Chocolate Chip Stars compatibility with other stars?

[vaguelyreeflike]

I know chocolate chips will prey on other stars but does that include every star? We have a chocolate chip tank at work and then a reef safe star tank for the linckias, was hoping I wouldn’t have to spare another tank for something like red knobs

 

[dstockwell]

They will eat whatever they want given the opportunity. Eats anything it can catch.

 

[vaguelyreeflike]

They will eat whatever they want given the opportunity. Eats anything it can catch.

I believe it honestly. Unfortunately they won’t even consider snacking on the bubble tip nems and now their tank is overrun as well lol. Are red knobs the same with appetite?

 

[dstockwell]

According to liveaquaria young ones will not, older ones will eat almost anything. Not sure either will eat nems.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I’ve never heard of these guys preying on other stars, but I wouldn’t put it past them if the other star was small enough (even Linckia stars will eat Aquilonastra stars, for example).

If you can keep them properly fed, then any instances of predation should (theoretically) be rare. However, they may still happen occasionally, and keeping these stars properly fed is substantially easier said than done, as they (to my understanding) primarily consume biofilms founds on sediment and seagrasses.

The Red-Knobbed Starfish (Protoreaster linckii), on the other hand, “is considered as a voracious scavenger, mainly feeding on sponges, sea anemones, soft corals, etc. It is considered as an enemy of pearl oysters along the coast of the Gulf of Mannar.”*
* My source: https://www.researchgate.net/public...dea_Tuticorin_coast_south-east_coast_of_India

Here’s some info on chocolate chip star diet:
Chocolate Chip Stars (Protoreaster nodosus) eat algal films, biofilms, and meiobenthos (benthic organisms like worms and pods and such that are small enough not to be considered macrofauna, but not small enough to be considered microfauna).

ISpeakForTheSeas said:
If it is Protoreaster nodosus or a Pentaceraster sp., than it's a biofilm eater and will be difficult to feed long term - though biofilm eating starfish can usually survive a decent length of time in large enough aquariums (the smallest recommended tank size I've seen to accommodate this is 75 gallons, but bigger is substantially more likely to be successful as I understand it). Additionally, these species are known to eat corals in aquaria, so that would be something to keep in mind (this is largely thought to be a result of limited preferred food sources - i.e. it's thought that they eat corals when they run out of biofilm). Protoreaster nodosus seems to prefer biofilms that form on sediments and seagrasses, and Pentaceraster spp. seem to prefer biofilms that form on macroalgae (and possibly seagrasses too). So, having some seagrass and macroalgae in the aquarium could potentially help feed these guys, but there's no guarantee.