Chocolate Chip Starfish Question, fdg.   07/23/09
Dear Crew,
I have recently purchased a Chocolate Chip Starfish and was told that I needed to buy some frozen or prepackaged meat (shrimp or clam) to feed it, at least until my fish tank began providing it with enough "natural"
nourishment (10 gallon with two Percula Clownfish and a live rock). The only kinds that I could find available in my area were canned and thus contained preservatives (salt and citric acid). Is this still safe to feed my CCS?
<I would not risk it. Is there not a petstore near you? Almost all pet stores sell at least some kind of frozen meaty aquarium food. If not, your other options are fresh food (shrimp/clam), or to order some from an online
aquarium store. But please be careful with feeding these things. Your tank is very small. With two clowns and this starfish, you could easily poison your tank with too much food.>
Amanda
<Best,
Sara M.>

Chocolate Chip Starfish, fdg.    5/11/09
Hey guys,
First let me say that I spend a lot of time on your site and can not list the number of disasters your years of experience have provided. I'm relatively new to the hobby and with nearly pathological devotion to
education in the subject *my significant other might disagree on the accuracy of "nearly" pathological* I would like to say that the wealth of information has been crucial. Awhile back I posed an inquiry and got some feedback regarding chocolate chip starfish. The information was helpful and pointed me in the right direction but to date I've been unable to find a definite recommendation for the actual process of feeding chocolate chip starfish. That said, when I saw the article on them in The Conscientious Aquarist I was delighted. I just wanted to mention what had worked for me and see if this was a common thing or if my starfish are just weird.
It was suggested that if possible I should not actually pick them up and set them on food. Unfortunately, I have some rather brave fish and nothing I set near the starfish was actually making it to them. I went
out and bought a concave feeding platform to try and set them in with as little contact as possible and to hopefully deter the fish from stealing their food. This was a bit disastrous as it actually seemed to point the fish in the direction of trying to eat the starfish as well. After several weeks of trying different techniques I started to notice that when I put the frozen (and unthawed) shrimp in the system the starfish would lift their arms up and some of it would make it to them. Eventually, I found that my starfish have made a habit of spending their time near the surface of the tank every once in a while and after I add a bit to the tank they actually crane their bodies, providing a perfect living shelf for me to put the food in. As a result, they're able to eat whatever I then put on their oral surface.
Since I figured this out they've gone from dull and thin to a more lively tan/brown and gotten substantially thicker.
I wrote for two reasons. First, there are so few things I haven't been able to find on your site but this experience was one that I could imagine saving hobbyists concerned who are concerned for the well being of their wards a lot of stress and time. Second, I'm more than a little curious if this is something seen regularly among keepers of chocolate chip starfish or an aberration.
Thanks again, Brenton
<Hello Brenton. Nice feeding method you developed. In my experience they come to the water surface regularly to feed on the biofilms developing at the water/air interface. The picture with the star eating an algae wafer found in the article was made the same way as you feed your star, so your starfish are not weird, but appear to be well trained. Gently lifting the Chocolate Chip Star and putting it onto a piece of food is not dangerous and is done without damage in the long run, so it can be seen as an alterative to those unwilling to wait until their stars come the water surface. The best feeding method in my opinion still is to provide a tank with enough biofilms, benthic life they can feed on, because this resembles the natural food most closely. Thanks for your input, I am sure it might help others. Cheers, Marco.>

Feeding a chocolate chip starfish, reading    2/22/09
I have two chocolate chip starfish in a 135-gallon tank. Both seem to be doing well, but there isn't a lot of algae in the tank for them to eat, and they nearly always stay on the walls.
<?...>
I've read about the necessity of hand-feeding them chunks of scallops, shrimp, etc, but can't see how to do that when they're up on the walls.
Advice? I'd hate to think I am slowly starving them.
Thank you,
Sharon
<Uhh, they don't eat algae... Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/ccstarfdgfaqs.htm
and likely the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Re: Feeding a chocolate chip starfish   2/22/09
This is what I'd read before on the web site (I'd read all the references to them I could find):
"I did use the Tetra Tabs and stuck them on the glass near the star and he soon found them. You could try putting a small piece of clam or shrimp on the bottom, then place the star over the food. Do the last method if the star is on the bottom, don't pull him off the glass if he is on there, you may damage the locomotion tubes. James (Salty Dog)
and this:
I have a heavy growth of green and red algae which the star snacks on and I feed him small amount of freeze dried brine shrimp every 2 days or so. Is this enough food to keep him healthy? <I'd say this is not an adequate diet for this creature and this
They are carnivorous and voracious--direct feeding with chunks of marine meats (fish, shrimp, squid, shellfish, etc.) will be needed, though they do scavenge."
All of that led me to believe they've been eating algae and whatever they find on the floor of the tank -- but as I say, they are nearly always on the glass, near the top or middle of it -- thus I couldn't figure out how to get other food to them. (And I wasn't positive what the reference to Tetra Tabs was.) I'd read all the info on the site about them but still felt confused about how to direct feed them when I don't see them down on the sand. I've tried putting small chunks of food down there, but they've gone uneaten (and thus removed, of course). So ... if you have any other advice, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks,
Sharon
<Thank you for this well-thought out, well-composed response. I think you should investigate the "glass crawling" behavior here... These stars do such "escape-like" movements for reasons that are at times hard to discern... but it is indicative of less-than-satisfactory circumstances in the system (see pix of this species in the wild... it is almost always encountered on sand). I suspect something is amiss water-quality wise... and would move this animal to another system (established) if you have such. Otherwise... do send along data... water quality test results, a list of other livestock and how it appears to be doing, and a brief history of this set-up... Perhaps "something" will jump out in our awareness. Bob Fenner>

Re: Feeding a chocolate chip starfish   2/23/09
I'm out of town right now and thus can't pass along water tests, but when my husband tested last week he said all was fine. The stars have been almost exclusively on the glass since we bought them 2 months ago;
<... again... unnatural. A bad sign... Did you read where you were referred?>
I wasn't writing initially because I had concerns about their health (they move about a good bit and hadn't shown other signs of distress) -- I'd just wanted to be sure I was doing right by them with food. Now I'm more concerned and will see what to do when I get home (I do not have another system to put them in).
The tank also has 2 clowns, 1 yellow tang, 1 cleaner wrasse,
<A poor choice for captivity>
1 6-line wrasse, 1 yellow-tail damsel, 4 3-stripe damsels, 1 royal gramma,1 neon velvet damsel, 1 fridmani Dottyback, 1 midas blenny and some tiny hermit crabs. All the other fish are fine, and no one seems to bother the starfish.
So, I'll investigate further when I get home; if something else occurs to you meanwhile, please let me know.
Thanks much,
Sharon
<Real good. B>

Chocolate Starfish/Health. fdg.   11/26/08
<Hi Peter>
I have read thru the FAQs and have seen some mention of white spots and other problems combined, however, I was not able to find exactly what I was looking for. I have had a 25 gal tank set up since June and have had my
CCS since the beginning. Yesterday, I noticed it started to develop white spots all over it and he is still active in the tank. Water change done 3 days ago and all tests where good. I have never feed him anything but what he has
found on his own (as per the pet shop owner). Any idea what could cause this and is there any help for him?
<Nutrition is more than likely what caused this. The pet shop owner misinformed you of the care needed in maintaining this starfish. This starfish needs to be fed at least once a week. Read here and related FAQ's. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/seastars.htm>
Thanks,
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Peter

Starfish Feelers Ripped off   9/22/08
Hello, I am new to the site and love it! <Glad you found us.> I have a question about a chocolate chip starfish. I was trying to feed it and pulled it to hard and some of it's feelers on were ripped off. I feel terrible and was wondering is he is going to be okay or if there is something I should do?
<It will heal and be fine, try not to force feed it in the future. Putting the food just underneath the edge of the center should be enough. If it is hungry it will move to the food itself.>
Thank you so much!
<You're welcome. Jessy>  

Starfish stomach 9/23/08 Hi, Just a quick note to say how informative and helpful your site is! I would like to share a couple of interesting pictures of a chocolate chip starfish eating a peppermint shrimp. The pictures clearly capture the stars ejected stomach . thanks, Renea <Mmm, yes... are predaceous. Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>