sand sifter starfish

[crash]

hi all,

can any experts provide me with some info on sand sifter starfish?

1) is it good for keeping sand bed clean?

2) does it move abt or does it stay mostly in one spot? ( mine jus stay at the same spot for 2 days..)

3) is it hardy? can tolerate nitrate between 15-20mg/l?

thks....

[Reefzzz]

hi all,

can any experts provide me with some info on sand sifter starfish?

1) is it good for keeping sand bed clean?

2) does it move abt or does it stay mostly in one spot? ( mine jus stay at the same spot for 2 days..)

3) is it hardy? can tolerate nitrate between 15-20mg/l?

thks....

Hi bro, i am a huge fan of sand star. To answer your query

1) Yes, they do pretty well in keeping the sandbed clean as they continuously churning the sand bed. However, u will need to have a couple of them. i kept a dozen in a 3x1.5 ft tank

2) It usually move here and there. Not sure why urs not moving at all. Was it dead?

3) I cannot say it is hardly as they perish from time to time. I remember i read it somewhere that as a rule of thumb, a sand bed of 1m3 will only generate enough food for a single sand star. If using this as a guide, my tank can support only half star fish. hehe....

[crash]

hi bro... thks for the advice...

its finally moving abt... after 2 days at the same spot... good to know that it can keep the sand bed clean... that's the main reason im getting it upon recommendation by the lfs...

[crash]

hi bro... i read from an article that the type of starfish prey on prawns?

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_di...&pcatid=572

how true is it? come to tink of it... my cleaner shrimp has gone missing for a day... wonder if its been eaten...

[Reefzzz]

hi bro... i read from an article that the type of starfish prey on prawns?

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_di...&pcatid=572

how true is it? come to tink of it... my cleaner shrimp has gone missing for a day... wonder if its been eaten...

hmm.. that i can't commend as i do not have shrimp in my tank. I believe somehow starfish are carnivous la but with their slow movement, i suspect they can only prey on dead stuff...

[vt_snowman87]

hmm.. that i can't commend as i do not have shrimp in my tank. I believe somehow starfish are carnivous la but with their slow movement, i suspect they can only prey on dead stuff...

hm.. what abt sand dollars..? since dollars are slow, will they fall prey to sand stars?