Red Bali Starfish

L

lacybiker2000

Has anyone ever kept one of the tiny Red Bali Starfish (Fromia milleporella)? The True Percula had a few in two of their front smaller display tanks. I thought they were so beautiful and would like to know how to care for them, how hardy are they, what do they eat? Thanks in advance
 
Fromia are definitely easier to keep than Linckias. We used to have one. They eat film algae as well as the occasional diatom, and I saw ours eat a loose piece of nori that happened to land under him.

That being said, I'd wait til I had a mature tank (8 months minimum) with lots of live rock. We added ours too soon and I think he starved.
 
Personally, I would say they are not particularly easier, and I would not count on all taking to spot feeding. But that is my opinion. If they take to spot feeding, I don't see why it would starve. I would still suggest a good 100+ lbs of LR, personally, and definitely a mature tank. Most will still die in 12-18 months, like Linckia, of starvation. Most I see are dying at the LFS, of acclimation shock.

Their diet is unknown, like Linckia, and thought to contain more sponge, but they may be surface film feaders (not so much algae perhaps, but the ecosystem that is sustained by that - microbial films, ciliates, etc).

I would not let the small size fool you into thinking they can go into small tanks. Like Linckia, IMO at least, most will die in smaller tanks.

Ashlar - can you give more specs on tank size, amount of LR, and when it died? It would be interesting to know....was it the tank you have specs posted for? That tank would definitely be suitable for such a star.
 
This was a 6 month old 175g (same tank I have now), with about 200 lbs of rock (at that time).. I had just started seeing sponges growing, and hitchhiker corals had just started to pop up. It was a transplant from a friend's nano (I'm the one who told him that it was waaaay too small for it.) Slow acclimation on his part initially, slow acclimation on mine (1.024 vs 1.026).

The only reason that I thought it was eating film algae is that I actually saw star shaped gaps in films. Regarding the nori, he was actually up against the glass and I saw nori disappear. (Whether he was eating the nori or some unidentified substance on it, I'll never know.)

I think Tom (Dalaitom) has one that he's had for over two years, and I know a few folks who've had one for over a year.
 
I hope they chime in, because I would be interested to hear about tank specs.

How long was it in the nano, and then in your tank? In theory, it was starving in the nano...and if not transferred soon enough, it may have been hard to turn it around. It is also conceivable that in such a state, it may eat stuff it would not normally turn to.

That is very a very interesting observation, I would love to hear a bit more! Thanks!
 
Unfortunately, the person I got him from was taking down the nano and eventually getting out of the hobby, so I don't know how long it had been there (he donated it to me with some xenia that I was purchasing.)
 
@Ashlar wrote:
I think Tom (Dalaitom) has one that he's had for over two years said:
I have a Blue Linkia that's been in my tank for over two years. It's in a 215 gal (7 ft. long) tank. The tank is setup "room divider" style. It contains several hundred pounds of live rock. I go thru extra effort for the benefit of the starfish. For example...I only clean algae from the glass in small areas at a time and always on the far side from the starfish. I also rotate rocks from the non-starfish areas of my system into the display. I've made extra effort to have a variety of sponges living on my rock too and my linkia has definitely been observed lingering in those areas for extended periods of time. Whether or not it was eating them, I don't know.
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@tradosz wrote:
Any vortec said:
I've got four Koralia 4's in my tank and don't believe the pumps suction is great enough to trap the starfish. I've actually seen the starfish "escape" from the Koralia on several occasions with no ill effects and without ever seeming to be in any danger. I have heard of the Vortec devouring a starfish but never the Koralias.

[Edited to add:]
My starfish is about 7" from tip to tip. I would be concerned about the Koralias if it was a smaller starfish.
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