Does anyone have information on this type of Starfish. My search turned up useless information. Thanks.
Sand Sifter Starfish
- Thread starter Smiley
- Start date
They work through the sand, and can't climb over 'things'--glass and rocks, ect. They consume the sand bed fauna--so having lots of them isn't really a good plan for most tanks, even though they keep the sand bed well stirred. They are okay in a reef tank, but not safe with triggers or other fish that will go after inverts.
Thanks for the information. I have a friend who's Sand Sifter just had babies, is there any information she needs to know about them? You said you should not have too many, so does this mean she needs to rehome them? There are about 11-15 she thinks in her 30 gallon tank.
Yes, she'll need to get new homes for them. Are you sure these are baby sand sifters? Sand sifters require a male and female to successfully spawn. The spawning results in a free swimming larvae that seldom survives long in a fish tank--they are eaten by most filter feeders, some fish, and often killed by various mechanical filters. There are a number of smaller stars that are also white, but remain smaller than a nickel, and will roam onto the glass and rock. They are common hitch hikers, and show up in most tanks.
She said she has had this Sand Sifter for 8 months, could it have been pregnant when she got it? What is the germination for Starfish?
It is about 2" in diameter, and the babies are the size of a bell pepper seed. She said some have 6 legs, some 5 some 3, and one only has one leg.
Do Starfish store sperm? We are all trying to learn about this Sand Sifter, but cannot find much information on it. Thanks again for your replies.
BTW, I live in Casper, small world!
It is about 2" in diameter, and the babies are the size of a bell pepper seed. She said some have 6 legs, some 5 some 3, and one only has one leg.
Do Starfish store sperm? We are all trying to learn about this Sand Sifter, but cannot find much information on it. Thanks again for your replies.
BTW, I live in Casper, small world!
Nope, sifter stars don't actually get pregnant--they spew out eggs and sperm in a congregation, and the eggs that meet up with sperm are fertilized externally. A single sifter star won't make babies, unless a limb is hacked off and can regenerate. This is common in other stars, but not so much in the sifters.
The other stars are the hitch hikers. They are seldom 'perfect'--lots of missing/extra/stumpy legs. They are grazers and detrivores, not predatory. I can usually find about 20-30 in the mornings in the reef tank. No need to remove them--the population level is controlled by the food source. If there's lots of algae and waste, you'll see more of them. Here's a pic:
and you can see other common hitch hikers here:
http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/main_pages/faq_rock3.htm
Casper is a nice town. I am there for work about every 2-3 months.
The other stars are the hitch hikers. They are seldom 'perfect'--lots of missing/extra/stumpy legs. They are grazers and detrivores, not predatory. I can usually find about 20-30 in the mornings in the reef tank. No need to remove them--the population level is controlled by the food source. If there's lots of algae and waste, you'll see more of them. Here's a pic:
and you can see other common hitch hikers here:
http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/main_pages/faq_rock3.htm
Casper is a nice town. I am there for work about every 2-3 months.
Thanks for the links and great picture.
Why are these other stars imperfect? Is there any specific reason?
Why are these other stars imperfect? Is there any specific reason?
Not that I know of. I will see a few that are close (most with 6 legs), but very few of them. I think these reproduce by dropping a leg or two, which means the adults will usually be missing something, and the babies start off just a fragment, and sometimes grow too many legs, or too few. They add character! 
Hi Oriongirl,
I'm the person Smiley's been posting about.
We bought what we were told was a sand sifter starfish, several months ago. Everything's been going fine until Wednesday. When I noticed " baby starfish" I assumed they were baby sandsifters.
Now I'm not so sure. Also, it appears that our " adult" sand sifter is dying. It's very lethargic. I read somewhere ( I've been looking all over the net) that sandsifter's do not climb on rocks or scale the aquarium walls. Well ours has been all over the place from day one, it's never burrowed in the sand. So, now I'm wondering what do we really have? The adult looks like a sandsifter from some of the pictures I've seen, the "babies" look similar, but vary anywhere from cream to tan/ gray in color.
The picture above does look very similar to our babies.We think we have about 13, if these are " Hitchhikers" will we be able to keep all of them??
Thanks for your information. And my thanks to Smiley too!
I'm the person Smiley's been posting about.
We bought what we were told was a sand sifter starfish, several months ago. Everything's been going fine until Wednesday. When I noticed " baby starfish" I assumed they were baby sandsifters.
Now I'm not so sure. Also, it appears that our " adult" sand sifter is dying. It's very lethargic. I read somewhere ( I've been looking all over the net) that sandsifter's do not climb on rocks or scale the aquarium walls. Well ours has been all over the place from day one, it's never burrowed in the sand. So, now I'm wondering what do we really have? The adult looks like a sandsifter from some of the pictures I've seen, the "babies" look similar, but vary anywhere from cream to tan/ gray in color.
The picture above does look very similar to our babies.We think we have about 13, if these are " Hitchhikers" will we be able to keep all of them??
Thanks for your information. And my thanks to Smiley too!
The sand sifter stars don't have the suction cups on their feet, and can not climb on the glass and rock. I'd suspect you have something other than a sand sifting star--on Monday, I'll see if I can get a link to help you identify it. For the little guys--there's not worries. They'll limit themselves by how much food is available.