Starfish

So my wife has been wanted a starfish for our tank. I am not sure if it would be a good idea or not, obviously it needs to be reef safe and she doesnt want it to be much larger than about 1/2 the size of a typical palm of your hand. Also it needs to be able to easily be fed/eat whats available in the tank.

Im not sure if I can find such a starfish and explained to her it may not happen, but I figured its worth a shot. Anybody have any suggestions??

What about the species Fromia milleporella??

 

I've got a red thorny star in my 30 gallon reef. It is a small one, about the size of what your wife is requesting. Sure, I'm not past the 1 year mark yet, but more than halfway and it is still fine. I think that they might be a little more hardy than the fromia stars are.

Red Thorny Sea Star

I still have sponges, tubeworms, and featherdusters thriving, and as far as I can tell it has never touched a soft coral except perhaps my blue xenia, and while I can't tell if it has eaten blue xenia, I sure don't mind if it does .