Sand Sifting Sea Star

[faulkincanyon]

I have read alot about these guys and know that they can deplete a sand bed very quickly and are usually more suitable for the ocean. However there are always exceptions to the rule and for a fairly cheap sand sifter I was wondering what you guys/gals experience with these have been...Please only responses from people who have owned these...(not what you heard from a friend, online, etc.) Thanks!

[mscarpena]

I had a few in my 75 gallon reef and they died in about 6 months. 2 if them, but not at the same time.

[Phyxius]

I had two of them in mine for over a year and a half and finally sold them off. They do a great job of sifting the sand BUT will strip most life out of it at the same time. They also will starve after time when they run out of food. If they start losing legs its a bad sign. I actually fed mine and they adjusted to it as a supplement and ate what I put in the sand but it took awhile for them to do it on a regular basis. I would push some brine/mysis/homemade food into the sand near them and then lay them on top of it and they wood eat it.

I will not put them in any of my tanks again though and will stick to nassarius snails to turn over the sand for me. They do about them same thing and can have more in the tank covering more of the sand bed at one time. They will come scurrying out the minute the sense food in the water or on sand.

[faulkincanyon]

Yes I do love nassarius snail for that reason..and the fact that they can turn over by themselves. Thanks for the input!

[DarthAWM]

I've had one in my 56 gal SSB(18"x30") tank for over a year. I keep looking for him to keel over from depleting the sand bed but he's still chugging along.