OP
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FishAreFriendsNotFood10
Fish Herder
Best sickness I've had in awhile 
Aquamarine 900 Journal - My First Marine Tank
- Thread starter FishAreFriendsNotFood10
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OP
OP
FishAreFriendsNotFood10
Fish Herder
Water change went well today just twiddling my thumbs now til payday
just twiddling my thumbs now til payday
OP
OP
FishAreFriendsNotFood10
Fish Herder
Payday tommorow!!! and ive got work
hmm maybe i should get them to privately order me some? as this night shift work doesnt do well for shopping for the good stuff as its usually gone by the time i get down there at like 4pm
OP
OP
FishAreFriendsNotFood10
Fish Herder
Lol I can't really ask them to hold all shrooms and zoas til I picky my favourite
OP
OP
FishAreFriendsNotFood10
Fish Herder
Could it be that ur a female also (may start a sexist debate uh oh lol)
(may start a sexist debate uh oh lol)
Could it be that ur a female also
My LFS owner is a heterosexual female. So there goes your argument. My other LFS owner is a married man with two kids. I just build a good rapport with people is all. They like my enthusiasm.
OP
OP
FishAreFriendsNotFood10
Fish Herder
#39####! Lol guess I'll have to start bringing my LFS flowers and chocolate
OP
OP
FishAreFriendsNotFood10
Fish Herder
soo today i wake up and i notice these lil feathery green things sprouting up through my sand
spent the last 2 hours on google reading about hair algae (thinking its that lol) so if it isnt that atleast im clued up lol
test results
0ppm ammonia
0ppm nitrite
10ppm nitrate (mixing RO and salt now for water change tommorow)
on a lighter side of the daily news heres a cool pic of my starfish playing nice!
spent the last 2 hours on google reading about hair algae (thinking its that lol) so if it isnt that atleast im clued up lol
test results
0ppm ammonia
0ppm nitrite
10ppm nitrate (mixing RO and salt now for water change tommorow)
on a lighter side of the daily news heres a cool pic of my starfish playing nice!
Erm...how old is this tank and what species true starfish is that? It looks like I'm seeing something like a Linckia/Fromia star and a brittle star in the background. Do you know what the true star eats/have you been able to successfully target feed it? First post I see is March 1st; I am not being able to load pages 2-5 for some reason, so it's possible I may end up being redundant with this post.
Anyway, if the tank is only a month old as it looks from page 1, I have to trot out the obligatory statement about true stars: the overwhelming majority of true starfish starve to death and/or die within several months of other maladies even in very mature tanks, let alone brand new and potentially unstable tanks. If you are doubtful, go look through other forums for starfish related posts and you'll find that a bothersome number start with something like "why is my starfish disintegrating?" This is particularly common for the "reef safe" stars like Linckia and Fromia. Part of the reason for this difficulty is general Echinoderm fragility, but also that the diets for many commonly sold species are either poorly documented or completely unknown, with the exception of the eat-everything-in-your-tank species like chocolate chip stars. The literature and general understanding of the care for many stars is REALLY lacking; these are not beginner animals. So, if you haven't successfully target-fed this true star such that you know that you will be able to keep it fed, I would encourage you to return it.
Brittle stars are much hardier, but still are are more fragile than standard CUC Gastropods and Crustaceans and therefore also not great choices for brand new tanks either, since they can succumb to param swings. However, they are much easier to feed since most are fairly generalized scavengers. Do get an ID on yours though if you plan on adding fish to this tank. Species like Ophiarachna incrassata are wondefully fun to keep (and are looking good for the prospect of captive-bred specimens in the trade eventually), but they are not safe with small fish.
Anyway, if the tank is only a month old as it looks from page 1, I have to trot out the obligatory statement about true stars: the overwhelming majority of true starfish starve to death and/or die within several months of other maladies even in very mature tanks, let alone brand new and potentially unstable tanks. If you are doubtful, go look through other forums for starfish related posts and you'll find that a bothersome number start with something like "why is my starfish disintegrating?" This is particularly common for the "reef safe" stars like Linckia and Fromia. Part of the reason for this difficulty is general Echinoderm fragility, but also that the diets for many commonly sold species are either poorly documented or completely unknown, with the exception of the eat-everything-in-your-tank species like chocolate chip stars. The literature and general understanding of the care for many stars is REALLY lacking; these are not beginner animals. So, if you haven't successfully target-fed this true star such that you know that you will be able to keep it fed, I would encourage you to return it.
Brittle stars are much hardier, but still are are more fragile than standard CUC Gastropods and Crustaceans and therefore also not great choices for brand new tanks either, since they can succumb to param swings. However, they are much easier to feed since most are fairly generalized scavengers. Do get an ID on yours though if you plan on adding fish to this tank. Species like Ophiarachna incrassata are wondefully fun to keep (and are looking good for the prospect of captive-bred specimens in the trade eventually), but they are not safe with small fish.
OP
OP
FishAreFriendsNotFood10
Fish Herder
Not a redundant post whatsoever infact a brilliant read i was told he is a linckia star and yes you are correct that is my brittle star. my tank is a month old now and has fully cycled.
i think this a link to him http
/www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsespecies.php?CritterID=3039 but my would be orange? couldnt find my brittle star on there though. i was going to try some defrosted silversides (when i go down my lfs tommorow/sunday) ... he was given to me by my gf as she calls him "patrick" (yes from spongebob squarepants lol) and hes only been in my tank for a day and a half. the brittle starfish was given to me as part of a startup CUC by lfs when i traded in my old marisys filter (as it was total crap lol).
since patrick spends most of his time on the glass i was going to try get the silversides as close to the central disk as possible, unfortunatly my brittle star is rarely seen out when the lights are on so i was hoping he would scavenge some pellets or other wastage when i feed my other fish (which i have none of yet). Im pretty sure his disc is wayyy to small to be a green brittle star which ive read need target feeding.
thanks for a excellent read
i was told he is a linckia star and yes you are correct that is my brittle star. my tank is a month old now and has fully cycled.i think this a link to him http
/www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsespecies.php?CritterID=3039 but my would be orange? couldnt find my brittle star on there though. i was going to try some defrosted silversides (when i go down my lfs tommorow/sunday) ... he was given to me by my gf as she calls him "patrick" (yes from spongebob squarepants lol) and hes only been in my tank for a day and a half. the brittle starfish was given to me as part of a startup CUC by lfs when i traded in my old marisys filter (as it was total crap lol). since patrick spends most of his time on the glass i was going to try get the silversides as close to the central disk as possible, unfortunatly my brittle star is rarely seen out when the lights are on so i was hoping he would scavenge some pellets or other wastage when i feed my other fish (which i have none of yet). Im pretty sure his disc is wayyy to small to be a green brittle star which ive read need target feeding.
thanks for a excellent read
Cycled =/= mature. Mature tanks have an incredible diversity of microorganisms that simply are not established in a new tank. New tanks go through many waves of blooms of different animals while this sorts itself out, creating a lengthy period of ecological instability. Mature systems are what "reef safe" stars need as it is, in theory, the diverse fauna that they feed on (although some Echinaster species were recently found to be at least partially filter feeders! Shows you the state of knowledge about these). The only real exception to the maturation time of a tank is if you take rock from a mature tank and just transplant it into a new glass box without disturbing it much, which will give a much shorter stabilization period - although the sand bed will lag behind in development.
If the orange star is a Linckia or Fromia, by all means try the silversides, but don't be surprised if they fail. These stars are usually characterized as "microfilm eaters" - which means they feed on who knows what on the rocks in large, diverse systems and people don't understand it very well. I have read everything from sponges and Tunicates to bacterial slime and cyano being eaten by various stars in those genera, but nothing clear-cut enough for hobbyists to avoid having starved stars with alarming frequency. People often suggest target feeding with other, large foods to avoid starvation, but none of them ever tack on an actual observation to back up the suggestion. Again, I strongly recommend you give this star either to another experienced hobbyist who has a very large and mature system with a lot of biodiversity or take it back to whatever store it was gotten from before it reached you.
Not to meddle in personal affairs, but, if it were my tank, I would also have words with the person who handed me the bag with the star in it. Family members, friends, and significant others can be very enthusiastic about aquariums, but when the success/failure of a system is not on their heads and wallets, they tend to be a lot more care-free about it than they should be. In the marine world, an uneducated enthusiast can easily leave the LFS with a bag containing a dangerous and/or toxic animal (some fish, some sea urchins, cucumbers, etc.) in addition to those that just have an incredibly poor captive care record and should be left to experts.
If the orange star is a Linckia or Fromia, by all means try the silversides, but don't be surprised if they fail. These stars are usually characterized as "microfilm eaters" - which means they feed on who knows what on the rocks in large, diverse systems and people don't understand it very well. I have read everything from sponges and Tunicates to bacterial slime and cyano being eaten by various stars in those genera, but nothing clear-cut enough for hobbyists to avoid having starved stars with alarming frequency. People often suggest target feeding with other, large foods to avoid starvation, but none of them ever tack on an actual observation to back up the suggestion. Again, I strongly recommend you give this star either to another experienced hobbyist who has a very large and mature system with a lot of biodiversity or take it back to whatever store it was gotten from before it reached you.
Not to meddle in personal affairs, but, if it were my tank, I would also have words with the person who handed me the bag with the star in it. Family members, friends, and significant others can be very enthusiastic about aquariums, but when the success/failure of a system is not on their heads and wallets, they tend to be a lot more care-free about it than they should be. In the marine world, an uneducated enthusiast can easily leave the LFS with a bag containing a dangerous and/or toxic animal (some fish, some sea urchins, cucumbers, etc.) in addition to those that just have an incredibly poor captive care record and should be left to experts.
OP
OP
FishAreFriendsNotFood10
Fish Herder
But how can you have experts if you don't have hobbyists? If you had to set every tank up the same way with the same starter fish etc it wouldn't be much of a hobby. I do though agree I don't have anywhere near a mature setup so I will consider taking him back, but then what if some1 who has even less of a clue than me buys him and let's him starve? This is a eventuality that all experts have to come to terms with unless your on some mission to stop fish being sold lol
I do enjoy reading a long post in work though keeps my brain active through the night
I do enjoy reading a long post in work though keeps my brain active through the night
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