Chocolate Chip Starfish

[laurieo33]

Hey,
Another question for all concerned. I have a Chocolate Chip Starfish and I had heard various care and advice. My questions: Do hermit crabs eat starfish? I have had my CCS for over a month now with an Emerald crab and 3 hermit crabs (red) and they have not bothered my sea star at all. Without knowing that hermit crabs had the capacity to do so, I bought 4 more tonight. Should I bring them back? I don't want anything chowing on my starfish. Also, I feed my starfish table shrimp, the LFS told me to place a peice of shrimp on his "stomach" and place him on the glass to digest it. I have had him there for 5 hours now with the shrimp getting smaller, is that a good sign? Or not.
Laurie

 

[tangokitty]

I really don't know much about star fish, but I thought the only thing that ate them was harliquin shrimp?

 

[laurieo33]

I have been reading and reading and reading until my eyes pop out of my skull about all the creatures my hubby purchases and I haven't read that small hermits will feed on them. (CCS)
I did not rely on a professional opinion but I rather rely on ppl that have had similar problems.
They swear up and down that the hermits ate the Chocolate peices at a time. Like I said, I have had my CCS and my hermits for months now with no interaction at all. My concern is that I bought 4 more today considerably larger then the ones I have now and I wouldn't want them to eat my starfish especially with me having knowledge that it's a possibility.
Laurie

 

[SkiFletch]

Hermits will not eat a living CCS. They may eat a dead/dying/starving CCS though...

 

[psycho-killer]

CCS reef Safe ??

i heard they eat soft corals ?

 

[laurieo33]

Thanks Ski, that helps out a great deal. I've never had any problem with hermits on my starfish for it is healthy as ever. He rarely hangs out at the bottom anyhow so unless he was bombarded I feel pretty safe.

 

[laurieo33]

CCS reef Safe ??

i heard they eat soft corals ?

I haven't come across that information yet psycho. I do know that they are omnivores and they need algae and meat. I read that if they are fed some kind of meaty food once a week supplementing the algae they won't bother anyone. If you don't feed them meat then you have problems. I was at the lfs the other day and I saw one eating a snail because they were closed for a couple of days.

 

[Lynden]

I'll differ a little... none of the dwarf species of hermit crabs will eat live starfish, but the larger genera, such as Dardanus (big, red and hairy... hard to miss), may have a go if they are larger than the starfish.

The pet store seems to have given you correct info regarding foods, but I would advise against moving the starfish to the food. Instead, try wedging the food into a crevice near the starfish. If you put it in the same place every time, they will reportedly learn to go there when hungry.

Choco chip stars are true omnivores, reportedly eating everything they can crawl over. Mine ate several creatures back when he was still alive, including a brittle star nearly his own size.

 

[laurieo33]

Lynden,
Thanx...that is what concerned me at first. My husband bought the star while I was out on vacation and told me that it lived on algae. (I research BEFORE I buy something) anyhow, while I was at the lfs purchasing more live rock I kind of mentioned it to the fishkeeper. My star hadn't eaten in a month (meat). The star ate the shrimp readily and he seems fine after a week sucking up algae. My lfs guy worried me by telling me that if it doesn't get fed properly, the fish could be in danger as were the snails. EEk.
Laurie