mating starfish??

[Tommy3492]

Hey so i think my 2 sandsifting stars are in the mating process, everyso often for quite a longperiod of time i see one of the starfish ontop of the other.... and tentacles wrapped around


Think they are mating?

[9501gle]

I've seen mine doing the same thing. Then theres tons of little ones but none of them get big.

[greenbean36191]

It's called pseudocopulation. They're still broadcast spawners but they do this to increase the chances their gametes will meet before they get diluted. Still, they will never successfully reproduce in a reef tank, nor would you want them too.

Some species are also known to be cannibals, so this situation often leads to one eating the other, especially in captivity where they're starved.

[dcmander]

is it true that these stars are bad for our reef tanks? i've heard they are excellent at keeping the sand clean but also have heard they eat the beneficial creatures in the sandbed.

opinions?

[greenbean36191]

They provide no benefit to a reef tank other than burying debris so the sand looks cleaner. They feed on sandbed fauna, so if you have a functional DSB they will ruin it. They also eat so much that eat themselves out of house and home and almost all starve to death in 1-2 years.