STARFISH: How many of you have a starfish in your reef?

[mindme]

I would love micro brittle stars, but I can never seem to find any.

 

[DIAZ REEF]

I have a real starfish! I collected it myself so I’m unsure of the species but he is a joy to have! It’s been 8 months now and he still looks really good.

Super cool

 

[Pistol Peet]

I have had a sand sifting starfish for about 2 years now really cool little guy can't get a picture of him though cuz he's buried in the sand maybe I could try to update later with one but he likes to hide

 

[mindme]

Had a sand sifter until he started losing parts of his limbs. Each day it got worse. Not sure if the wrasse or the crabs were nipping but it did not survive the trauma. Have not replaced it but contemplating.

How long did you have it?

Because when I first got into the hobby 10+ years ago I purchased a starfish without knowing much about them I had a newer one that did something similiar. It was like it was a sweater that just unraveled. I then looked up and found they were hard to keep, never attempted another. Typical impulse buy failure.

 

[DIAZ REEF]

My boy! Beetle juice!!

 

[LA Reef Addict]

Here's mine.

 

[Todd1white]

I’ve had a tile star for a few months, he’s always front and center, a Bahama red serpent for a little longer, but he hides in the rocks. A few other little serpents that hide too. Never had any problems or concerns about them. I figure they’re part of the cuc.

 

[Suesea]

Do microbrittles count? I have around 4 in my nano. I tend to stay on the side of "they belong in the ocean" side. LFS sell them like hot cakes to new hobbyists who tend to not know the requirements (myself included). Beautiful creatures though and jealous of anyone that can keep them happy in their larger systems.

Stars Don't fare well in a newer tank some not at all if you're tank isn't a few years old. I have been in the hobby a while and just started back again and I waited 3 years to get my sand sifter star. My last ones, fromia and sss I gave to a friend when I moved. They are still alive today.

 

[BCSreef]

I have thousands of mini brittle stars and a lot of asterina stars. No bigger ones

Me too! Also some micro brittle stars.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

Just aquilonastra (asterina) for now. I put a harlequin shrimp in there to eradicate them once they started attacking my zoas. They were cool CUC for a bit, but now I'm trying to kill them all.

 

[ron garnett]

I have three serpent stars that are doing fine. They do a great job of cleaning up any uneaten food and other stuff. Never have had any trouble keeping them alive.

 

[Yates273]

Both my tanks are littered with hundreds of Micro brittle stars. All I see are a bunch of little tentacles coming out of my rock work.

 

[Nhjmc]

No not any cool ones anyway. Where I live there is literally nothing for saltwater LFS at all closest and just decent one is an hour away each way, would order more online but the shipping is SO expensive. Had a serious infestation of bristlestar starfish but fixed that problem at the same time when treated for flatworms with flatworm exit. Now only a handful or two in tank.

 

[lba4590]

I only have a bunch of micro brittle stars, they hardly count.

Does anyone have experience with fromias? They are beautiful, heard they were hardier than linckias but really can’t find much on them from those who’ve kept them.

 

[54Dutchman]

Two sand shifting stars, four serpent stars and hundreds of asterina stars. All do their jobs and thrive.

 

[Mick51]

Always have starfish

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[Mick51]

Always have starfish

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No idea where the additional pics came from

 

[chadg]

I had a black brittle star for about 20 years in my tank. Finally died last year. Strange, he seemed to just disintegrate. Here he is about a month before I never saw him again.... He was big also, probably 12" in diameter.

 

[ReefGrammie]

I currently have a red serpent star and I was trying to figure out how long I've had it. When I started my 46 bowfront in 2008, I added a brittle star and not too long after, the red serpent star. Both stars made the transfer to my 90 in 2013. I had the brittle star for a while after that. The red serpent star hasn't been doing as well lately and has pretty much stopped eating (at least the krill I offer). I'm guessing I've had the star at least 10 years, maybe closer to 12. Does anybody know the longevity of a serpent star? This picture is from about 6 months ago.

 

[Reefer1485]

I have sand sifter in my 20 gal IM and it is going strong.