Chocolate sea star

[rayme07]

Yesterday I bought a chocolate chip sea star from the LFS and when I came home I put him in the tank on the bottom. then he moved up the glass and now hes at the top with his arm on top of the water. And I was wondering is he sick. Iv never seen a chocolate sea star do somthing like that.
Raymond

[lReef lKeeper]

it is not sick, but if this is a reef tank ... take it back NOW !! they are NOT a reef safe starfish. it will eat everything in your tank.

[rayme07]

Thanks but I dont have any corals yet but someday I will so ill take him out when i do. The only thing I do have is an anemone.

[lReef lKeeper]

it may even try to eat the anemone. i would take it out to be safe.

[rayme07]

thanks bobby
Ill take it out and bring it back to the LFS

[lReef lKeeper]

if you have a sump you could always throw it in there. i had 1 a couple of years ago that ate everything that it touched and i wondered why everything i had in my tank was dying. then i found out that they are not reef safe.

[Larry Copperband]

Predatory Starfish that eats everything that moves slower than itself.
Had one once that ate an Urchin.
They expel their stomach over the menu item, then rest atop till it's consumed.
First time I saw it,I thought the Starfish was sick.Boy was I wrong.

[rayme07]

When I bought it from the store they said is was reef safe but they were wrong. I don't have a sump so I returned it to the store today. When I got there I was pretty mad with the owner for lying. But He gave me the money back. Thanks for your help I'm a little New with starfish so you helped out a lot.
Also I have a question are Brittle stars reef safe. Because Iv always wanted one thanks.
Raymond

[lReef lKeeper]

brittle stars ARE reef safe, but they usually only come out at night to feed and hide during the day. i have a few of them and you can almost always see their arms moving in the water.

[rayme07]

Thats neat I'll have to get a couple thanks.

[Rob]

just wanted to back up Bobby, most brittle stars are fine, there are some larger green ones that can be dangerous. (snagging slow fish etc..)
the best ones are the serpent stars, they are probably the most well behaved of all stars, and are pretty hardy (for a sea star)

[rayme07]

Thanks I'll look into those serpent stars but are they nocturnal like the brittle stars amd what do they eat because I' v herd of some serpent stars that have eaten small fish.

[Rob]

its far more likely that a brittle star will eat small fish, i have never heard of a normal serpent star doing that.

as far as there diet, they are considered part of the clean up crew, they will scavenge for what they can find, that said they will also take just about any ting you give them. left over fish food, shrimp, clam, etc..

yes they are nocturnal, but will commonly com out during feeding times to catch some left overs..

[rayme07]

Thanks I like that they eat anything you give them Now I'll defantly wan' t to buy one.

[Rob]

yes, they are great.. i have 2 in my tank, they have made it though 1 major and one minor disaster and i have went weeks without target feeding them.. they are great cleaning up anything left over in the tank, even the unfortunately dead fish, before they cause ammonia spikes in the tank. i would not setup another tank without at least one..

[Firetender]

I've had a chocolate chip star for a couple months now. Just recently put in a serpent star. A couple days after I put the serpent in I noticed the chocolate chip sitting on top of it. I moved it off only to find a dead serpent star fish! Are there any other star fish that I can put in with the chocolate chip?

[rayme07]

Im not sure other if you can mix chocolates with other stars.
Raymond

[CarmieJo]

Hello Firetender and to TR. I am sorry to hear of your loss. I know that choco chip stars are not reef safe but I don't know if there are other starfish it would be safe with. I feel sure that someone will jump in with the answer soon.

[rayme07]

Ooops for got to say welcome. Welcome to TR Firetender hope somone helps you.
Raymond