Starfish recommendations

keddre · Oct 24, 2017

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a starfish? I would love that classic look in my tank but I don't care for brittles, and with my flame scallops and dusters that sit unguarded, the popular chocolate chip star is out too. Thanks

LetItReef · Oct 24, 2017

Fromia and Linckia.

Dsnakes · Oct 24, 2017

Red fromia is a cool looking star

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 24, 2017

I think links's need an established reef. Sponge eaters ??
And I have a big black and red brittle star with markings like darth maul. Its pretty cool.

keddre · Oct 24, 2017

LetItReef said:
Fromia and Linckia.

Dsnakes said:
Red fromia is a cool looking star

These look cool. I'm looking into them now, but only quickly until I get home.

saltyfilmfolks said:
I think links's need an established reef.

Welp, that could be a problem as I don't have a reef on the first place. Do they need something reef specific, like coral, or do you just mean an aged tank in general?

saltyfilmfolks said:
Sponge eaters

I was actually looking at one of those on divers den, which is why I made another post on here asking where I could buy non ornamental sponges. Lol

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 24, 2017

keddre said:
These look cool. I'm looking into them now, but only quickly until I get home.

Welp, that could be a problem as I don't have a reef on the first place. Do they need something reef specific, like coral, or do you just mean an aged tank in general?

I was actually looking at one of those on divers den, which is why I made another post on here asking where I could buy non ornamental sponges. Lol

Nice. So good to see research. It's one of those common sales to new tank owners that can go badly.

Take a look at GARF. They sell or will sell a lot of that stuff.

nautical_nathaniel · Oct 24, 2017

My favorite is the Marbled Sea Star or Fromia monilis, I don't have enough room for one right now but it will definitely be in my future 150+ gallon build

In Pensacola we have a super cool sand-sifting starfish called the royal sea star, I've always thought that they would be a cool addition to a big tank with a deep sand bed. It's not uncommon for me to find one or two complete specimens while snorkeling at the beach.

keddre · Oct 24, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
Take a look at GARF. They sell or will sell a lot of that stuff

Skimming now, if anything I might be contacting to see if they want to hire me as a web developer...sesh

nautical_nathaniel said:
My favorite is the Marbled Sea Star or Fromia monilis

Will look into this as soon as I finish with this GARF site

nautical_nathaniel said:
super cool sand-sifting starfish called the royal sea star

I'll look this up too; however it may be an automatic no, as I shy from sand sifters because of the fact that I do have a DSB. It's not all no though, because I am looking for a sifter that wouldn't kill the sand bed

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 24, 2017

It's the same website as the 9o's

You can find them in FB now too.
The original owner has passed , and his wife is quite elderly. They've had some help keeping things going if late.

A Lot of folks poo poo them. But not when you say GARF Bansai.

keddre · Oct 24, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
It's the same website as the 9o's

You can find them in FB now too.
The original owner has passed , and his wife is quite elderly. They've had some help keeping things going if late.

A Lot of folks poo poo them. But not when you say GARF Bansai.

Well you just made me feel better that I offered to do it for "free."

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 24, 2017

keddre said:
Well you just made me feel better that I offered to do it for "free."

If I lived in Idaho I'd work there.

ThunderGoose · Oct 24, 2017

I would seriously hesitate to get a starfish with flame scallops. It's very common for starfish to eat bivalves.

I have a "common" starfish from KP Aquatics. It's small and hardy but not as spectacular as Fromia. KP is in the keys and has low stock availability right now (due to hurricane damage) but I've always gotten very high quality from them.

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 24, 2017

ThunderGoose said:
I would seriously hesitate to get a starfish with flame scallops. It's very common for starfish to eat bivalves.

I have a "common" starfish from KP Aquatics. It's small and hardy but not as spectacular as Fromia. KP is in the keys and has low stock availability right now (due to hurricane damage) but I've always gotten very high quality from them.

Weird. Two years with my scallop and The big star.

keddre · Oct 24, 2017

I've heard of that which is why I made the thread. I'm hoping maybe someone knows a starfish that would ignore them completely

Jacobscorals · Oct 24, 2017

Things that aren't found in a reef....starfish,crabs,and urchins. Fowlr tank maybe....

Krzydmnd · Oct 24, 2017

I know you mentioned doing research, I thought I would share this article I recently read.

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/saltwater-reef/feature-articles/marbled-or-tile-sea-stars.htm

ThunderGoose · Oct 25, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
Weird. Two years with my scallop and The big star.

Sounds like you got a species that doesn't commonly eat bivalves. What kind is it? I'm sure other folks on here would like to know so they can have starfish and bivalves!

Grey Guy · Oct 25, 2017

Chocolate Chip star fish are very hardy, but will eat everything in your tank. Don’t know about SPS though.

rkpetersen · Oct 25, 2017

I love the various Fromia species. They're gorgeous and quite active even during the daytime, crawling over everything without doing any damage. They don't always travel well though and a very slow acclimation suits them best; even then, they may die or lose a limb within a few days or a week. The most gorgeous of them all, the Tile Star Fromia monilis, also seems to be the most fragile; I've had these arrive literally disintegrating in the bag despite the best possible handling and overnight shipping. My lfs reports similar experiences and only occasionally has any Fromias at all.