Starfish care

[Impala67]

Hey guys I’ve got a grey starfish “no that’s not only the color it’s the name to lol” to take care of. He was passed down to me to take care of and I would really like to know how to care for the little guy. What do I feed it, what are the parameters it requires, is it reef safe, and what tank size do I have to have/ do I need more sand space or will he climb rocks/glass.

 

[JumpingFlea]

Does it look like this? Did you get it from someone’s reef tank?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Pics under white light? Rather verify than guess

 

[Impala67]

 

[Squidmotron]

That's a sand sifting starfish. It will consume detritus in your sand bed I believe.

 

[Impala67]

That's a sand sifting starfish. It will consume detritus in your sand bed I believe.

I thought it might be but it looks more like a Luidia clathrata but there’s not a lot of information on them so I’m hoping someone here will.

 

[JumpingFlea]

I thought it might be but it looks more like a Luidia clathrata but there’s not a lot of information on them so I’m hoping someone here will.

Well that’s the problem with those kind of starfish. There really isn’t much on them. Their diet is pretty unknown and most die in captivity.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I thought it might be but it looks more like a Luidia clathrata but there’s not a lot of information on them so I’m hoping someone here will.

Well, I can’t help with the tank size, sand, reef safeness, or other things that way, but food wise you could try putting it in its own tank and offering it a variety of food options for a while to just see what it accepts (it would probably need to be in its own tank for this to work, otherwise the other fish might beat it to the food). You’d need to be careful with the water quality, but you could try offering it somethings like a piece of shrimp, a clam on half shell, a nori sheet, some fish pellets/flakes, some fish or urchin roe (fish eggs/urchin gonads), etc. in varying sizes (some creatures only eat tiny chunks, some like big, etc.) and just see what all it eats (if anything). If it doesn’t seem to take any of those you can always try tying the nori onto the rocks or offering it some gel food pressed into a coral skeleton (an sps skeleton would probably be my recommendation) like they do for corallivorous butterflyfish.

No guarantees that any of this will work (I’ve heard of some starfish basically needing to be force fed before they start taking any foods) or that any of this even if accepted would give the starfish a long, healthy life, but it’s the best place to start that I can think of. If you do find something/somethings that it eats, make a note of it and be sure to add some to the main tank to feed it when you move it back over. Also, if you do find something it eats, keep an eye on it when you move it back to the main tank to make sure it is actually getting some food and not starving to death because it’s being outcompeted for the food it will eat.

As a side note, a lot of starfish will start dropping legs when they’re starving, so if it’s not working you might get some heads up to try and turn things around before it dies (no guarantee, as this may depend on species). Additionally, as I understand it, some starfish are detritivores, so they might not have any particular diet/food preference to meet, but they might need more food than is being provided by the tank (for example, I’ve heard of some stars that basically clear out the entire sand bed then starve because there isn’t enough detritus - like urchins that eat all the algae in the tank and then starve). Just some food for thought.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with keeping it!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I thought it might be but it looks more like a Luidia clathrata but there’s not a lot of information on them so I’m hoping someone here will.

How long did your friend have it? Maybe try feeding some of the same foods he was using...? Good luck

 

[Impala67]

Well, I can’t help with the tank size, sand, reef safeness, or other things that way, but food wise you could try putting it in its own tank and offering it a variety of food options for a while to just see what it accepts (it would probably need to be in its own tank for this to work, otherwise the other fish might beat it to the food). You’d need to be careful with the water quality, but you could try offering it somethings like a piece of shrimp, a clam on half shell, a nori sheet, some fish pellets/flakes, some fish or urchin roe (fish eggs/urchin gonads), etc. in varying sizes (some creatures only eat tiny chunks, some like big, etc.) and just see what all it eats (if anything). If it doesn’t seem to take any of those you can always try tying the nori onto the rocks or offering it some gel food pressed into a coral skeleton (an sps skeleton would probably be my recommendation) like they do for corallivorous butterflyfish.

No guarantees that any of this will work (I’ve heard of some starfish basically needing to be force fed before they start taking any foods) or that any of this even if accepted would give the starfish a long, healthy life, but it’s the best place to start that I can think of. If you do find something/somethings that it eats, make a note of it and be sure to add some to the main tank to feed it when you move it back over. Also, if you do find something it eats, keep an eye on it when you move it back to the main tank to make sure it is actually getting some food and not starving to death because it’s being outcompeted for the food it will eat.

As a side note, a lot of starfish will start dropping legs when they’re starving, so if it’s not working you might get some heads up to try and turn things around before it dies (no guarantee, as this may depend on species). Additionally, as I understand it, some starfish are detritivores, so they might not have any particular diet/food preference to meet, but they might need more food than is being provided by the tank (for example, I’ve heard of some stars that basically clear out the entire sand bed then starve because there isn’t enough detritus - like urchins that eat all the algae in the tank and then starve). Just some food for thought.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with keeping it!

How will I know he is eating it because I’ll put marine cuisine cups right next to him and he will go straight for it and then he will just stay on top of it forever. Is that him eating it? I’m not sure how long my friend had him sadly I can’t ask him because he past away and that’s actually how I received all of this he left is whole collection in my name. He lived in Charleston sc by the beach of Sullivan’s island. That’s where he picked up a lot of his items and I don’t want to let him down because he inspired me into this hobby! The star has been very active and moving around for about an hour after feeding time then he finds a nice place to stay. His leg tips have fallen off two days ago but that was when I first added him since then he hasn’t lost anymore.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

How will I know he is eating it because I’ll put marine cuisine cups right next to him and he will go straight for it and then he will just stay on top of it forever. Is that him eating it? I’m not sure how long my friend had him sadly I can’t ask him because he past away and that’s actually how I received all of this he left is whole collection in my name. He lived in Charleston sc by the beach of Sullivan’s island. That’s where he picked up a lot of his items and I don’t want to let him down because he inspired me into this hobby! The star has been very active and moving around for about an hour after feeding time then he finds a nice place to stay. His leg tips have fallen off two days ago but that was when I first added him since then he hasn’t lost anymore.

Him going for it and staying on top of it is a good sign - if possible I’d say try to find a way to measure the food you give him and just see if the amount in there is less when he gets off of it than when you first put it in, but I would guess from your description that he is eating.

With his legs, they might have just started falling off from stress with the changes/transportation/acclimation he went through went you first added him, so as long as he doesn’t lose more that is a good sign. If he’s happy in the tank then any lost limbs should eventually regrow, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it losing a little.

 

[Impala67]

Him going for it and staying on top of it is a good sign - if possible I’d say try to find a way to measure the food you give him and just see if the amount in there is less when he gets off of it than when you first put it in, but I would guess from your description that he is eating.

With his legs, they might have just started falling off from stress with the changes/transportation/acclimation he went through went you first added him, so as long as he doesn’t lose more that is a good sign. If he’s happy in the tank then any lost limbs should eventually regrow, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it losing a little.

Thank you so much for your help with this it’s been stressful enough as it is!!

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I don't think anything eats detritus or marine snow other than filter feeders...
Microfauna and microorganisms in the sand bed are what this guy will eat. Maybe a chunk of seafood idk if they are omnivore. I've only owned a cpl.

 

[Impala67]

Him going for it and staying on top of it is a good sign - if possible I’d say try to find a way to measure the food you give him and just see if the amount in there is less when he gets off of it than when you first put it in, but I would guess from your description that he is eating.

With his legs, they might have just started falling off from stress with the changes/transportation/acclimation he went through went you first added him, so as long as he doesn’t lose more that is a good sign. If he’s happy in the tank then any lost limbs should eventually regrow, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it losing a little.

I don't think anything eats detritus or marine snow other than filter feeders...
Microfauna and microorganisms in the sand bed are what this guy will eat. Maybe a chunk of seafood idk if they are omnivore. I've only owned a cpl.

How often should I feed him

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

How longs ur tank been going?! Did u start with dry rock?!
Id say once a week I'd try and see if hes intrested or not .
D

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I think most people put these in established tank and just let them graze.
D

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I don't think anything eats detritus or marine snow other than filter feeders...
Microfauna and microorganisms in the sand bed are what this guy will eat. Maybe a chunk of seafood idk if they are omnivore. I've only owned a cpl.

Fair - sorry I’ve seen the term detritivore used rather loosely (for example, I’ve seen some algae eating conches listed as detritivores because they primarily eat algae, but they will eat pretty much anything from algae to refuse to left over meaty foods [which I guess could include settled marine snow] if it happens to be in the path they’re grazing through), so I use it loosely on occasion. I was basically just referring to any sort of food a “detritivore” would eat in this instance- again sorry for the confusion there. You’re most likely correct about the microfauna and microorganisms.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Just to clarify - monkeyCmonkeyDo is probably correct that the starfish eats microfauna, so if your tank doesn’t have any pods or other microfauna already established in it, it would likely be wise to add them (and a sandbed of if you don’t have one). My comments were made more with JumpingFlea’s comment in mind that most starfish die in captivity (again, stories of sand sifting stars starving after eating all the mircrofauna/detritus in the sandbeds), so my advice is geared toward what is frequently called supplemental feeding for starfish in an attempt to prevent starvation.

So, long story short I would add some pods and try offering the starfish some food like you have been. Offering the food once a week and observing how he does seems like a pretty good plan to start with to me. From there you can adjust your feedings as needed based on how the starfish is doing.

Good luck!

 

[Impala67]

How longs ur tank been going?! Did u start with dry rock?!
Id say once a week I'd try and see if hes intrested or not .
D

Well I have him in an established 3 year old tank and I used live and dry rock to start. I’ve been feeding him once a day and he loves it! But I’m hoping I don’t have to that often

 

[N.Sreefer]

If it is actually a L. Clathrata (I believe it is but I'm not an expert on starfish)

"L. clathrata is both a predator and a forager. It selectively feeds on the "coot clam", Mulinia lateralis, when it is abundant, using chemoreceptors to help it find its prey. The coot clam is the preferred food of L. clathrata in Tampa Bay in Florida.[3][5] At other times, it feeds by ingesting sediment and straining the material through spines around its mouth, extracting food particles in the process. Its diet includes both gastropod and bivalve molluscs, foraminiferans, nematodes, ostracods, small crustaceans, and detritus.[3]"

That's why I recommended bay clams (or any live surf clam) for supplementing it's diet they're a little bit bigger than the preferred prey but its a better bet than relying on just the sandbed. With it being an opportunistic carnivore it likely needs more than just microfauna. Although in the wild it takes awhile to find prey if its not on a clam flat so weekly feeding would be pretty natural.