Poll: Favorite Starfish

dbl · Jan 25, 2018

Continuing our clean up theme this week, let's talk stars. Some we purchase, some come in as hitchhikers, some just seem to appear out of nowhere. But of those you have experience with, what is your favorite.

WWIII · Jan 25, 2018

I love Fromia starfish, unfortunately they always seem to go downhill and dissenegrate after 6 months to a year for me. 2nd choice would be mini brittle stars, they stay small and hidden mostly but serve a good purpose I feel as part of the cuc!

nautical_nathaniel · Jan 25, 2018

I know sand sifting stars have a bit of a rough reputation of eating everything they can and then starving to death, but the one I've had for over 2 years in a 20 gallon aquarium has done great and to me is a valuable member of my cleanup crew

I also have a serpent star but all it does is hide under its rock all day so I really never see it.

4FordFamily · Jan 25, 2018

Sea stars and linckia because they’re brilliantly colored and reef safe.

I prefer the former mostly due to their level of hardiness.

Lovemyreef2015 · Jan 25, 2018

I'm a fan of both serpent and brittle stars. I love how active they are. One that we had would come out to get her food and take it from out hands. Sadly she disappeared during one of our moves a few years ago. So for now I settle for our micro brittles

ThunderGoose · Jan 25, 2018

I really, really like my serpent star, Sally. Sally will come out and take food from me a couple of times a week. I used to have a couple of brittle stars but they never came out and I think they've been killed by my mantis shrimp. I also have a common starfish who is fun to watch and gives my tank that "classic" beach feel even though she's small and not very colorful.

ajm83 · Jan 25, 2018

Not sure these count technically as a seastar or not but "feathered sea stars" are beautiful, though from what I gather nigh impossible to feed properly

andrewkw · Jan 25, 2018

Believe it or not my favorite would be asterina. They require no care, are excellent cleanup crew members and reproduce readily. I love them as members of my cleanup crew, unlike snails that need to be replaced every 3 years or so. Linkias are beautiful though.

saltyhog · Jan 25, 2018

Definitely has to be my blue linckia. He's been in my tank since 2014 and has survived a lot of ups/downs and one move.

Amps Reef Life · Jan 25, 2018

Serpents for sure. I have two, one with a star in the middle of his body and my all time favorite is my harlequin starfish. The Blue Linkia is my next favorite but I haven't had one live past 6 months. Comparing that to my two current starfish that have been with me for over two years and have moved multiple tanks makes them my favorite. Here are some old pictures of the two.

Bouncingsoul39 · Jan 25, 2018

I love micro brittle stars that come as hitchhikers on real ocean live rock. They are great for CuC. For ornamental stars we buy, Serpent Stars are my favorite. They're hardy, and great for eating left over food. Fun to watch them "walk" around with all those legs. There are a couple really beautiful color variants available occasionally. There's a solid bright orange one and a nice solid bright purple one. I've also seen a super rare creamsicle one that was orange and white banded.

revhtree · Jan 25, 2018

For me I love the fat smooth skin of the Linckia!

revhtree · Jan 25, 2018

Kman237 said:
Serpents for sure. I have two, one with a star in the middle of his body and my all time favorite is my harlequin starfish. The Blue Linkia is my next favorite but I haven't had one live past 6 months. Comparing that to my two current starfish that have been with me for over two years and have moved multiple tanks makes them my favorite. Here are some old pictures of the two.

Super cool serpants! That first one is awesome!

cracker · Jan 25, 2018

Iv'e only had brittle stars from TBS rock. Several got pretty big. They would stand up on the legs like an umbrella when fish tried to steal their dinner.