Care of Crinoids

[Limpc]

Hi all,

Not sure if I got the name correctly. These are the starfish like creature with "feather" legs.

Anyone has kept them successfully ? Kindly share your experience.

Tks

Limpc

[Achilles Tang]

Crinoids are notoriously bad shippers. Even if they are intact in the dealers tank... during transport, they may drop a few arms already.

They are very sensitive and fragile creatures and will wilt in a very short time ie. drop all their arms! Soon you will just see a centre bud like a flower bud with petals all around!

Warning: the red colors of the arms can stain if left in the water or in contact with something.

Crinoids are plankton feeders, so if you can't provide live plankton to sustain them... they would be better left in the sea.

I see a lot of them in Pulau Dayang/Aur/Kota Kinabalu in my dives... and they are lovely creatures actually.

[hongqixian]

Yes, give them up. Very hard to keep for long periods of time. Need good flow too.

[Stenopus Hispidus]

I agree with AT & HQX. Nice to look at, tempting to buy but once in the tank they spread their beauty all over it. Had one red one and another yellow one many years back at a time where little information was had on these beautiful creatures... and it "littered" my tank with all their "feathers' in some apparent suicidal pact among crinoids of the world who must have sworn never to be a "kept" star! Feel bad that those poor souls never lived past 3 months in my tank. Bless them and the way I repent?....don't buy them, ever.

IMO, they must join the category of marine life in the likes of cleaner fishes, dendronephthya, etc where the best home for them really is in their own natural habitat...period.

[hongqixian]

Why don't we over here just decide to boycott these animals at sales. Not an official thing, just a personal decision.

[Morgan]

Hi guys

There will always be people who are new to the hobby will buy cos it looks good in their tank. Not be able to keep it alive is another matter.

LFS owners are the 1 to blame for bring in such items and peddling it off to these unsuspecting hobbist.

Responsible LFS owners should actually give out good advise and information on the creature upkeep and maintenance to the propective buyers.

Hobbist who can provide large qty of live phytoplankton/zooplankton may be able to maintain these feather star.

[hongqixian]

I think that more than 1/2 of the LFSs don't know what they're talking about, so they give bad advice anyway....

[Phang]

Definitely agree with that statement...

That's why I'm here........