my upgrade journal/journey

[Red_Beard]

I have always wanted a desjardinii, which variant have you been looking at?

 

[UncommonSense]

you guys think id be ok trying a sailfin tang? the only other tang i have is a hippo

Here’s my LFS owner’s personal 180g, all livestock is >15yrs old!

I think you’ll be just fine if you can get them to play nice together!

 

[tbrown]

+1 Desjardini.

Red Sea Sailfin

 

[UncommonSense]

you guys think id be ok trying a sailfin tang?

Obligatory peer pressure photos…

same Desjardini as above, ~1 year later (yesterday), and ~12” long:

 

[smitten with ocean life]

thats beautiful! im not real familiar with the different tangs.

 

[fishface NJ]

thats beautiful! im not real familiar with the different tangs.

I am the same. I know the Yellow Tang (this use to be the cheap one), Hippo and Clown. My 150g isn't big enough for them.

 

[fishface NJ]

Which Tang is this?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

i had a purple but got rid of it because it was so mean

 

[UncommonSense]

Which Tang is this?

This is a very large Desjardini sailfin tang!

https://m.liveaquaria.com/product/378/?pcatid=378
like the typical sailfin tang, but with much prettier patterns!

( I wish I’d gotten a chance to get a pic with its fins flared, it’s nearly as tall as it is long when making itself look big!)

 

[smitten with ocean life]

ok guys , can you remind me which inverts were your fav for cleaning the sand? im getting an order together. im not sure when to know how many is enough. i just keep throwing some more in there every so often!

 

[UncommonSense]

ok guys , can you remind me which inverts were your fav for cleaning the sand? im getting an order together. im not sure when to know how many is enough. i just keep throwing some more in there every so often!

I’m quite liking my sand sifting starfish (it does a LOT of heavy lifting down on the sand bed!) though it will eat several other species of invert!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

i bought a desjardini! will have to wait a bit for it to ship because i plan to be down in your neck of the woods next week @UncommonSense !

 

[UncommonSense]

i bought a desjardini! will have to wait a bit for it to ship because i plan to be down in your neck of the woods next week @UncommonSense !

Very cool on both accounts!!

Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to see the tanks, and ongoing projects!

 

[Red_Beard]

I’m quite liking my sand sifting starfish (it does a LOT of heavy lifting down on the sand bed!) though it will eat several other species of invert!

I also very much like my sand sifting star, he must be getting plenty to eat as its been in there for over a year now, it stays buried in the sand most of the time and does a great job of keeping things clean. Those, tongan nassarius snails (big ones) and vibex (smaller nassarius) are my go tos. I like conchs too, strawberry and fighting, but they have only lasted a year and a half in my tank for some reason.

 

[Red_Beard]

i bought a desjardini! will have to wait a bit for it to ship because i plan to be down in your neck of the woods next week @UncommonSense !

Awe yeah! That is exciting!

 

[tbrown]

I love my Sand Sifting Star but I'm starting to see some of what appears to be possible breaking down of his legs. Mine is only in a 2 year old 70 gallon though - so very small and young for a Sand Sifter.

 

[RobertK]

Congratulations to those of you who have successfully kept sand sifting stars long term! Myself I've always stayed away from them due to what I've read (I'm old and have lots of books). While they do stir the sand they do that to hunt for and eat many of the helpful small inverts (worms, pods, etc.) that consume detritus in your sandbed.

Assuming we are talking about sand sifting stars from the genus Astropecten here's what my 3 reef invertebrate books say about them:

Sprung: Useful in reef aquariums. Reef safe. Keep with a deep sand bed. Offer nori or small bits of clam meat. Without supplemental feeding they starve.
Calfo and Fenner: members of these genera are delicate. They require very mature aquariums, deep sand beds with rich infauna, mature rock and a significant supply of food. We do not recommend these genera for casual aquarists.
Shimek: Not suitable for most tanks as they remove all edible life from the sand bed and then starve.

Good luck and best wishes to all!

 

[tbrown]

Congratulations to those of you who have successfully kept sand sifting stars long term! Myself I've always stayed away from them due to what I've read (I'm old and have lots of books). While they do stir the sand they do that to hunt for and eat many of the helpful small inverts (worms, pods, etc.) that consume detritus in your sandbed.

Assuming we are talking about sand sifting stars from the genus Astropecten here's what my 3 reef invertebrate books say about them:

Sprung: Useful in reef aquariums. Reef safe. Keep with a deep sand bed. Offer nori or small bits of clam meat. Without supplemental feeding they starve.
Calfo and Fenner: members of these genera are delicate. They require very mature aquariums, deep sand beds with rich infauna, mature rock and a significant supply of food. We do not recommend these genera for casual aquarists.
Shimek: Not suitable for most tanks as they remove all edible life from the sand bed and then starve.

Good luck and best wishes to all!

Mine was not on purpose. I arrived home from the LFS with a bag of goodies for my wife's freshwater tank. Lo and behold, after emptying the bag of all purchased inhabitants I notice an extra bag of water in the bottom. I remove said bag and realize that the people in front of me in line will be missing their new starfish that they're likely not prepared for anyway.

I acclimated it to my tank and, knowing it will likely not live long, I care for it the best that I can.

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Mine was not on purpose. I arrived home from the LFS with a bag of goodies for my wife's freshwater tank. Lo and behold, after emptying the bag of all purchased inhabitants I notice an extra bag of water in the bottom. I remove said bag and realize that the people in front of me in line will be missing their new starfish that they're likely not prepared for anyway.

I acclimated it to my tank and, knowing it will likely not live long, I care for it the best that I can.

Far be it from me to derail anything but I wanted to let you know my memory is working today as I remember this story.

Long live Mr. Starfish!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

id thrown a horseshoe crab in awhile back but have no idea if its still in there