There are many different types of starfish for the salt water reef aquarium. One of the most common starfish in the saltwater aquarium trade are the Serpent Starfish . These Starfish are typically obtained for removing detritus and other aquarium wastes such as dead snails or fish, Serpent starfish are outstanding scavengers that make a great addition to any reef tank
Serpent Starfish are native to the Caribbean and their scientific name is Ophioderma. They thrive in an environment with temperatures in the 75-78F range and a salinity factor of the average reef aquarium from 1.023-1.026. They can get as big as 12 inches and are omnivorous scavengers. They scavenge the reefs live rock for waste as well as meaty foods such as decaying fish. Serpent starfish are mainly nocturnal and will do most of their scavenging at night however they can be active during the day especially if food is offered to them or your tank.
I have witnessed serpent stars can show aggressive behavior to smaller tank mates (gobies, blennies) when not properly fed or if the tank is so clean that they cannot scavenge anything. They often wave their tentacles around when food is in the water. If not enough food can be scavenged in your reef aquarium then it is suggested to supplement your serpent starfish with meaty foods ,silversides, krill or mysis shrimp are among favorites of my serpent starfish.
As with all salt water invertebrates; the use of copper medication in your reef tank is strictly forbidden, please keep tabs on all pH changes and avoid at all costs lifting starfish or any echinoderm into open air as it can get caught in their central disc and will eventually kill your starfish. Large amounts of rock work are a must for this species of starfish as they use it for shelter, food and safety. Drip Acclimation is required when first purchased.
The Video above is one of my serpent starfish reaching for a chunky piece of fish that I was feeding him, this particular starfish is approximately 10 inches long.
Out of all the difficult choices a reef aquarist has to endure when setting up a Reef Aquarium is deciding on what their aquarium will look like. Reef aquarium aquascaping is a pleasure to some and a pain to others, for me its a little bit of both. I have changed the look of my aquarium several (dozen?) times over the last five years and endured the pleasure and pain of the aquascaping experience.
If I had to tell a new reef aquarium hobbyist how to plan and change there reef aquascaping I probably couldn’t, after all beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I could, however, give some pointers on what should be done to provide a safe living environment for the new owners livestock.
First, Consider your coral and fish’s water flow needs, so that you can get a better understanding on how your live rock placement will effect your reef tank’s water movement. Live rock comes in all different shapes and sizes and if you are fortunate enough to live near a good fish store then you can usually hand pick the pieces that you want. But before you do all the live rock picking, you should come up with a plan for your rock placement. Live Rock should not be obtrusive in that it will block water movement but should be placed so that it will assist it, creating canyons, slopes, valleys and pillars will help assist this. To assist holding your live rock in place it is recommended that you superglue, putty (aquarium safe) or drill in PVC or plastic dowels into your rock work. While this is recommended by many reefers it is somewhat permanent and not necessary in most cases.
Keep in mind that certain corals have specific requirements that have to be met for the welfare of the coral, this usually include height and substrate placement. Also if you are going to have corals with sweeping tentacles then its important that they can not reach other corals. Always research your corals and make sure that they will fit your reef environment.
Here are a few examples of reef aquarium aquascaping.
Notice how on the above picture the rock work is not entirely laying on the sand.
The above picture I like to refer to as the Valley, this is an actual hobbyists reef aquarium and not an imaged picture.
Having proper water flow in your reef aquarium is extremely important to your reef’s health, especially when dealing with corals. It is so important that I would rate it up there with feeding, lighting and skimming. After all, proper water flow delivers food and removes waste from sessile organisms in the reef aquarium. Proper water flow also exchanges oxygen and keeps detritus suspended in the water column.
Getting the right type of water flow is often difficult to achieve in the reef aquarium because of all the options that are presented to us. On top of all the pumps, wave boxes and diy closed loop systems that you can utilize there is still the matter of placing this equipment in your reef aquarium so that you can reap the full benefit from it. Keep in mind that live rock and other obstacles in the aquarium can prevent proper flow throughout the reef aquarium if not set up correctly.
So what are the different types of water flow and how do us reef keepers use them?
Pretty simply there are two types of water flow for the reef aquarium that you should be concerned with. They are Laminar and Random. If you search on any online reef aquarium forum you may be able to find more in depth but not as practical ways of creating water movement. I say “not as practical” because most reef keepers will not be able to recreate these different water flow options as easy as the two mentioned above.
Laminar water flow is generally the easiest flow to create in the reef aquarium. laminar simply means one direction movement of water, as you probably guessed by now most submersible pumps and powerheads will produce laminar water movement. Laminar can get tricky, since it is a constant jet of water in one direction you will not be able to place corals directly in front of this stream. Most corals will not be able to last the powerful water jet and there flesh will eventually erode off there skeletons if exposed for long periods of time. Many reef keepers utilize powerheads and submersible pumps but do it in a fashion where it is less abrasive on corals, which brings me to Random flow.
Random water flow in the reef aquarium is hands down the best easily obtainable way of re-creating water movement similar to that of the natural reef. It is simply obtained by using laminar flow (powerheads, pumps etc..) against either obstacles such as the glass of the aquarium or against other laminar flow. Since there is no right way to create random flow in the reef aquarium because all reef aquariums are different, it is up to the reef keeper to try and test different ways to see which one is right for the aquarium. I personally like to direct two powerheads against one another (one on each side of the tank opposite of each other) to create this type of flow. I will then take another one and point it at the front pane of glass. The possibilities are endless with this type of water flow since there is no right way of doing it. Instead of using powerheads you may want to try a closed loop system which involves a large external pump and some diy (do it yourself) plumbing to avoid unsightly powerheads.
Which ever way you decide it is best to make sure that you don’t have any “dead spots” in the reef aquarium, dead spots are simply just spots in the aquarium with little to no water movement. These dead spots are where detritus will accumulate and if not removed can cause some problems with your reef aquarium’s water parameters.
So how do I know if my water flow is adequate?
Make sure that you have a good amount of movement in your aquarium, furthermore you should be able to create flow that will make your coral polyps extend and move around randomly.
