starfish and salinity

Leprichon

Id like to get a starfish...I see that most are apparently "very sensative to changes such as salinity"...I have a 72 bowfront with a 3 gal sump...evaporation is my only concern with regard to salinity (especially this time of yr)...I usually let the salinity climb to about 1.027 and then do a water change and bring it down to about 1.023...maybe this is done about every 6 days or a week or so...doesn't seem to be a prob for my sea horses or coral, but would this be a problem for starfish?...if so what should i change? (auto top off?, other?)...

Pasfur

Starfish in general are extremely difficult to maintain for dietary reasons. Some authorities today will tell you that they are impossible to maintain in captivity and only appear to "live" for a year or longer because their metabolism is very slow and the starve to death extremely slowly.

That being said, if you are maintaining Sea Horses, which are equally difficult, I think you are ready for a starfish challenge. In terms of salinity, I would recommend an auto top off if you are not available to replace evaporation on a regular basis.

njudson

Whether you decided to get a starfish or not I think you tank will be much better off with daily top off of RODI water maintaining a constant salinity. My auto topoff has made life much easier.

Leprichon

Ive heard some starfish are more tollerant to changes in salinity etc...I havent been able to find out which ones yet?