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goin2disneyland 
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Joined: March 06 2014
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 Topic: Starfish question.
Posted: January 26 2015 at 6:30pm |
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How many starfish are too many? My cute little brittle (?) stars have been busy. I moved some rock work around today and the starfish emerged from their homes. I have hundreds, if not thousands. They are all getting larger, now dime to penny sized. I just don't want to start a starfish war if I have too many.
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Bryce
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Joined: May 25 2012
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Posted: January 26 2015 at 7:17pm |
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What color are they?
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65g Reef
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goin2disneyland
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Posted: January 26 2015 at 8:00pm |
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They are black with gold stripes on their arms.
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eagleawd
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Posted: January 26 2015 at 8:44pm |
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I would love to have some of those, if you are not too far. Im in south Jordan.
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Pete Moss
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Posted: January 26 2015 at 9:00pm |
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I love micro brittle stars. I have never personally had any issues with them. I just enjoy watching their arms sway in the tank.
If there are lots of starfish, there is lots of food for them. They are scavengers and filter feeders to an extent. So they will compete with other scavengers. In my experience having them helps compete with bristleworms. I like the starfish far better the our spiny friends.
A population explosion can be a sign of excess feeding, or excess waste in the reef. Can you have too many? Ehhh, I've seen tanks with thousands of them flourish for years and years. I personally really like micro brittles.
If you are ever up north I would love some to seed my tank :)
Edited by Pete Moss - January 26 2015 at 9:02pm
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125g 90g 2x33g 34g
What stores do I recommend?
Up North: Bill ( Saltwater Paradise 801-317-8115 )
Down South: Jerry ( Reef On 801-563-0600 )
Member of GCFB
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Bryce
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Posted: January 26 2015 at 9:22pm |
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I agree with Pete and I'm sure lots of people would take some off your hands if you wanted to thin out your population, I've had these guys end up in pumps, reactors, skimmer, but they have never harmed anything.
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65g Reef
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goin2disneyland
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Posted: January 26 2015 at 9:53pm |
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Thanks. I love watching the arms sway in the current, but I didn't want to starve them. Next time I do a big water change I will try and capture some for you guys!
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 27 2015 at 12:19pm |
Or do what I do with the small white brittle stars that populate MarksReef Coral Farm. Use LR rubble that has plenty of holes, let them sit somewhere in the system for a month and give the rocks away. Utah Rock is perfect because it has tons of small holes. I give away Utah Rock rubble, the same stuff that all frags are mounted on.
Aloha, Mark  808-345-1049
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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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