Starfish looking kinda questionable

[mverhage]

Hi, so currently in my 55 gal I have two clowns, two peppermint shrimp, and the LFS sold me a sand sifting star because I needed something to clean the diatom algae and the leftovers the fish were missing. I feel like I should have researched more though (learned my lesson) because he doesn't seem to be doing so hot. I'm mostly afraid he's going to die or really mess up my water parameters, or something..

I did a partial 10% water change today because it was about that time. The tank has only been going about a month though and I feel like there isn't enough food for him...

Everything about the tank:
Temp - 76.3-77.7
pH - 8.0-8.2
Kh - 6-7
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - <1
Ammonium- .05, prob under
Salinity: 33.5 ppm
About 50-60 lbs of live rock and like 40lbs of live sand

I have a eshopps 75 sump, photon48 led light, eshopps 300 overflow(I think) rio 2100 plus return pump and a dual sun sun jvp201b circulation wave maker pump (1585 Gph)... The sunsun might be a bit of an overkill. I don't know, it seems like my clownfish are thrown against the side with it. I haven't used the wave maker much yet.

The sandsifter is looking kinda weird though and floppy. He's only been in there for like three or four days now, but he went from being always under the sand to sitting on top and I just feel kinda bad for him because I don't know if he's starving.

Thank you

[CuzzA]

They usually don't starve that fast, but there's no way of knowing how long he's been out of the wild. Also starfish need a slow acclimation. It was a bad recommendation by your LFS and hopefully the sale to you wasn't for bad intentions, for example he had it for a while and new it wasn't going to last much longer so he pushed the sale.

I would request to return it for a refund or store credit as it will no doubt starve in your tank. In the future always thoroughly research your intended purchases and ask questions here if you're unsure about something. Many members are glad to help.

[mverhage]

I drip acclimated him for about an hour but I was later reading they could need more. I'm definitely thinking of taking him back. I just don't think he's very well suited for my tank. he's still super cool though.

[CuzzA]

Brittle starfish are what you want. Hardy, long lived, and excellent scavengers.

[mverhage]

That's what I originally asked for and I got roped into this one, my fault. I was too excited because it was neat looking... Ugh

[A sea K]

That's what I originally asked for and I got roped into this one, my fault. I was too excited because it was neat looking... Ugh

If you want a neat looking easy to keep star to add as part of a clean-up crew look up KP aquatics and get one of the Harlequin brittle stars.

[Scubaken]

How old is your tank ?
Have you tied to feed him ? My guy loves algae wafers, sand sifters are very very cool, I've had mine for over 5 years, he is super sized now though, his arms are very thick and long too.