looking to get into sea stars need help for a beginner

[SumThinhWong]

what would you guys recommend my wifes been pushing me to get some stars but im not really sure which one would be ok for my reef tank. from what she told me i think she wanting a bright colored star like blue or orange linkia. need help to make sure it wont kill my sps and softies

 

[SumThinhWong]

if it helps my tank is a 72 bowfront 100+lbs of rock 130+lbs of live sand (4"- 5" DSB) mostly coral 4 fish - foxface rabbit, chromis, a.percula, purple basselet

 

[Charlie]

I agree with Matt. We've had marble stars, linkia, other decorative starfish and they seem to last about a year or less. A serpant star we got from another member does well and ventures all through the tank. I just bought two more serpant stars in a group buy. You might look at reefmike's reeftopia group buy if you are interested in getting a starfish at lower cost.

 

[Ashlar]

There are a lot hardier specimens than linckia and fromia. Ophiuroids (brittle / serpent stars) other than the green brittle are reef safe, hardy, and serve a valuable purpose in cleaning up any leftover food. I target feed mine, just to be sure they're getting enough to eat.

Stars are semi-rigid bags of water and valves. As such, they're very sensitive to changes in salinity. The best thing you can do to make sure a star survives the first month is sloooow acclimation. Drip acclimation for at least an hour is recommended.