Question About Blue+Pink Starfish... (Astropecten sp.)

Johnny C · 01/19/2009, 10:27 PM

Does anyone have this starfish? I think it's SO cool and would like to know more about it. I have never seen one locally and LiveAquaria seems to always be sold out of it. Also... if you have one, post pics!

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_...22&pcatid=2722

greenbean36191 · 01/20/2009, 07:26 AM

They're just another species of sand sifting star. They're not suited to a reef tank, which rarely produces enough of the right kind of food.

Wells, H.W., M.J. Wells, and I.E. Gray. (1961) Food of the sea-star Astropecten articulatus. Biol. Bull. 120: 265.

"Most members of this widespread genus [Astropecten] live more or less buried in sandy bottoms, where they ingest large numbers of sand-dwelling animals. Eichelbaum (1910) and Kisch (1958) have reported on the food of Astropecten irregularis from northwestern Europe, Hamann (1889) recorded the food of A. auranciacus from the Mediterranean, and Caracelles and Parodiz (1938 ) reported on molluscs recovered from the stomach of A. cingulatus from the Argentine coast. A large portion of the food of these species consists of shelled molluscs."

"Astropecten articulatus is indeed a voracious predator on the inhabitants of the sand bottom community... A total of 91 species was represented in the stomachs examined. This aggregate contains two ectoproct bryozoans, two polychaete annelids, eleven arthropods, three echinoderms, fifty-two gastropods, four scaphopods, and seventeen pelecypods."

Small gastropods made up about 60% of the ingested animals by number, but crustaceans were roughly equal by mass.

Lemmens, J.W.T.J, P.W. Arnold, and R.A. Birtles. (1995) Distribution Patterns and Selective Feeding in Two Astropecten Species (Asteroidea: Echinodermata) from Cleveland Bay, Northern Queensland. Mar. Freshwater. Res. 46: 447-455.

"Astropectinid sea stars are specialized soft-sediment carnivores that may have significant effects on the densities of their infaunal prey (Christensen 1970)."

A. zebra's diet was 87% mollusks and 10% crustaceans. The rest was worms, foraminiferans, and unidentifiable stuff.

The diet of A. velitaris was about 75% mollusks, 17% crustaceans, 4% foraminiferans. Where mollusks were scarcer, a higher percentage of the diet (30%) was crustaceans.

"Crustaceans were proportionately better represented in the stomach contents of A. velitaris than in bottom samples."

Between the two species 140 species of prey were identified. Average prey size was 1-1.5 mm and maxed out at 5 mm. There was a strong preference in both species for smaller prey.

Ganmanee, M., et al. (2003). Feeding habits of asteroids, Luidia quinaria and Astropecten scoparius, in Ise Bay, Central Japan. Fish. Sci. 69: 1121-1134.

"As reviewed by Jangoux, studies on the feeding biology of primitive asteroids such as Luidia and Astropecten species have often been done during the last three decades because it is easy to examine their stomach contents due to their intraoral feeding. Both the Luidia and Astropecten species are typically carnivores/ predators, but the former prefers to ingest large epifaunal benthos such as echinoderms while the latter prefers to ingest infaunal benthos such as small gastropods and bivalves."

The diet of Astropecten was 64% gastropods, 33% bivalves, and the rest mostly crustaceans.

Johnny C · 01/20/2009, 06:24 PM

bump

Salamander · 01/20/2009, 08:05 PM

I'd trust Greenbean.

SS Stars are no bueno.

Johnny C · 01/21/2009, 01:00 AM

si... gracias!

01/19/2009, 10:27 PM	#1
Johnny C Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 4,140	Question About Blue+Pink Starfish... (Astropecten sp.) Does anyone have this starfish? I think it's SO cool and would like to know more about it. I have never seen one locally and LiveAquaria seems to always be sold out of it. Also... if you have one, post pics! http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_...22&pcatid=2722 __________________ "...the sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonders forever" -Jacques Cousteau

01/20/2009, 07:26 AM	#2
greenbean36191 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 10,598	They're just another species of sand sifting star. They're not suited to a reef tank, which rarely produces enough of the right kind of food. Wells, H.W., M.J. Wells, and I.E. Gray. (1961) Food of the sea-star Astropecten articulatus. Biol. Bull. 120: 265. "Most members of this widespread genus [Astropecten] live more or less buried in sandy bottoms, where they ingest large numbers of sand-dwelling animals. Eichelbaum (1910) and Kisch (1958) have reported on the food of Astropecten irregularis from northwestern Europe, Hamann (1889) recorded the food of A. auranciacus from the Mediterranean, and Caracelles and Parodiz (1938 ) reported on molluscs recovered from the stomach of A. cingulatus from the Argentine coast. A large portion of the food of these species consists of shelled molluscs." "Astropecten articulatus is indeed a voracious predator on the inhabitants of the sand bottom community... A total of 91 species was represented in the stomachs examined. This aggregate contains two ectoproct bryozoans, two polychaete annelids, eleven arthropods, three echinoderms, fifty-two gastropods, four scaphopods, and seventeen pelecypods." Small gastropods made up about 60% of the ingested animals by number, but crustaceans were roughly equal by mass. Lemmens, J.W.T.J, P.W. Arnold, and R.A. Birtles. (1995) Distribution Patterns and Selective Feeding in Two Astropecten Species (Asteroidea: Echinodermata) from Cleveland Bay, Northern Queensland. Mar. Freshwater. Res. 46: 447-455. "Astropectinid sea stars are specialized soft-sediment carnivores that may have significant effects on the densities of their infaunal prey (Christensen 1970)." A. zebra's diet was 87% mollusks and 10% crustaceans. The rest was worms, foraminiferans, and unidentifiable stuff. The diet of A. velitaris was about 75% mollusks, 17% crustaceans, 4% foraminiferans. Where mollusks were scarcer, a higher percentage of the diet (30%) was crustaceans. "Crustaceans were proportionately better represented in the stomach contents of A. velitaris than in bottom samples." Between the two species 140 species of prey were identified. Average prey size was 1-1.5 mm and maxed out at 5 mm. There was a strong preference in both species for smaller prey. Ganmanee, M., et al. (2003). Feeding habits of asteroids, Luidia quinaria and Astropecten scoparius, in Ise Bay, Central Japan. Fish. Sci. 69: 1121-1134. "As reviewed by Jangoux, studies on the feeding biology of primitive asteroids such as Luidia and Astropecten species have often been done during the last three decades because it is easy to examine their stomach contents due to their intraoral feeding. Both the Luidia and Astropecten species are typically carnivores/ predators, but the former prefers to ingest large epifaunal benthos such as echinoderms while the latter prefers to ingest infaunal benthos such as small gastropods and bivalves." The diet of Astropecten was 64% gastropods, 33% bivalves, and the rest mostly crustaceans. __________________ Some say the sun rises in the East. Some say it rises in the West. The truth must be somewhere in the middle. Current Tank Info: tore them down to move and haven't had the time or money to set them back up

01/20/2009, 06:24 PM	#3
Johnny C Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 4,140	bump __________________ "...the sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonders forever" -Jacques Cousteau

01/20/2009, 08:05 PM	#4
Salamander Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Flagstaff, Arizona Posts: 2,103	I'd trust Greenbean. SS Stars are no bueno. __________________ I feel more like myself now than I did before. Current Tank Info: 120g mixed reef, 2 x 250W DE MH, 2 x 54w T5, MSX 200 SKimmer, 2 Koralia 4's, 40g fuge/sump, QT

01/21/2009, 01:00 AM	#5
Johnny C Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 4,140	si... gracias! __________________ "...the sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonders forever" -Jacques Cousteau