How do chocolate chip starfish eat

One important thing to remember when caring for your Chocolate Chip Starfish is that any medication with copper is contraindicated as copper is toxic to starfish. Some of the things you should watch out for with saltwater inhabitants include ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite poisoning. Usually stemming from substandard water conditions, increased ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites from too much waste can be fatal to your Chocolate Chip Sea Star.

The front-line treatment for Ich is copper-based, so be sure to choose the copper-free alternative. Velvet has a similar presentation to Ich, but the spots are smaller and sometimes appear grey. Many non-prescription medications treat both Ich and Velvet. The best prevention for all the above diseases is maintaining an impeccable tank. Check water levels regularly, perform bi-weekly partial water changes, and invest in a quality filter.

You could also consider getting a cleaner for your tank. Tangs are good saltwater cleaners. Of course, Chocolate Chips themselves are great scavengers, so if you have one and your tank is still testing high, you may need to up your cleaning game.

Chocolate Chip Snails are not recommended for breeding in captivity. Curating your saltwater aquarium is a significant task. Whether the beautiful Chocolate Chip Starfish is the right fit for your aquarium will depend on what your needs are.

If you are rocking a gorgeous reef biosphere , the Chocolate Chip Starfish might not be the best choice. Truthfully, it is amazing to be able to look at a live starfish every day—they are very cool pets. Do you have a saltwater aquarium that you think would be great with a Chocolate Chip Starfish? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Fishkeeping World is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon. Aquarium Pets. April 20, Robert. July 20, Robert.

September 4, Robert. About Robert Articles. Robert Woods is the creator of FishKeeping World, a third-generation fish keeper, and a graduate in animal welfare and behavior.

Check out the profile page for pictures of this species in action cleaning a Yellow Tang. They are pretty hardy too and can be kept in groups or pairs. Turbo fluctuosa Turbo Snail A great snail for cleaning algae from the rock work and tank glass.

One per 20 gallons are so should be fine. Tridacna crocea Crocea Clam This saltwater clam comes in a variety of colors and needs high output lighting provided by either metal halides or T5's. Tridacna maxima Maxima Clam They get most of their energy needs from the zooxanthellae living within the mantle and need high intensity lighting over the tank.

Metal halide and T5's are recommended to keep these clams. From: Brandon After waking up this morning one anemone short, I now know that a Chocolate Chip Starfish will eat smaller anemones. Our boxfish mutilated our chocolate chip overnight. I found out that this is a common trait of boxfish. From: Eric My chocolate chip sea star ate my small colony of pulsing xenia. I noticed the starfish by the xenia when I left for work that morning but didn't think much about it When I came home from work, the xenia was pretty much completely gone and the starfish was propped on the spot where the xenia used to be.

I would of much rather had that pulse coral instead of this starfish. I should have researched this starfish more thoroughly before purchasing Thanks for letting me vent. We have not only heard others talk about this behavior see the pulsing xenia profile , but we have witnessed it too. It is unfortunate that you had to find out the hard way what the chocolate chip sea star is capable of doing. Thanks for posting your comments.

Of course, you should make sure you have a water tank large enough for fish this size, before entertaining the idea of adopting a chocolate chip starfish. This type of sea-star is ideal for a fish-only tank with living rock additions, as well , and will get along with most mild-mannered fish. This means that you have to take care of your chocolate chip starfish, making sure it is eating, as in stick around and see it eat.

Otherwise, if you just put enough food in the tank for all its inhabitants, you risk the other fish to get ahead of your chocolate chip friend and finish it all off before the starfish gets a chance to feed.

But, ideally, its diet should consist of meaty meals, such as chopped squid, shrimp, and mussels. To feed this starfish species, just scatter the chopped-up bits in the aquarium and wait for the starfish to move over the food. If other fish get to it first, you can also try lifting the starfish up as long as you do it gently and directly place it over the food. Also, keep in mind that these creatures sometimes rise to the surface of the tank of their own accord, and that is an ideal time to feed them.

They are likely to float with their mouths up, and then just let a little food slide towards them. As if you need another reason besides how cute they look, Starfish, in general, are very interesting and mysterious creatures, and the chocolate chip starfish perhaps most of all.

Science reports that it has pretty unusual relatives , as well. A chocolate chip starfish is easy enough to procure from most tank stockers, and also affordable.