Purple "Linckia" Questions (11/30/04)
Hello. <Hi! Steve Allen, echinoderm enthusiast, with you tonight.>  First off I love your web site, I can't tell you how many hours I've sat here reading and gaining tons of info. <Thanks, me too.> OK, that said my current concern is the addition of a purple Linckia starfish <actually, usually Tamaria stria.> (I know these are hard to keep but I have it (thanks to the wife) and want to try to keep it). I have a 40 gal tank with 2" of live sand, live rock, lots of polyps, a finger leather, 3 clams, a plate coral, 2 sponges, some snails, some blue leg hermits, 2 feather dusters, I think that's close to it. As for fish I have a Nemo fish (ha ha), a Flounder, 2 Damsels, and a Mandarin Goby. My water parameters are all good and stable. I change 5 gal a week. Ok that said my question is (knowing my tank is too small and young (6 months) for a Linckia to survive on it's own according to what I've read on your site.) can I spot feed this star or is it doomed? <How long have you had it? Most die in the first few weeks from mishandling prior to sale or failure to acclimate over a sufficiently long period to the new tank. If you can get past this, you're off to a good start.> And if so what can I feed it? <Small bits of organic matter deposited at the base of an arm may be eaten. Here's another good reference: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/toonen.htm. You may also want to post on the WWM chat forum to see if others have had experience with this species surviving. Googling gets a lot of hits.>  Thanks for your help and all the help I've gotten from reading the posts. <A pleasure. Hope this helps. Keep us posted.> Karl

Feeding a Chocolate Chip Star (8/6/04)
I have a 29 gal tank with only a choc chip sea star (my fish died from ich or velvet and can't put more in for 6 weeks),<sorry to hear> He is about 4 inches from foot to foot. My levels are ammonia 0, ph 8.2, nitrite 0, and nitrate 10. I have a heavy growth of green and red algae which the star snacks on and I feed him small amount of freeze dried brine shrimp every 2 days or so. Is this enough food to keep him healthy? <I'd say this is not an adequate diet for this creature.> I gave him a piece of shrimp from grocery store once and he swelled up for 2 days and scared me to death. <No worries, it merely ingested the chunk whole, just like a snake bulges when it swallow a whole animal. Just feed smaller chunks from now on.> However it was great hand feeding a starfish! <I agree.> (By the way, tank is about 8 weeks old.) <Rather immature yet. Go slow.> Please any help is appreciated as I have grown quite attached to "Cookie" and I didn't have a clue when I got him. (Local pet store has steered me astray last 8 weeks on what I was getting into) <Find a new one. As for the star, I have had great success with chunks of seafood (shrimps, mussels, squid, fish, etc) a few times per week. For your size star, 1/4-1/2 inch should be a good size. Here in UT, Albertson's sells a nice seafood mix that works great. I feed it to all of my predators, echinoderms and fish.> Thanks in advance, Beth <Hope this helps, Steve Allen. BTW, do study the ich articles and FAQs as well as those about quarantine, so you can avoid ich from now on. Buy a good starter book such as "The New Marine Aquarium," by Michael Paletta.>

Feeding a Knobby Seastar (6/23/04)
We recently bought a star fish and I wanted to know what to feed it. <Wonderful creatures. BTW, it is better to know the care needs before you buy. Odd that the seller had no advice.> I did not see a picture that looked like it.  It is kinda like the chocolate chip one.  It has 4 horns in the center and they are black
tipped.  It is brown in color with dark edges. <There are many such seastars, and only a handful of species have been named. Many are just named down to genus. Form your description, I would suspect it is of one of the genera Protoreastor or Pentaceraster. These are omnivorous/carnivorous stars that eat a lot and are not reef safe. The best way to feed them would be to place a chunk of a variety of meaty marine foods (pieces of shrimp, shellfish, fish flesh) in their path a few times per week. Mine are thriving on Albertson's seafood mix. Steve Allen.>

Linckia In Trouble (5/11/04)
Hello, <Hi. Steve Allen tonight.>
I need some help with a starving starfish (I think). <OK> I bought an orange Linckia starfish about a week ago from an online website. It seemed to be fine until today. I think it is not getting enough food, but what I found out in reading about them was that they only eat algae. <Well, they eat pretty much any organic detritus, and generally do not require (and may not accept) supplemental feedings in a well-established tank. Placing a small bit of shrimp or other meaty marine food next to the star may result in it moving onto and consuming the offered tidbit.> Do
I have to feed them anything else? <Worth a try.> It has seemed to shrink and only some of its legs are sticking to the glass and the little legs underneath have seemed to close up. A couple days ago he moved to the bottom of the tank and then back up to the top, so I thought everything was ok, but I feel he is in real trouble now. <These are concerning symptoms. Are you aware of the fact that probably more than 90% of all Linckia stars die within days or weeks of introduction. Most are already doomed on delivery due to shipping stress. How long did you acclimate it for. Stars require slow acclimation over a period of hours. Otherwise, they die (slowly over days) from damage due to osmotic stress. At this point, there is little you can do other than maintaining pristine and stable water conditions and waiting to see what happens. Trying to feed it is not a bad idea, but it may not be interested.>
Other "critters" in the tank are: 1 Yellow Tang, 1 Flame Angel, 2 Percula Clowns, 1 yellow tail damsel, and 2 cleaner shrimp. 55 gallon tank been up and running for about 6 months. <Your Yellow Tang requires a minimum of 75 gallons eventually, preferably more.> Thanks for your help. Joey <Hope this helps.> 

Mystery snail and starfish question
Hello all! <Steve Allen>
  I have a mystery snail in my reef.  What kind is it?  It's not in any of my invert books.  I removed it tonight, and moved it to a tank without any complicated rockwork, so I could find it again if I needed to. <Does it bury itself in the sand? Looks like some sort of Nassarius (or similar subsurface) snail to me. Generally harmless cleaner of sandbeds. Search WWM & other web sources for pix & info.>
  Also, do you know if Linckias are known sponge eaters?  It seems that's all my orange Linckia likes to eat. <Well then yours is, right? The are generally opportunistic scavengers. No real surprise if it eats sponges.>  Everyone I know who has tried one has seen it die fairly quickly. <Yes, which is why I think they should not be sold. Lost a few myself before switching to Fromias> So far, after about a month, mine's still looking chipper.  Could it be the sponge diet? <Perhaps. A month is a good start. Kept your water clean & stable and maybe you will succeed where most fail. My fingers are crossed for you.> Thank you! Vicki Madison, WI <A great town. I travel there twice per year on business. Next trip in 3 weeks.>

Starfish Stomach Eversion (2/24/04)
Sir, <Just Steve tonight>
Sorry, the last email I sent I forgot the pic. Anyway, what is this starfish doing? I have 2 other chips in the tank.
These 2 hang together all the time. What is that stuff in the middle of it? This "stuff" got a lot bigger than this pic shows. This is wild!! Thanks, Craig Cornett
<Your starfish has everted its stomach. This is how they eat. I'd bet it found something on the glass it wanted to eat. They evert their stomachs around the food and do a good portion of their digesting outside of the body before sucking everything back in. I suppose this could also be a response to stress, but if conditions in your tank are good, I would expect this star to pull it's stomach back in and move on within 24 hours.>

Feeding a Sand-Sifting Star (1/26/04)
Hi Bob, <Steve Allen pitching in tonight.>
   I have read over the info that I could find on the website and other sources but didn't really find my answer, probably just missed it.  I have a sand sifter starfish that doesn't move around a whole lot...does from time to time.  I noticed one morning that it was up at the top of the tank doing its thing.  Then later in the evening I found it at the bottom up against the glass looking all droopy...not rigid...kinda like a dying plant. <Sometimes they'll do this, but you might want to test your water quality parameters.>
   I talked to my local aquarium pet shop...and was told to feed it some cooked/uncooked shrimp...just shrimp from the grocery store. <uncooked is preferable for nutrient value.> I tried this but it didn't even attempt to eat it...but it did get better...moved to a new location. I tried to feed it again but my Coral banded shrimp, recently purchased, steals the bit of shrimp from the starfish. <Yes, an aggressive feeder.> Is there a better way to feed the starfish? Do I need to feed the starfish? - I've been told I don't; just doesn't seem right. <How big is your tank? Only the sand bed of a rather large tank has enough life to feed one of these. I'd try some other marine foods like chopped clams, mussels, squid, etc & place it very close to the star.> Will this harm the shrimp? <No, they'll eat just about anything organic. Mine are quite bold at stealing from slower inverts.>  Just worried that everyone gets properly fed!! <Keep trying.> Thank you very much, <You're welcome.> Todd Hawman

Starfish Eating Shells 2 (1/25/04)
My tank is only a ten gallon, so it's pretty easy to keep track of the different things in there, which is how I could tell he swallowed one of the shells.  Amazingly, he seems to be perfectly normal now! <Glad to hear it.> Thank you for your quick response!
Sincerely, LeeAnne Strohmann <I hope all remains well, Steve Allen>

-The incredible shrinking Linckia-
I have a blue Linckia that is orange in color. <Isn't that an oxymoron? :) > I have had it for over six months. She  moves around actively has no sores of any sort.  The problem is that she keeps getting smaller and smaller, I feel that she may be starving what can I do, I don't want to lose her? <Unfortunately, this is all too common with Linckia stars, especially larger ones. Since their diet consists of mainly microfauna, it takes a pretty large and well established tank to keep them truckin'. You can hand feed them by placing bits of seafood (got any sponge based marine angel food?) on the substrate in front of it's path or literally drop it right on top. Try this a few times per week or more. Good luck! -Kevin>

Feeding the Star
>Hello,
>>Greetings, Marina today.
>My friends on my birthday give to me sea star, they told me she is BLACK TIP star.  How do I feed this star?  Thanks. Laimis
>>The variety of sea stars is so vast that I couldn't venture a guess.  A photo would be helpful, or find a book with a general description, and go from.  Marina

Water Quality and chocolate chip star
>I am about 6 weeks into my first SW endeavor.  I purchased a water test kit...PH, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite...and I already have a hydrometer...Are there any other things I need to test for on a regular basis?
>>This would depend in part on what you plan to keep.  Seeing as how you've already got the chocolate chip stars in there, I see you aren't planning on keeping any corals (soft or hard), though you can keep some other invertebrates with these stars such as shrimps and the like.  The only other kit you *might* need (this isn't imperative) is phosphate, and possibly oxygen.  But really, for a beginner, this would be overkill.
>Also...I have 2 small chocolate chip stars that I am attempting to feed clam...these guys are pretty slow, and have a tough time chasing down the food...should I be hand feeding them?
>>LOL!!  You mean they can't chase down a clam?  I wouldn't worry too much about it, my friend.  They'll find the food bits, and if you think they really need to be fed, then wait till they're in a convenient place and simply place food very nearby.  If it's being stolen then just place a cup or the like over them until they've covered it, that should be more than sufficient.  Best of luck, Steve!  Marina

Blue Linckia Starfish
>Hello!
>>Greetings, Marina here.
>Like others, we should have read more information before purchasing a blue Linckia starfish!   Now that we have, however, we are not sure if it is doing well or not.  We acclimated it very slowly adding about 1/2 cup of our
tank water every 30 minutes to it in a bucket over about 4 or 5 hours before putting it in our 92 gallon aquarium.  It sat on the rock (attached picture) for about 10 minutes and then decided to travel.  It bumped our elegance coral crossing the sand and went behind some of the live rock (behind finger
coral in photo) and has not come out since.  Is this something to be concerned about?  
>>Not at all.
>How long should we wait for it to move out from behind the
live rock before we try to get it out (we don't want to stress it but don't want to find out too late if it is not doing well)?  We can see parts of a couple of its legs and it still appears healthy.
>>I really wouldn't worry about it too much, folks.  Do NOT try to remove it, it's too easy to tear off its legs, leaving a good entry point for infection.  Even if a couple of weeks went by, I wouldn't worry too much, it may simply be finding much of what it prefers behind the scenes, so to speak.  You can *try* leaving it some tidbits in a more open area, but don't be surprised if someone else takes you up on the offer.  Try a mirror on a stick to look at undersides and areas not otherwise easily visible, I think it will turn up sooner or later.  Best of luck, and nice tank!  Marina      

Re: Blue Linckia Starfish
>Thanks Marina!
>>My pleasure.
>Since we emailed you, it has stayed behind the rocks but is definitely moving around.  I think you are right that it is finding plenty to feast on back there!  I will try to use a mirror per your suggestion, that is a great idea!  This is my husband's second reef aquarium (he had one over ten years ago) and my first, and I have to say that it is one of the best most rewarding things
I have ever done!  I am so obsessed :-)  so I really appreciated your "nice tank" comment.
>>Good, because they don't come easily.  ;)
>One other question I have, I have been hand feeding the open brain, doughnut, hammer and elegance corals with cut up fresh shrimp a couple times a week and they seem to be doing very well,  is this the right amount or should I be doing it more or less often.  I am most concerned about the elegance coral since we have heard that they can be very difficult to maintain.
>>You may want to add phytoplankton to their diets, but they sure looked pretty good to me.  I would only suggest finding a good supplement specifically for corals (I like Selcon for fishes), and adding some variety to their diets as well (squid, octopus, and the like).  Glad all is well, Amy!  Marina

- Seastar Feeding -
dear Madame/sir,
I have been looking for ages to try and find a photo of a starfish feeding, as i have read in several places that they can eat with their stomachs outside of their bodies, which I think is really cool. <This is true.> So, do you think you could find me a photo of a seastar with its stomach "removed" please? <I am sorry to say that we do not currently have such a picture in our library. This type of shot is easily staged.> that would be very nice of you, <If only...>
Sara Mela
<Cheers, J -- >

What do Seastars Eat
<<Hello, JasonC here filling in while Bob is away diving.>>
Is the starfish Fromia monilis totally reef safe? 
<<Bob has it marked as such in his article: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/seastars.htm >> 
I finally found one and bought it before researching it. I have a Derasa and a Crocea in my Reef. What do they eat? 
<<probably meaty foods and anything else they run unto.>> 
Are these clams food for them? 
<<IF your Seastar were large enough and hungry enough, I wouldn't put it past them, but you can avoid this by keeping it fed/make sure it is getting food elsewhere.>> 
Also, what do the Tiny Red Reef stars (Fromia Elegans) eat. 
<<micro fauna>> 
They are the tiny Bright Orange one's. I have never seen them do anything bad but want to find out more about these two species specifically. 
<<read that link I included.>>
Thanks, Michael Koenig
<<Cheers, J -- >>

Re: smallest zebra moray, expensive Harlequin Shrimp meals
So do I, he seemed to be in good shape, but we know how deceptive that can be. While I consider them a somewhat high price wise, they do have excellent livestock. No dead or sick animals in the tanks, everybody bright eyed and bushy tailed. 
<Commendable>
I didn't have the time to check up on him though. If the condo sale goes through (I have someone interested!) I might get back and reserve him, as long as he's healthy. I'm not sure if the next one was intentional or not, but they had a harlequin shrimp (a lovely blue) in with a "scarlet" starfish, the harlequin was going to town on it. since they were asking $27 for the starfish, I'm not sure if they set it up as a feeder or if someone just didn't know better.
<Suspect the latter. Bob Fenner>

Re: Hey Bob ;) (Seastar predation, more)
Mr. Fenner!
How have you been? 
<Fine my friend>
Things with me are -- fine, I guess. I recently made A LOT of changes/additions to my reef. First are from the LFS. I added two more corals. One was a Leather Coral (my first one) and the second was a rock full of Colored Button Polyps. Both are doing mediocre at best. The Leather spent its first 24 hours open and happy and has since (for 48 hours now) closed its polyps!
<This happens... don't panic just yet>
I don't know what to do and the LFS guy has offered NO help at all. The second is even scarier. . . The polyps on the Button are (what appears to be) being devoured by my Orange Knobby Starfish!! The one that I received in my "reef relief" package from FFExpress!! I'm way worried here. . .
<This unfortunately also happens... these stars are not "picker uppers">
In other news, I added my refugium! For now there is about 5 pounds of aragonite in it with a lamp and a few live rocks. I'll make other steps with it this weekend. And I'll have a bunch more questions about it as time goes by (it is so nice to have you as a reference Bob, thanks again!!)
Also more stocking problems. . . This time from a FFExpress order. I added another Banggai Cardinal to the previous pair that were in there. He was assaulted and killed within 6 hours by the biggest of the previous pair in the tank. 
<Best to have just one male... once established... definitely>
I also added a flame angel and he had three white spots on his face and this morning the spot number has increased to 5-6 spots! I have two cleaner shrimp, will they take care of this? 
<Perhaps>
I don't even want to say the "I" word. I have been sooo blessed this far not to have to deal with it. . .What can I do?
<Please read through the Marine Disease sections on our site, www.WetWebMedia.com here>
The rest of the stock looks so healthy and happy. Is there a chance that this guy could kill off my whole crew???? 
<Hmm, yes, a chance. You don't routinely dip, quarantine new livestock?>
I also received a Sebae Anemone. He was about 2 inches across when I got him, he has since inflated and spreads about 6 inches across, he is awesome!! But my clownfish in there (a true perc) seems to not even know he (the anemone) exists?!
How long until he finds his (what I hope to be) new home??
<Maybe soon, maybe never>
Also, how long should I wait before I attempt to feed the anemone? 
<A few days>
I also received a HUGE piece of brain coral, he barely has room to sit in the bottom of my tank. Is there anywhere else you'd suggest I could put him? 
<A new, larger tank?>
Finally, (I told you I stocked the tank a lot) I got a Samoan Blue Rim Derasa Clam. He looks great. Can he sit on the bottom of the tank and still get enough light (recall 4 x 96
PCs in a 75 gal)?
<I'd place it midway up>
Again, thanks so much Bob. I'll be hitting "refresh" on my browser all day long in anticipation of your wise responses. Thanks so much!! Your friend, Rich
<No wisdom my friend.... only scant knowledge. Bob Fenner>

Feeding scooter blennies and starfish
Hi  Bob,
<Howdy>
I have a 40 gallon reef tank. I put in a scooter blenny two months ago after the tank had been establishing itself for 6 months. He/she now looks quite emaciated, since I haven't been feeding him, thinking that scavenging would be enough. What is the most convenient food for the scooter? 
<A healthy culture of infauna (critters like worms and crustaceans) living in a large enough system (a forty is small) with live rock and/or a living sump/refugium... without too much in the way of competitors for these foodstuffs...>
I put in some frozen brine shrimp today, which he paid no attention to. 
<Try other live foods, even of freshwater origin... placed near the front of the animal... and consider adding live rock, a sump... possibly trading this fish to someone with a suitable reef setting...>
I also just introduced a small Archaster starfish, will the starfish need to be fed? with what? 
<Not likely if the tank isn't overly cleaned...>
When putting in the frozen foods, does the tanks circulation or the protein skimmer need to be turned off?
<Possibly a good idea to cycle off the filter pumps for about fifteen minutes... best done with timers so you don't forget to turn them back on>
If I do need to feed the starfish could I get away with just putting the food in the tank, rather than placing it right near him as you suggest on the website? 
<Yes... the Archaster is a detritus feeder. Bob Fenner>
Thank you. Regards, B.Brown