Biscuit Starfish

[AydenLincoln]

Would love to see picture/ video of your starfishes/ with other inhabitants?

 

[jolech2572]

I have seen him once since Saturday, that was last night. It was stuck to the wall, I tried feeding it but it was impossible. I tried mysis and my own diy frozen concoction. I'll try again if it's on a more level surface.

I have my Weat African Biscuit starfish over 6 months now. Feed him algae wafers on the sand and Reef Roids with a plastic pipet when he is on the glass. Just lightly dispense it. He loves it can see him eating it all day seems happy and healthy hopefully he will live for years to come

 

[SamGamOcean333]

Can we clarify exactly what species are under this group called "Biscuit Stars"? So far I am seeing:
1. Goniaster tessellatus
2. Anchitosia queenslandensis
3. pentagonaster duebeni

These are starting to pop up more and more, and vendors keep having them at the frag swaps in Ohio. The amount of lies and disinformation a lot of the vendors are telling people about these starfish is quite depressing/frustrating. Even if it is through the hobby, I hope more research and informational can come out about these different starfish and how they react long term to attempted domestication. They are being priced at $100-$200 often which along with the lies to the often novice buyers just kind of disgusts me.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

Can we clarify exactly what species are under this group called "Biscuit Stars"? So far I am seeing:
1. Goniaster tessellatus
2. Anchitosia queenslandensis
3. pentagonaster duebeni

These are starting to pop up more and more, and vendors keep having them at the frag swaps in Ohio. The amount of lies and disinformation a lot of the vendors are telling people about these starfish is quite depressing/frustrating. Even if it is through the hobby, I hope more research and informational can come out about these different starfish and how they react long term to attempted domestication. They are being priced at $100-$200 often which along with the lies to the often novice buyers just kind of disgusts me.

"Biscuit starfish" isn't a scientific name in any way and just describes what they physically look like to people (a food). If you want to know what species you're buying, you'll have to look into it further...there are many species that look like biscuits and are rightfully called "biscuit starfish" die to that.

 

[SamGamOcean333]

"Biscuit starfish" isn't a scientific name in any way and just describes what they physically look like to people (a food). If you want to know what species you're buying, you'll have to look into it further...there are many species that look like biscuits and are rightfully called "biscuit starfish" die to that.

The fact you are assuming I thought "biscuit starfish" was a scientific name is both sad and comical. And honestly they look nothing like a biscuit so I have no idea what you're talking about either. I would never buy one of these anyway until they're actually quite documented and we know what we are getting into per each species - which is why I listed each known species under the colloquial name.

You were quite the help!

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

The fact you are assuming I thought "biscuit starfish" was a scientific name is both sad and comical. And honestly they look nothing like a biscuit so I have no idea what you're talking about either. I would never buy one of these anyway until they're actually quite documented and we know what we are getting into per each species - which is why I listed each known species under the colloquial name.

You were quite the help!

Sorry, my reply did sound quite sharp. I just reread it and apologize for that. To answer your question, most people just upload a picture or two with their phone on Google and it's generally pretty accurate. Have you tried that? I wouldn't count on the workers at the shop to have much of a clue tbh...

 

[SamGamOcean333]

Sorry, my reply did sound quite sharp. I just reread it and apologize for that. To answer your question, most people just upload a picture or two with their phone on Google and it's generally pretty accurate. Have you tried that? I wouldn't count on the workers at the shop to have much of a clue tbh...

Thank you I appreciate that. At this point I think I should not be relying on LFS, vendors, or even google for exact information on a specific species under "biscuit star". There is a lot of controversial information out there, and it seems many people and google are mixing up descriptions from the different biscuit star species around the world.

At this point I am just trying to find all the different species listed under biscuit starfish, so we can possibly create a well known list here. I don't think there is anywhere that lists off each species under the colloquial name, but if you happen to find one please share it here.

 

[SamGamOcean333]

Well I found my list, and now this opens a Pandoras Box lol. And now looking at all the biscuit starfish that exist outside of the hobby - I can see why are they are called biscuit starfish. I think it would still be cool/beneficial to create a list of biscuits primarily being sold in the hobby.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goniasteridae

Look at these two - Peltaster placenta and Pawsonaster parvus

 

[Dustin07]

Was thinking about getting one of these beauties for my 75g

Red Biscuit Sea Star | Marine Inverts & Plants

The Red Biscuit Sea Star Goniodiscaster scaber grows to a maximum of 4” and is sure to create bright contrast in your marine aquarium with its red color.

m.liveaquaria.com

we had one with zero issues. it would occasionally climb over a colony of zoas or something, but never ate them or damaged them in any way. We would still have him but he ended up getting sold at the LFS when our tank sprung a leak and my daughter took all the inhabitants to the LFS for safe keeping until we could rebuild. Which generally, I'm ok with. They held our survivors for a couple weeks at zero fee and basically only ended up selling the biscuit and an orchid dottyback.

 

[NancyFish]

we had one with zero issues. it would occasionally climb over a colony of zoas or something, but never ate them or damaged them in any way. We would still have him but he ended up getting sold at the LFS when our tank sprung a leak and my daughter took all the inhabitants to the LFS for safe keeping until we could rebuild. Which generally, I'm ok with. They held our survivors for a couple weeks at zero fee and basically only ended up selling the biscuit and an orchid dottyback.

Have you ever had this issue?

 

[Dburr1014]

Have you ever had this issue?

That is how it starts, the decline.

How long have you had it?

 

[NancyFish]

That is how it starts, the decline.

How long have you had it?

Literally picked him up at a show on Saturday - slow acclimation that night. He was a little slow the first day, fast yesterday, now a little slow again and the white appeared & is spreading.

You dealt with it? Any idea the cause & how quick they die?

 

[NancyFish]

Unfortunately mine passed away after over a year and yes this is very different than mine. This is an orange Pentagonaster duebeni which is found in Australia and more of a temperate/coldwater species. https://bie.ala.org.au/species/http...afd/taxa/bb92a135-1d42-48f2-967e-59f1ca818576

What did yours die from? Mines turning white.

 

[Dburr1014]

Literally picked him up at a show on Saturday - slow acclimation that night. He was a little slow the first day, fast yesterday, now a little slow again and the white appeared & is spreading.

You dealt with it? Any idea the cause & how quick they die?

If the white starts to disintegrate, it won't be long, a month, maybe.

I'm hoping it's something else.

You bought him at ffm?
I bought one also but it was 2 years ago from the same vendor at FFM. Mine lasted a year maybe a little longer. They are truly very difficult to care for.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

Literally picked him up at a show on Saturday - slow acclimation that night. He was a little slow the first day, fast yesterday, now a little slow again and the white appeared & is spreading.

You dealt with it? Any idea the cause & how quick they die?

The cause is probably Sea Star Wasting Disease. What caused SSWD could be a variety of environmental factors.

 

[NancyFish]

If the white starts to disintegrate, it won't be long, a month, maybe.

I'm hoping it's something else.

You bought him at ffm?
I bought one also but it was 2 years ago from the same vendor at FFM. Mine lasted a year maybe a little longer. They are truly very difficult to care for.

They told me to give it some antibiotics vaguely, and said shipping or acclimation causes it. I knew it had a hard shot of surving but im trying to read all over and info is so limited. I think I’d be happy with a year, but two days before watching it degrade all day today is pretty disappointing.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

They told me to give it some antibiotics vaguely, and said shipping or acclimation causes it. I knew it had a hard shot of surving but im trying to read all over and info is so limited. I think I’d be happy with a year, but two days before watching it degrade all day today is pretty disappointing.

I highly doubt they have any idea why it died...antibiotics are a waste of money in cases like this.

 

[NancyFish]

I highly doubt they have any idea why it died...antibiotics are a waste of money in cases like this.

It’s not dead yet which is why I’m hoping to turn it around. But I’m not seeing a lot of options.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

It’s not dead yet which is why I’m hoping to turn it around. But I’m not seeing a lot of options.

They typically disintegrate within days after signs of ill-health. If you're interested in learning more about the difficulties of maintaining starfish in aquaria, read my upcoming article in Koralle Magazine.

 

[pmoz]

they seem to like clove polyps

My West African biscuit starfish definitely began eating my GSP on the back wall once he discovered it.
I removed it the next day.
They are beautiful, but it was another reminder against impulse purchases.