Kamden's Crinoid Diary

Kamden Uelton · Feb 17, 2018

Hello hello! The title says it all and this is a Diary thread for my newest Crinoid

I got this beautiful and delicate creature yesterday while visiting my local LFS, I saw a tank littered in Crinoid legs and i'm like "the f$#!" so with closer observation I found saw 2 very beautiful Crinoids one was black and the other was green with some really beautiful white and orange on it. The guy told me they ate fish crap (which i knew wasn't true) but enough chit-chat heres the beauty. (mom broke my DSLR so this is just a crappy phone pic)

The tank is a 30g with 2 other Crinoids, Blueberry Gorgonian, Tunicates and Sponges and some SPS,LPS, and Zoas.
Nitrate = 5
Nitrite = 0
Ammonia = 0
___________
Feeding
I feed Nutramar Ova 3 times a day Manually, I dose 3 drops of KZ Sponge Power every other day for Sponges and Tunicates. Tank gets a 5 gallon WC every Saturday and I keep 3 Black Mangroves in the back for bio filtration

Kamden Uelton · Feb 18, 2018

Can't find what it eats, can't get a reaction from it with all my foods

Kamden Uelton · Feb 20, 2018

Got a reaction from Brightwells Reef Blizzard-O mixed with KZ Sponge Power.

Kamden Uelton · Feb 28, 2018

Going strong, Increased manual feedings to 6x per day, Opens up way more and pictures will be on the way.

Kamden Uelton · Mar 9, 2018

Still doing well, I started Probiotic Dosing to help with the Nutrient Load.

Snyder1456 · Mar 13, 2018

What is it???

reef lover · Mar 13, 2018

Feather starfish...
Very nice!!

Kamden Uelton · Mar 13, 2018

@Snyder1456 It's a Crinoid (Feather Starfish)
@reef lover Thank you!

Crinoid still doing well, I don't see any dead limbs littering the tank but I also don't see any growth... I will be increasing feeding.

Raindog3030 · Mar 16, 2018

Following, I saw a beautiful black and red crinoid at one of our LFS the other day and considered relieving them of it myself.
Have you been trying any live feeds like phytoplanktons or rotifers?

Also, can I ask what kind of flow you have in your reef?

Thank you, and keep fighting the good fight!

Kamden Uelton · Mar 16, 2018

Wow! Red and Black what a beautiful color combination! I have fed rotifers before and none of my crinoid responded to them. I have the Aqamai KPS powerhead on high flow. Brightwells Blizzard - O gets a response from all 3 of my crinoids, I also have TONS of pods in the tank which I think contributes to some of my success. If you have the time to feed 3 times a day definitely buy it so then I won't be the only person here with one

EDIT: Just noticed you are in florida... What LFS has the Feather Star I might drive down and get it.

Raindog3030 · Mar 16, 2018

Kamden Uelton said:
Wow! Red and Black what a beautiful color combination! I have fed rotifers before and none of my crinoid responded to them. I have the Aqamai KPS powerhead on high flow. Brightwells Blizzard - O gets a response from all 3 of my crinoids, I also have TONS of pods in the tank which I think contributes to some of my success. If you have the time to feed 3 times a day definitely buy it so then I won't be the only person here with one

EDIT: Just noticed you are in florida... What LFS has the Feather Star I might drive down and get it.

They had 2 at Aqua Mart in Titusville. The owner said he gets them regularly, his shop has been there for a LONG time.

Gray Levison · Mar 25, 2018

Hey I saw you said that you have a blueberry gorgonian...what do you feed it, how long have you had it, and how strong is the water current on it? I work at what is easily the best saltwater aquarium store in Orlando, FL. We recently received a red feather star and a blueberry gorgonian in a shipment the blueberry gorgonian has been keeping his polyps closed more and more every few days so we don't think it's eating. Also, after reading about them on here I doubt the water flow is anywhere near adequate. If you can give me some tips I might buy it to try and save it before it dies.

Kamden Uelton · Mar 25, 2018

@Gray Levison Hello! I will be in Melbourne Beach for a week on vacation, On the way back I might be able to take the feather star off your back. I have the Blue Berry Gorgonian in Medium - High flow, I am feeding it 3 times a day w/ Brightwell Aquatics Reef Blizzard-O. My blueberry gorgonian is not doing well to be honest, I bought it cause I got a $20 deal (was half dead) and it hasn't recovered since! It isn't dying or regenerating so time will tell if it lives or not. Red Feather stars are the hardest to keep, They like very small particulate food (5-20 microns), I think the Reef Blizzard-O's micron size is 10-100.

samnaz · Mar 25, 2018

I wonder why stores sell creatures that very few people know how to keep alive. If the stores themselves don’t even know what’s required to keep them healthy or alive...how are they qualified to sell such creatures in the first place? Kamden, I’m hopeful you will discover answers to the unknown and share them far and wide. You sure are bright for your age and your passion gives me hope... keep it up.

Kamden Uelton · Mar 25, 2018

@samnaz
They are just sooooo beautiful.! I bought my first one for that reason alone, Lucky I researched, asked questions and figured out a good food for them. Currently the LFS I work at has 3 BEAUTIFUlL multicolored Feather Stars for sale

A large family came in, looked at them and decided they wanted them. I said they were $100 (I lied) as I wanted to buy them eventually when I get more money. They still insisted on buying it because of how beautiful it was, blah blah all that crap... I told them they are hard to care for. They ignored me, said I was rude and asked someone else for them... 3 minutes later I heard my stupid co-worker telling them they eat flakes and pellet food EVEN when he knows I keep them and they are hard to keep. It's all about money for the people that collect them... The Indonesian Collecter we got them from is making tons of money off LFS like us.

Heres a picture of the little fella before he was sold off, Hopefully they return it after doing some research... He was a beauty