Peaceful Starfish?

[Aspect]

Hello, I am looking for a reef safe starfish that can do well with sharks. It needs to be large 3" at least and won't annoy my sharks. Also, not something that has spines on it as my sharks could damage themselves during feeding. Thank you for any help.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello, I am looking for a reef safe starfish that can do well with sharks. It needs to be large 3" at least and won't annoy my sharks. Also, not something that has spines on it as my sharks could damage themselves during feeding. Thank you for any help.

Knobby star would be one but most larger stars don’t do well with changes in chemistry as sharks are messy house keepers and would be a risk

 

[Lavey29]

Starfish annoying sharks? That's one you don't hear everyday.

 

[Aspect]

Starfish annoying sharks? That's one you don't hear everyday.

Don't know much about benthic sharks?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

What kind of sharks are you keeping? I ask because some sharks (particularly a few benthic species) are noted as starfish eaters.

That said, assuming you’re sharks are starfish-safe, some of the most common, reef-safe starfish in the hobby that you could keep with it are Linckia spp. and Fromia spp. - fair warning, though, these stars usually starve in our in tanks within a matter of months. A better option might be sand sifting starfish (which should eat things like mollusks - clams, oysters, sea snails, etc. - and any chunks of food your sharks drop to the sand), but you would likely need to figure out a way to target feed a sand sifter so that the shark doesn’t get all the food while the star slowly starves.

 

[Lavey29]

Don't know much about benthic sharks?

Nope and apparently your starfish knowledge needs work to.

 

[Aspect]

Nope and apparently your starfish knowledge needs work to.

Haha yeah that's why I made a post so I can research it. If you'd like I can educate you more on sharks.

 

[Aspect]

What kind of sharks are you keeping? I ask because some sharks (particularly a few benthic species) are noted as starfish eaters.

That said, assuming you’re sharks are starfish-safe, some of the most common, reef-safe starfish in the hobby that you could keep with it are Linckia spp. and Fromia spp. - fair warning, though, these stars usually starve in our in tanks within a matter of months. A better option might be sand sifting starfish (which should eat things like mollusks - clams, oysters, sea snails, etc. - and any chunks of food your sharks drop to the sand), but you would likely need to figure out a way to target feed a sand sifter so that the shark doesn’t get all the food while the star slowly starves.

I keep coral/marbled (Atelomycterus) catsharks. They don't tear and shred, they swallow their food whole. As long as the sea star is large enough they won't bother it.

 

[i cant think]

I keep coral/marbled (Atelomycterus) catsharks. They don't tear and shred, they swallow their food whole. As long as the sea star is large enough they won't bother it.

You could always try a Serpent Star, these are the easiest to keep in captivity and enjoy the left overs of food. This is my Harlequin Serpent.

 

[Lavey29]

Haha yeah that's why I made a post so I can research it. If you'd like I can educate you more on sharks.

It's ok I know the difference between a predator tank and Patrick (see avatar) but thanks for the offer. I do think sharks are cool though. Does he really look like he wants to run from sharks all day and night?

 

[Aspect]

It's ok I know the difference between a predator tank and Patrick (see avatar) but thanks for the offer. I do think sharks are cool though. Does he really look like he wants to run from sharks all day and night?

Have you asked him?

 

[Lavey29]

Have you asked him?

Yea he said he prefers friendly community reefs and has no desire to share space with the Meg. Evading apex predators is not really part of his repertoire.

 

[Aspect]

Yea he said he prefers friendly community reefs and has no desire to share space with the Meg. Evading apex predators is not really part of his repertoire.

Anyways back to reality, like I stated before knowledge of the kind of sharks I keep would be helpful in this situation. They won't go after something that they can't fit whole in their mouth, which includes small fish, mollusks, and shrimp. There's absolutely no way they'd be able to swallow a 6" starfish.

 

[Lavey29]

Anyways back to reality, like I stated before knowledge of the kind of sharks I keep would be helpful in this situation. They won't go after something that they can't fit whole in their mouth, which includes small fish, mollusks, and shrimp. There's absolutely no way they'd be able to swallow a 6" starfish.

Well I'm sure you have a large tank. Typical starfish like mine which I've had over a year now need a well established tank with continuous source of biofilm algae on rocks, glass and sand. They are difficult to keep alive. Sand sifters are good for your sandebed but they will consume all your microfauna there and subsequently starve. Check out a green brittle starfish which gets up to 12 inches and would be good to clean food scrap waste in your tank. They are cool looking.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Well I'm sure you have a large tank. Typical starfish like mine which I've had over a year now need a well established tank with continuous source of biofilm algae on rocks, glass and sand. They are difficult to keep alive. Sand sifters are good for your sandebed but they will consume all your microfauna there and subsequently starve. Check out a green brittle starfish which gets up to 12 inches and would be good to clean food scrap waste in your tank. They are cool looking.

Yeah, sand sifting starfish (Astropecten polyacanthus) likely starve because (from what I’ve read) they’re likely predatory starfish who need more than just the scraps available to them in most tanks (I don’t know what species they prefer, but most of the Astropecten spp. I’ve been able to find the diets of consume sea snails - typically specific, relatively small, predatory snails). Other typical foods for many predatory starfish are bivalves (clams, oysters, scallops, etc.) - hence my recommendation above to feed mollusks if they want to try and keep one. Many predatory stars also scavenge things like fish and crustacean carcasses, but I’m not sure how nutritious these are for them.

I’ve heard they climb the glass when they’re looking for food and can’t find any in the sand bed.

Generally, people recommend large tanks and waiting until your tank is established before trying these (or pretty much any) sea stars, and the star survives on detritus in the tank. Unfortunately, even in a lot of these tanks, after they finish clearing the detritus from the sand, they typically starve.

My current advice to avoid the star staving - which may or may not help, I genuinely don't know at this point (it could take someone months to years of testing it to find out for certain, as sea stars can last months without food):
Target feed the star things like clam on half shell, oyster, mussel, scallop, etc. (bivalves); snail, whelk, conch, etc. (sea snail gastropods); and a good quality omnivore food (like LRS Reef Frenzy or Fertility Frenzy). These are - according to the best sources of information I can find - the sorts of foods sand sifting stars consume in the wild, and the star should swallow these foods whole if they aren't too big - you might need to experiment a bit with the size of the pieces offered to get it sized just right, but generally I'd say err on the smaller side.

If you decide to give it a shot, let me know how it goes, and keep me updated on the long term survival of the star!