The hawk & the crinoid seastar

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I picked up a red feather seastar, now I know people say there hard to keep buy my lfs said it should be fine.. Now it's looking good so far, quite active really, only thing is my long nose hawkfish seems to like sitting on it lol could this be a bad thing or no harm done? The star doesn't seem to mind too much.
Other question is I have heard there are various fish and inverts that live in or around this star, kinda like the shrimp and goby kinda dependance thing, does anyoe know which species these are???

 

Good luck with keeping it alive as I know of no one that has kept one long term, they need a near constant supply of drifting marine snow (detritus) and plankton. Per the commensals, I have found Periclimenes commensalis to be the most common along with Laomenes spp. In the larger crinoids, it is also common to find a pair of Synalpheus stimpsoni living on the Crinoid's oral disc. The hawfish is probably not doing any damage/harm and simply finds the Crinoid a handy place to "perch", although I would not put it past the fish to go after any commensal shrimp that may be on the Crinoid, if it can spot them.

The Caridean Shrimp of the Central Visayan Islands

Chuck

 

well the guy at my lfs said he had kept a yellow feather seastar for over a year in his reef tank by simply squirting phyto, zooton and baby brine over it every 2-3 days and they have been right with everythin else so I trust him when he says it.. Well hopefully I can make it work because it's a beautiful creature.

 

Again, Good luck with it and I do hope you can keep it longer than "past a year" as I would not say that is considered long term at all. Have you been able to spot any shrimp living with the Crinoid? It would probably take a very keen eye to spot one though.

Chuck

 

when I first got it I noticed something that could have been a shrimp but it was only like 3mm long. So it was too small to identify, looked clear in colour nearly, could have been an isopod is it? But I can't see it anywhere now so something prob ate it.. I would love to get a squat lobster or crinoid shrimp to inhabit the star but is it even possible to buy them or are they just something that might come with one if your lucky?

 

No telling, could have been a worm also. Have never seen nor heard of any Crinoid associates up for sale, sorry.

Chuck