Starfish ?

[Checkitout]

I was wondering if there is a set rule for the amount of starfish you can have in your tank? I have a 105g with a blue linkia, purple linkia, and a friant starfish. Is this to many? Or can I get more?

 

[iReefer]

i dont think so, and i have never heard of any of that rule.

 

[CapnMorgan]

You have to be careful stocking echinoderms, they have to have a lot of detritus and organic matter to eat, so you have to carefully decide how many your tank can support, otherwise they dissolve and pollute your tank as they decompose (usually after burying themselves in the sand so you can't find them or pull them out).

 

[TANKSALOT]

+1 on be careful....

I had 2 Sand Sifting Stars in a 46 and they had been happy go lucky for over a year.

Last moth I added abot 30 Nassarius Snails not realizing that they do the same thing :squigglemouth:

Now I only have 1 Sand Sifting Star and he is constantly on the prowl for food. The other has burried itself in the deep sand bed and rotted already.

I am now slowly getting rid of the snails.

TANKSALOT
aka - Steve

 

[drainbamage]

you need to worry about a food input for them more than a waste level they'll produce. As long as you're keeping a variety of different ones, and have a tank that has a decent amount of nutrients going in, you shouldn't have to have too too many worries. But of course, better to practice bein careful up front than figuring out how to fix the problems from a dead starfish later.