Starfish – also called sea stars, are a popular addition to saltwater tanks. They are eye-catching creatures and benefit home aquariums in many ways. Not only are they fascinating to watch, but some are also fantastic tank cleaners. Sea stars come in many colors – and each species has individual care needs. If you’re considering adding these unique inverts to your tank, take a look at this list of five things to know about keeping pet starfish.
1. Starfish Are Marine Invertebrates
Contrary to their name, starfish are saltwater invertebrates, not fish. They are part of the Echinoderm family, which includes sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers. It’s easy to recognize these creatures by their distinctive shape. They have at least five arms, although some species can have up to 40! Sea stars come in many vivid colors, including yellow, purple, and red.
Starfish are unique because they don’t ingest food. Instead, they eject their stomach from their body to engulf and digest their food. A sea star’s mouth is on its underside, at the center of its body, and it also has tiny, tubular feet. They use their feet to move around slowly and sift through sand for tasty morsels. Starfish are incredibly sensitive to pollution and environmental changes, so they aren’t ideal for first-time aquarium owners.
2. Starfish Thrive in Well-cycled Aquariums
If you want to keep pet starfish, you must provide them with the correct habitat and only introduce them to well-established saltwater fish tanks. New tanks don’t contain the beneficial bacteria that starfish need to survive. Starfish are intelligent creatures and need lots of space and mental stimulation. Even small species require at least 30 gallons, and it’s better if they have more space than their minimum requirements.
Starfish like to crawl across the tank floor, so they need a deep, soft, sandy aquarium substrate. You should create different textures along the bottom of the tank with rocks and decorations, but leave lots of bare areas. Many sea stars will sift through the substrate and don’t need aquarium plants. They may even uproot plants from the tank floor. Many aquarium keepers add coral to their starfish’s habitat because they help filter the water and provide a food source.
3. Starfish Have Specific Care Needs
Understanding starfishes’ care needs is crucial if you want them to thrive. With the correct care, they can live for around 10 years in captivity and grow from one to 12+ inches, depending on the species. The difficulty with keeping starfish is that they are super sensitive and need a pristine, stable environment. They may perish if tank parameters fluctuate or there are too many pollutants in the water. You must test tank parameters such as pH and temperature daily and the aquarium water weekly.
Each species has unique care needs, but sea stars generally need a water temperature of 74 – 80 F, and the pH varies between breeds. You must install a robust aquarium filter to help keep the water clean and change 10 to 25 percent of the fish tank’s water every two to four weeks. Many saltwater aquarium keepers use a protein skimmer with a filter to maintain the pristine water that starfish need to thrive.
4. Different Starfish Have Different Dietary Needs
The next thing you must know about keeping pet starfish is that each species has different diet requirements. Some species, like the chocolate chip starfish, are carnivorous, and you must spot-feed them meaty, live food such as shrimp or krill. You can feed them frozen food, but ensure it’s fully defrosted before feeding. Some spices are sea omnivores that enjoy a varied diet.
Starfish have flexible eating habits and are opportunistic scavengers that search the tank for leftovers and detritus. Some are algae eaters and help keep the tank and substrate clean. You must feed starfish every two to three days and never use copper or copper-based products in their tank because it is toxic to sea stars.
5. You Have Many Options When Choosing Starfish
The most popular starfish species for home aquariums include the chocolate chip and brittle starfish. There are over 2,000 types of sea stars, but not all suit domestic tanks. Each species has unique care needs, so you must choose one suitable for your existing setup. Some starfish are hardier than others, so if it’s your first time keeping them, pick one of the robust types.
Some starfish eat coral, so you must choose reef-safe species for coral tanks. They may also eat small, slow-moving tankmates such as mollusks, anemones, and other echinoderms. Sea stars can fall victim to predatory, aggressive pet fish species (such as puffers and triggerfish), so you must keep them with peaceful species.
Here is a list of the most popular starfish species for home aquariums:
- Chocolate chip
- Red marble
- Green brittle
- Sand-sifting
- Blunt spined
- Red knob
- Red linckia
- Red luzon
More Fascinating Facts About Starfish
Starfish are among the most distinctive marine creatures and undoubtedly brighten any saltwater fish tank. While it may not seem obvious, these invertebrates have intriguing anatomy and entrancing behavior. If you want to know more about these vibrant, unique animals, take a look at the fascinating facts about starfish below:
1. Starfish can regrow their limbs – they can detach their legs to escape from predators and will regrow new ones.
2. Some starfish can clone themselves – some reproduce asexually by cloning themselves. Some species split into two to create a new starfish, while others can produce a clone from only their leg.
3. They don’t have a brain, nervous system, heart, or blood – even without a brain, sea stars are super intelligent and have a vascular system to pump seawater around the body instead of blood.
4. Starfish have eyes – despite not having a brain, they have eyes at the end of their arms. They don’t have clear vision, but they can detect light changes, which helps them navigate, hunt, and hide.
