Choc. Chip Starfish

[buzfar]

Hello;

We have a reef tank, right now what is living in it are:

live rock
snails
2 shrimp
4 anemone
4 damsels
2 clownfish
a bunch of hermit crabs

and one choc. chip starfish.

We just got him yesterday, and from the tops of his cho. chips in the center of the star he emitted a smoke, and the tips of the chips turned a lighter brown color.

What gives with this? Also, I tried to tell my hubby that this type of starfish is deadly to reefs. He wants details. What will it eat in our tank?

our next step is to buy corals, and I am afraid this guy will munch them.

Thanks

A

[Jnicho]

First off....WELCOME...

Hmmm...not sure about the smoking chips...could be a sign of decline but not necessarily. How long and how was he acclimated.

Many "wide bodied" stars are FOWLR critters...Chocolate Chip stars will eat soft corals, sponges, tubeworms, clams, other starfish, and other misc invertebrates. Basically if you want to start adding corals, find him a new home...As new reef keepers you will have some headaches to deal with along the way (it's just part of the hobby) a coral munching star is one thing you don't need.

[Jnicho]

Oh, I also see you say you have 4 nems? How big is this tank? and how old? That seems like a lot of nems for one tank, especially if it is pretty new.

[kwdelre]

Originally Posted by Jnicho

Oh, I also see you say you have 4 nems? How big is this tank? and how old? That seems like a lot of nems for one tank, especially if it is pretty new.

That what I was thinking. I saw four and thought "geez!!"

[buzfar]

75 gallon tank

I agree with the # of nems. The Tank is only about 5 weeks old. I am afraid that it is going to crash! My hubbie started this, and now I am hooked. I am reading up on things, and I am seeing things that are wrong with our tank. How to approach the spouse? Well, that is another forum, me thinks.

how was he acclimated? I tried to talk him into acclimating the Choc by the dribble method, and to take a couple hours to do this, then to watch the ph levels and make sure they were the same before he was dumped into the tank (the starfish, not the husband), he said not necessary, he just let the bag sit in the tank for 5 mins, then would open and sink the bag a little to add tank water to the water he came in. He did this every couple of mins for about 20 mins, then dumped the star in, the star immed. curled into a ball, it was hours later when he puffed the smoke.

Is this the right way to acclimate a wild caught fish? I really like the tank, and am kind of attached to some of these guys already, they are so neat to watch, and I want a healthy tank.

[betamed]

Star fish require a very slow acclimation from one specific gravity to another. If the SG of the bag and of the tank are equal then you might get away with not drip aclimating. What happens is that internal tissue on star fish can burst open if there is a sudden change inS.G. so most reccomend drip acclimation. Anyway, they're not known to be reef safe either. Also its a bad idea to introduce water from the LFS into your tank.

[jfurg75]

YIKES....... trust me from experience always better to be overly cautious on the things you add!!

[Jnicho]

What kind of nems under what type of lighting?...4 nems in a 75 is lot...most don't recommend any nems for at least six months...some of the harder species not for at least a year! So at five weeks I'd say you are way over the guidelines.

As for the star...he is probably a gonner...most all inverts, but especially stars, need 2-3 hours of drip acclimation or they will not survive.

Get your husband to take a step back and do some research...I assume he/you have had FW tanks before as his acclimation is typical for FW fish...THIS APPROACH ON SW FISH AND INVERTS WILL NOT WORK! Figure out how to approach him, because I've seen lots of people start out the way he is. It is a road that leads to heartache, frustration and loss of lots of $$$.

Hope that doesn't seem harsh, but there is a ton or research/learning that has to go along with this hobby. You have come to the right place however...lots of good folks here who will answer your questions and give you advice.

Hang in there...it's an awesome hobby when done right!

[Kimberfish]

my choc chip ate all of my xenia when I first started going over to reef and wasn't educating myself before purchasing - he needs to do some research

[Twitterbait]

Originally Posted by Jnicho

What kind of nems under what type of lighting?...4 nems in a 75 is lot...most don't recommend any nems for at least six months...some of the harder species not for at least a year! So at five weeks I'd say you are way over the guidelines.

As for the star...he is probably a gonner...most all inverts, but especially stars, need 2-3 hours of drip acclimation or they will not survive.

Get your husband to take a step back and do some research...I assume he/you have had FW tanks before as his acclimation is typical for FW fish...THIS APPROACH ON SW FISH AND INVERTS WILL NOT WORK! Figure out how to approach him, because I've seen lots of people start out the way he is. It is a road that leads to heartache, frustration and loss of lots of $$$.

Hope that doesn't seem harsh, but there is a ton or research/learning that has to go along with this hobby. You have come to the right place however...lots of good folks here who will answer your questions and give you advice.

Hang in there...it's an awesome hobby when done right!

This is very true. Time to tell the spouse to slow down and read up before buying anything. your on the fast track to a crash if you don't catch a few things now. I would get rid of the star ASAP and then look at taking the anenomes back too. they will not do well in a tank that is not fully established.

[rookie reefer]

welcome to trt. Im new to this hobby as well and with my first tank i rushed it and had to spend more money weekly just to keep it looking decent. so with my second tank i am taking it slow and, now i spend money on it because i want to, not because i have to, also i am mmuch happer with taking it slow than rushing it.

this is what many people told me to show me the results of rushing " nothing ever happens fast in a reef tank besides a disaster" ... I wish you luck and hope you have fun in this hooby as i do.

[Doug1]

Welcome to TRT, not much more I can add to the advice already given, hopefully you can get him to sign on here and we can help get him on the right track, resulting in a nice tank thats not a constant struggle to keep going

[Jen's&Gil'sgoneReef]

If you go to saltwaterfish.com on the left hand side there is a video that shows how to drip acclimate. Go buy ur husband a book and tell him to slow down. I wasted LOTS of money so far, NOT on animals but on equipment because I didn't do my research before I started buying !!!!

As for the animals go slow. We are riping them out of the ocean we might as well do all we can to keep them alive and that takes time !!!

Good luck and ask lots of questions. thats how I'm learning!! What kind of nems do you have ??

[brandie2122]

5 weeks old seems way too soon to start adding anything to your tank. esp. anemones! the star will eat most of what you have when adding more to a reef. it is best in a FOWLR for sure. like suggested by Jnicho, drip acclimation is the best.