Blue Star Fish

[jayphr99]

i have just bought a blue star fish but i have no idea what they eat. the man at the shop says dont feed them they are scavengers but is this true and if not what do they eat and how to feed. please

 

[steelhealr]

What size tank do you have it in? Sea star diets are still not completely understood. Some eat sponges....some algae...some inverts. SH

 

[jayphr99]

What size tank do you have it in? Sea star diets are still not completely understood. Some eat sponges....some algae...some inverts. SH

thanks for quick reply. its a 55 gal 230ltr tank. only things in are 2 clowns cleaner shrimp 5 hermt crabs and 2 snails.

 

[steelhealr]

Blue linckia, or blue sea stars, to my understanding are somewhat difficult to keep. I've heard some people like to try and put food underneath them.....clam meat or squid...to try and sustain them. Just be careful...when sea stars die, they can disintegrate very quickly and crash a tank if not removed promptly. SH

 

[Chac]

How long have you had you setup running for mate.

Also how long did you (& how) acclimitise the star for

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

It will sift through the sand but you can feed it clam or other meaty items, just place it under the starfish and make sure they eat it. If they dont, try something else. How long did you acclimate it for? Hopefully you used "the drip method", otherwise the starfish may be experincing shock and may not eat for a while, or in some cases ive heard may not live a while. In the wild they scavenge all day for food so hopefully there is enough on your LR and make sure you feed it enough.

 

[Luke & Penny]

My wife had a Blue linckia star fish and she didnt know how hard they are to care for let alone how big they grow she was told to place food underneath it which she did do including prawn, cockals, we ended up taking it back to the shop because we found out how big it would have grown and it stopped eating for a while and she was worried it would die, we was told they are very hard to look after

 

[jayphr99]

How long have you had you setup running for mate.

Also how long did you (& how) acclimitise the star for

i was told by shop to place bag in water for half an hour then add some off aquarium waterthen leave again for 15 mis then tip some out then add some more for 15 mins then put it in. it has now been inside a gap in live rock for nearly two days i droped a piece of cockle in the rock which i think it has had but will not come out of rock is this normal as well for blue stars

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Well, a half an hour is NOWHERE close to long enough for acclimating a sea star. It should be 3 hours minimum, using the "drip method." Hopefully the pH, hardness and so on werent too different from your water and the fish stores'. Its totally normal for him to be hiding, but he may be experiencing pH shock or something. But even some social fish Ive gotten have hid for a few days before moving around normally just because they are adjusting to a new environment. Plus, I think those stars are mainly nocturnal anyway so look after the lights have been out for a while and he would be more likely to be out of that rock.

 

[Navarre]

Im sory to say that your lfs is not giving you sound advice. BLue linkas are not easy to keep. Your shop should not even be considering allowing you to have a starfish within the first 6 months of the tanks setup as the water conditions are simply too unstable etc. Blue linkas grow huge if they can become established in home tanks. Watch it closely, if the starfish shows any signs of faling apart then get it out of the tank immediately as they can go from a completely healthly looking specimen to a pile a jelly within about 3 hours