I'm thinking of getting Marble Sea Star...

Aaarrrggg · 06/14/2007, 08:19 PM

I'm thinking of getting a Marble Sea Star (Fromia sp.) from another reefer. I've done the usual browse around the net but I have some questions...

- Is my tank old enough? (6mths now)
- Several sites say "It generally lives alone, but if the aquarium is large enough to support more than one, it will tolerate others of its own species." ...how large is 'large enough?' Or more precisely how many would be happy in a 55g?
- Has anyone had any problems with them? eg clashes with other inhabitants?
- What do they eat exactly? Are they the sort of star that will burrow though my sandbed eating all the good critters and then starve?
- Anything else I should know or be asking?

Any info would be much appreciated, thanks everyone!

J. Montgomery · 06/14/2007, 08:27 PM

I wouldn't recommend getting any large sea stars, especially any that eat microfauna (as I hang my head in shame thinking about how I have a sand sifting star in my tank). Meeting their dietary requirements is not likely.

Aaarrrggg · 06/14/2007, 08:49 PM

Ah yes I heard big stars can cause some trouble, which is one of the main reasons I'm so interested in marbles. According to several sites they only grow to around 3-4", which sounds perfect... esp if I could have a few dotted about.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=580

Just all sounds too good to be true...

06/14/2007, 08:19 PM	#1
Aaarrrggg Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 866 Blog Entries: 53	I'm thinking of getting Marble Sea Star... I'm thinking of getting a Marble Sea Star (Fromia sp.) from another reefer. I've done the usual browse around the net but I have some questions... - Is my tank old enough? (6mths now) - Several sites say "It generally lives alone, but if the aquarium is large enough to support more than one, it will tolerate others of its own species." ...how large is 'large enough?' Or more precisely how many would be happy in a 55g? - Has anyone had any problems with them? eg clashes with other inhabitants? - What do they eat exactly? Are they the sort of star that will burrow though my sandbed eating all the good critters and then starve? - Anything else I should know or be asking? Any info would be much appreciated, thanks everyone!

06/14/2007, 08:27 PM	#2
J. Montgomery Mouth Pipetting Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Charlottesville, VA Posts: 6,278	I wouldn't recommend getting any large sea stars, especially any that eat microfauna (as I hang my head in shame thinking about how I have a sand sifting star in my tank). Meeting their dietary requirements is not likely. __________________ Josh

06/14/2007, 08:49 PM	#3
Aaarrrggg Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 866 Blog Entries: 53	Ah yes I heard big stars can cause some trouble, which is one of the main reasons I'm so interested in marbles. According to several sites they only grow to around 3-4", which sounds perfect... esp if I could have a few dotted about. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=580 Just all sounds too good to be true... __________________ Click on my homepage link to see my new 144g Half Circle Build! Current Tank Info: 144g Half Circle Oceanic (started 11/7/2011)