Wondering if I can put a starfish in my tank?? It's a relatively new tank with a few corals and a clam. I have a 250W MH light and the tank seems do be doing quite well. Opps, one exception is that my crabs are eating the snails and causing my wife to get quite upset.
Anyway, a starfish would be a nice addition if it didn't destroy another something else.
I can tell you what isn't reef safe... a chocolate chip starfish. They will eat your corals.
A sand sifting star is reef safe..just make sure you have sand for it. It actually does hide under the sand quite a bit so you won't see it a ton.
I also have a serpent starfish. He hides in the rocks and is nocturnal. But when feeding during the day, he definitely sticks his arms out to grab food.
You could also get some asterina stars... They're small and will reproduce in your tank. Some may eat corals, so stick with white ones (IME they are reef-safe), avoid grey ones (rumored to eat corals) and keep an eye on any you add.
Fromia and Linkia are reef-safe but very sensitive and need a mature and stable reef. So, perhaps sometime down the line these would be an option (depending on your tank size).
The thorny reef stars (Echinaster spp.) are reef safe but may harm clams, sponges and small anemones.
if you do get a brittle do not buy a green brittle star. they eat fish and just about anything they can get ahold of. im not sure about coral but i made the mistake and bought one and it took out a couple peppermint shrimp so i did research and they will also eat fish.
Coral Friendly Starfish?
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