Red Fromia Starfish

[honeyb627]

At some point, I'd really like to pick-up a Red Fromia starfish, I was reading the other day on a couple of sites such as bluezooaquatics that they need a very well established aquarium of no less than a year...

I was wondering if from anyone's experiences here that is a solid rule to follow? or if an aquarium of less time, such as 6 months was adequate for the Fromia starfish? :fish:

 

[hackman72]

check with Jenn at Imagine Ocean. If I remember right she sells them.

 

[honeyb627]

Hackman72;479931 wrote: check with Jenn at Imagine Ocean. If I remember right she sells them.

Funny enough that's where we first saw it... ever since it's been on my wish list :yay:

 

[jennm]

I don't have any ATM but I do get them in when I can. Like any echinoderm, careful acclimation is a must - ALL along the chain of custody (from collector to hobbyist). I have a good source for them and I have had good success in the shop, with ones I've sold, and I keep one at home in my seahorse tank.

I've seen some "bad press" that they are hard to keep - I don't think so - but acclimation issues are the biggest problem with them, or if the keeper has a sudden parameter shift. Stable pH and specific gravity are a must - which is probably why "more mature" tanks are recommended - as the hobbyist has worked out the kinks in his/her maintenance regime by the time the tank is "mature".

I put one in a couple of months or so after I got my seahorse tank up and running again - granted I put it together with mature rock from other systems (that accelerated the "maturation" process conisiderably).

I think they are great little sea stars - they don't get too big, they are colorful, and they are active. Mine may sit in one spot for several days (probably because it has landed on a food source) then it will move around the tank quite a bit until it finds another "spot" to hang out in for a while.

Like I said - acclimation is the key. I recommend a 2 hour drip with any echinoderm.

Jenn

 

[honeyb627]

@ Jenn

Perfect, those are the things I needed to hear, laughs... just trying to mentally plan and figure out what is going to where... once we get the 55gal moved into the 92gal when it's all finished up, I'd like to put a red fromia in there at some point, but the websites started scaring when I was researching them, but then other websites, made them seem like most other sea creatures...

I'll definitely be letting you know when we're ready, the one you had there on our first ever trip to Imagine was just so beautiful!

 

[jennm]

Really I've never had any unusual issues with them - if they were "rental items" (thinks that an average hobbyist can't keep for any length of time without success) I wouldn't carry them, let alone have one in my tank. I put mine in my tank around October I think.

Jenn