Starfish Experiences. Pls Post...

[planetg]

Can owners pls share some experience on the various species of Starfishes.

Benefits, Behaviour, Handling, Acclimatisation Procedures and Survivability...

Can't fully trust websites and books, can we? Better to hear from more hobbyists!

Thanx

[andysho]

be careful of them

some eat corals

esp choc chip starfish

[DrJekyl_MrHyde]

but choc chip is one of the easy star to keep.....

[JuzzMarine]

Blue starfish.... reef safe. Got it at LCK110 for $10

[Dispar_Anthias]

think only linkia and fromis species are reef safe

[Trigger Queen]

chocolate chip and blue linkia are the easiest to keep. i have my choco chips for more than a year.

But the choco chip is not reef safe and it eats OTHER starfish (esp those pretty and expensive ones!!!!!) caught them red handed few times to confirm my suspicions...!!!!

the blue linkia is ok... but mine hides alot fhe first few months.

[Dispar_Anthias]

chocolate chip and blue linkia are the easiest to keep. i have my choco chips for more than a year.

But the choco chip is not reef safe and it eats OTHER starfish (esp those pretty and expensive ones!!!!!) caught them red handed few times to confirm my suspicions...!!!!

the blue linkia is ok... but mine hides alot fhe first few months.

Eh thought blue linkia are rather delicate and hard to keep although i have one

look here

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...d=23&pCatId=568

[DrJekyl_MrHyde]

my Harlequin Shrimp like blue linkia a lot....

[vdc]

My orange linkia roams about the tank all over non stop. takes a rest near the water surface, with one arm stretching out as if to catch some floaters on the surface. Never acclimate. just 15 min float in the tank. Never saw it eat. Dno eat wat?? Initially bought it under the false impression that it will wipe out algae. False..

[Trigger Queen]

Eh thought blue linkia are rather delicate and hard to keep although i have one

look here

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...d=23&pCatId=568

dear DA,

please read the first thread properly ,

planetg wants to hear personal experience from fellow hobbyist rather than get the 'standard' answers from websites and books... so thanks for showing me the link but i wont bother reading it .....

that's what makes this hobby so interesting coz its full of surprises and challenges... and in my experience, the blue linkia and choc chip are the easiest to keep... and the marble kind too......

[rycin]

I've never tried the blue. But I've tried the red, the orange, one with beige plates on orange base & also a black-pink-spotted star. I've not been successful in any of them. Most last not more than 3 months.

The biggest problem i think is I can't figure what they feed on. Most shops say u dn't have to feed; that they scavenge around & feed on detrius or algae... from my personal experience (& it's just mine) I don't witness any of these. They crawl around the tank & (like one writer says) crawl to the top of the tank & stick one arm out on the water surface but I not sure what's the reason behind those behaviour. I suspect most of mine died of starvation eventually. The black-pink-spotted star lasted the longest, about 9 months, but that was because it fed on the sponges & squirts in my tank. When these where finally depleted, it shrunk & finally died (of starvation i supposed) & I'm left with a tank with much less interesting live rocks...

If u still want to try the stars, my advice is try to read up on what exactly that particular star feed on. Also, I think certain shrimp (like camel) will attack a star if it flips over.

Btw, I'm also eager to hear from any one with personal experience of keeping a star alive for more than 6 months.

[DeepBlue]

Blue LInkia?

Not hard to keep lah.....Trigger Queen keeps it with her triggers, and no special care taken ..been ard for months...

anyway, I guess by now, we definitely learnt that not all books and websites description fit into our exp.....the idea is to be humble enough to learn from each other's exp..THAT'S the SPIRit

[FuEl]

It all depends on picking a healthy specimen to begin with. Healthy ones are bright blue...not dull blue. Are really meaty and not skinny..

[DeepBlue]

It all depends on picking a healthy specimen to begin with. Healthy ones are bright blue...not dull blue. Are really meaty and not skinny..

agree...just like fishes! If you gea healthy specimen...sure consider easy to keep.

DA..you have a purple Queen, one of the hardest kind of anthias to keep. Just like Archilles Tangs or Moorish Idol....avoid by newbies....even exp reefers..

but you managed to keep it well and eating. Your PBT also doing veri well as well, thats a fish I avoid too.

SO I guess Trigger Queen probably got a prime condition Linkia.......that's why it is of low maintenance