can I get this star fish?

[cpm6t]

Is it okay to add this star fish to my 65g aquarium?
I've heard that some of them destroy the life in sand bed and have very specific diet requirements.
My tank is about 2 months old with a clownfish/bi color blenny/loepard wrasse/ yellow wrasse and 5 snails.

Is this an okay species?

[christianfow]

If they are linkia stars then no, linkias eat a specific bacteria that grows on mature live rock.

[cpm6t]

If they are linkia stars then no, linkias eat a specific bacteria that grows on mature live rock.

How do I identify one from the other type? What to look for?
Other types of starfish Okay for aquarium?

[NghiKillerBee]

Dunno if this is true but my LFS said pointy stars are bad and smooth star are OK for reefs. Is this correct?

[cpm6t]

I am not too concerned about the reef safe factor. My worry is whether I have the tank conditions necessary for them to live. If they just eat algae then I should be okay.

[Chris27]

A 65 Gal is a little small for those in the long term, they just don't have enough food for them to do well.

If it is in fact a linkia, then it's perfectly fine from for a reef, provided you don't mind cleaning up anything it may knock over....but again...feeding it can be a problem in a small tank.

[Dexters Reef]

Dunno if this is true but my LFS said pointy stars are bad and smooth star are OK for reefs. Is this correct?

I have heard the same thing. The pointy / bumpy starfish eat corals and are not reef safe, and the smooth ones should be OK provided you have enough algae or bacteria to support them

[coreenm]

You'd probably be better off with a serpent star or brittle star. Although they aren't as cool looking in some peoples' opinions.

[SushiGirl]

Coreen is correct, serpents & brittles are the ones most likely to survive in a tank. Skip the green brittle one, though, because they've been known to eat fish.

[Sk8r]

Avoid linckias until your tank is at least 3 years old, and the tank should be at least 100 gallons with a lot of rock.