ID starfish please

oiliaN · Nov 13, 2014

I'm thinking about buying a 20g shallow off Craigslist, but they seller says there are dozens of these starfish everywhere. What are they? are they reef safe?

ReefFreak@ · Nov 13, 2014

asterina, the lighter ones are usually ok but if they look like this i would be wary

ReefFreak@ · Nov 13, 2014

harelquin shrimp will eat them if your really worried and still wanna buy tank

oiliaN · Nov 13, 2014

Thats actually perfect. Thats the only livestock I planned to keep.

ninjabeaver · Nov 13, 2014

I have lots in my tank, but the population stays in check, and I haven't seen them harm anything

ReefFreak@ · Nov 13, 2014

lol wow looks like you have some free food along with that deal! are you going to have any corals or just live rock and the shrimp?

oiliaN · Nov 13, 2014

Planned on the shrimp and some Hard corals

ReefFreak@ · Nov 13, 2014

as long as you have a predator prey change your all good

ReefFreak@ · Nov 13, 2014

sps? that will look really good. You will have to keep my updated!

oiliaN · Nov 13, 2014

I hope so, and I will.

ReefFreak@ · Nov 13, 2014

Alright sounds good! May i suggest barebottom?

oiliaN · Nov 13, 2014

You may. Any reason? lol

ReefFreak@ · Nov 13, 2014

personally i just had bad experience with sand but to me there are some added benefits to a bare bottom especially your nano and spa tanks. It lets you keep high flow all around your even underneath them preventing detritus from settling also cleaning is so simple just siphon out the gunk on the bottom of your tank which is good at keeping your nitrates and phosphates down.Know more replacing sand is also a added bonus to the mix. If your worried about look this is my 2.5 pico bare bottom jus get some spray paint to the color "sand'' of your liking and from a far you won't even notice.

oiliaN · Nov 13, 2014

I do like the look. I thought about bare on my 55 Reef, but went with black sand.

PCygni · Nov 13, 2014

I love these little guys . Always have one or two on my glass at any given time. They have never caused me any problems.

PCygni · Nov 13, 2014

I should specify, I only have the white ones....

afamousjohnson · Nov 14, 2014

They do cause issues and tho it is sweet seeing little stars all over - if u are planning a reef long term in the end you will most likely not like these guys. It wouldnt keep me from buying the system but i would pull them out the best i ccould.I have seen them finish off zoas having probs that may have made it. There are many diff types it seems also as i have found at least 6 variations in the tank. I have also found one that messes with monti's (i will see if i can find the pic). I have even questioned on strain on sps - they eat off of problem areas with diff corals seeming to increase and make the problem worse.

Also it is a hit n miss on harliquins with these. Sometimes yes sometimes no but everytime not a suitable food source for them. I have had multiple and they are exactly what they are decorative and delicate. I have watched one of my male harliquins remove a 3" chocolate chip star from the glass and bring it back to his lady. He was the size of maybe a quarter - they ate on this for a good 5-7 days straight. So think of a diet consisting of only astera stars as one of us standing in super high winds eating only apples all day long.lol
Just some experience with them - mine and the wives fav specimens - and absolutely gorgeous. But they take a lot of time as far as live stock is concerned.