tank. Unfortunately, even in a lot of these tanks, after they finish clearing the detritus from the sand, they typically starve.

My current advice to avoid the star staving - which may or may not help, I genuinely don't know at this point (it could take someone months to years of testing it to find out for certain, as sea stars can last months without food):
Target feed the star things like clam on half shell, oyster, mussel, scallop, etc. (bivalves); snail, whelk, conch, etc. (sea snail gastropods); and a good quality omnivore food (like LRS Reef Frenzy or Fertility Frenzy). These are - according to the best sources of information I can find - the sorts of foods sand sifting stars consume in the wild, and the star should swallow these foods whole if they aren't too big - you might need to experiment a bit with the size of the pieces offered to get it sized just right, but generally I'd say err on the smaller side.

If you decide to give it a shot, let me know how it goes, and keep me updated on the long term survival of the star!

 

[jabberwock]

Alright, so maybe I am not useless... I found these balloon sticks at WalMart in the wrapping paper isle. They are white and like 22" long. They are perfect to add to a plastic syringe type dosing thing (no needle) for spot feeding. I had a shy YWG in a 32 gallon biocube. I could put the food on his head at the bottom of the tank. You could INJECT the sand with snacks!

 

[AydenLincoln]

It’s typically not a good sign to see them out in the open/on the glass. Make sure you spot feed him things like krill! These guys do best in super large well established tanks if not they are known to deplete the sand bed and then starve which is common despite spot feeding.

 

[radreef02]

It’s typically not a good sign to see them out in the open/on the glass. Make sure you spot feed him things like krill! These guys do best in super large well established tanks if not they are known to deplete the sand bed and then starve despite spot feeding.

That was my worry and thank you all for the responses.

I’ll start feeding him, I am getting into a 100g in a few months when my house closes so he’ll be better in that