I’ve observed our linckias and fromias feeding on diatoms, chaeto, turf and green algaes, etc. its not very mysterious, they just dont like supplemental foods 90% of the time.
I think what you've observed is them attempting to eat biofilm built up on surfaces. They are not herbivores...
Most likely, but the chaeto/algae definitely looked munched on from the linckia
I wouldn't doubt it may have consumed a small amount but a purely herbivorous diet would not meet the nutritional requirements and if that's all it had to eat it would certainly starve...there's definitely a reason other reefers don't successfully keep Linckias in nanos (well I'm sure some do until they starve to death)
Im not saying theyre purely herbivorous, or that they will do good in a nano
Oh, i thought you were proposing putting one in a nano...what stars did you have in mind for your nano them? Brittle stars or serpent stars would be a good choice.
I dont have a nano tank. I originally didnt see the ‘nano’ part of their post when i first suggested, but brittle and serpents are probably their only options. Astrea stars would work too but not everyone is as big of a fan of them as me lol. Ive yet to come across a species that actually causes harm to corals, but they looove coralline algae. Some species get quite ‘large’ at close to 1/2”, and can come in a range of colors from green to red to purple
Oh, i actually thought you were OP! I agree that a majority of stars are reef safe although nano really restricts their options for the average reefer
i am more interested in astrea seastars. I would go for a brittle star but theyre kind of weird to me lol. Just thinking for the future and what I would like to stock the tank with. If a 15g is too small for any astrea or if they will ruin the coral i will not get one.
The 15gal wont be too small for astrea stars at all, they are more considered a “pest” to most people haha. They will reproduce quite quickly i will warn, so decide if you want them before getting them as you may not be able to get rid of them. Of course if you do change your mind down the road, a Harlequin shrimp would fix the problem fairly easily albeit not cheaply
All starfish, brittle stars etc are echinoderms. Brittle stars are Ophiuroids, while true stars are Asteroids.
Timfish said:
It's an Aquilonastra spp. starfish and is a great scavenger. I see them with anywhere from 4 to 12 legs. The whole discusion around them seems to me excellent examples of misidentification, mistaken behaviour and assumed causality based just on heresay without looking at the research. Asterina spp starfish are preditary but only reproduce sexually and are shortlived so while it's possible some might get into a tank even if it did happen it's not going to be around long. Aquilonastra are one of the uncommon species that reproduce fissiparous or by splitting so are easy to identify by the different sized legs regrown after splitting. They perform an important function not only feeding off algae films but also feeding off microbial films including those on corals (at least ones that don't sting). FYI the mucus coating on corals ages and corals have to periodicely shed it to renew it and maintian healthy microbial processes (Ref 1, Ref 2). If Aquilonastra are feeding on zoas or softies I'll argue they are either benign or even beneficial as they may be reducing the unhealthy older mucus which can be full of unhealthy microbes which the animal is trying to get rid of and are far more likely to be the actual problem.
Here's an example, this Toadstool is doing one of it's periodic sheddings. The Aquilonastra have been in this system for years but only climb onto the Toadstool when it's shedding. In the first picture you can see the old mucus film, Aquilonastra starfish and areas they have cleaned off. The second picture shows the Toadstool a week later.
