Sand Sifting Star Questions

[mikelush78]

Sand sifting star fish Question… I have heard so many different things about them. I had one I my 24 gallon nano cube for about 6 months and then returned him cause I heard bad things. Such as he would starve in such a small tank and that he would kill my live sand bed eating everything that is alive in it….

Now I have a 90 gallon tank and want to know if I can have one? Will he starve and also will he kill all the good stuff in the sand? What does the sand sifting starfish actually eat? Need some info from you guys… When I had one before I loved him… Cool to watch and stirred the sand up great…

[blackwolfXKAV]

The answer is yes, eventually, without changing any part of your setup, the seastar will eat all your sand bed organisms. however, this can be remidied by making sure that you do two things. 1) Only add the sea start when your sandbed is very mature, and 2) That you replenish your sandbed.

This can be done by adding a few cups or so of sand from many different tanks into yours, thus adding new organisms.

I personally think, that for an animal that relies heavily on the sandbed to survive, these should not be kept in most tanks.

Good luck, and HTH!

B.W.

[Germanman]

The answer is yes, eventually, without changing any part of your setup, the seastar will eat all your sand bed organisms. however, this can be remidied by making sure that you do two things. 1) Only add the sea start when your sandbed is very mature, and 2) That you replenish your sandbed.

This can be done by adding a few cups or so of sand from many different tanks into yours, thus adding new organisms.

I personally think, that for an animal that relies heavily on the sandbed to survive, these should not be kept in most tanks.

Good luck, and HTH!

B.W.

i agree with him completely. ive only seen them live years in systems 350+ gallons

[gomrjoe]

I have a 100 gallon tank, up for about 1 1/2 years now and I have one sand sifting star, I have had him since the beginning, for at least a year now, probably longer, and I have not had any problems.

I have read the same thing about sand stars, that is why I won't buy another one. But I think it is like anything, if you do your water changes and maintain the overall health of your tank, one sand star will not cause harm in a larger tank (75 gal. or larger) IMO.

I do not plan on getting another one, if and when my sand star ever dies.

[Mr.Firemouth]

You can keep these stars indefinitely with shrimp pellets. I have kept one healthy and alive in a 15g nano for over a year that now lives in my newly established 180g/250g system. If you keep any starfish and the ends of the arms curl upwards he is starving and should be fed a meaty substance. Diets vary from star to star so read up on them or Google the name of the star space diet for more info.