Sand shifting Star Fish

[Peter Pan]

I introduced a sand shifting starfish today into my tank and he pretty much
vanished into the sand. I figure this is normal, a new animal in a tank,
usually hides until he is comfortable with his new surroundings. I want to
purchase some red claw hermits and an emerald crab to help with the Algae.
Are these crabs compatible with the star fish or will they look at the
starfish as their lunch?
Thanks for your help.

[Warren Bailey]

Ive recently introduced 12 Nassarius snails into my tank to try and solve
the dirty looking sand problem I have. Ive never liked those sorts of
starfish as they eat all the good critters and can even take fish. Cukes ive
brought in the past just seem to climb up to the top of the tank, find a
fast flowing bit and stay there!

They burrow about in the sand looking for food and you can see the sand
moving about slightly at the top. When I put food in the tank they all pop
up and zoom around (there really fast) looking for stuff to eat.

I have to say im really impressed even after 1 week they have cleaned up my
sand and im off to get more to bring the stocking level up to the
recommended level.


Ill paste what my local fish shop says about them:

Nassarius are a small snail that has become almost legendary, for its
voracious appetite and its sand burrowing activities. They are highly
recommended by leading commentators like Dr Ron Shimek. In fact even we were
amazed at their grazing ability and appetite, they are a preferred grazer to
red leg crabs by many, as they consume the waste only and not the micro
fauna that inhabits deep sand beds. Also by using Nassarius as a replacement
or alternative to red legs you save the problems of Red Legs predating
snails. Once they have eaten their fill they will bury themselves in the
sand, with just their proboscis showing waiting for more waste to fall to
bottom. This action also helps in keeping sand beds in movement and forms an
essential part of a deep sand ecosystem. Highly rated use at the rate of 1
per two gallons. You may want to check out this link for more information.*

HTH

Warren



On 26/3/05 2:26 am, in article , "Peter
Pan" > wrote:

> I introduced a sand shifting starfish today into my tank and he pretty much
> vanished into the sand. I figure this is normal, a new animal in a tank,
> usually hides until he is comfortable with his new surroundings. I want to
> purchase some red claw hermits and an emerald crab to help with the Algae.
> Are these crabs compatible with the star fish or will they look at the
> starfish as their lunch?
> Thanks for your help.
>
>