Is a sand sifting star bad for a sand bed??

[lerch]

I just wanted to get some other peoples opinions on this. I was recently told that the sand star i just put in my nano would eat my sand bed dry of good and bad stuff and leave it sterile. is this true???

thanks
steve

[Trickster]

not in mine I have 2 in 120g 2yr old.

[TimH07]

it will devistate all of your sand bed fauna, they are carnivores and really if kept only suited for a 300+ gallon tank, i did alot of reading on them AFTER i bought one and i took it back.

unless you just want sand and no life in it...

[Ninong]

I was recently told that the sand star i just put in my nano would eat my sand bed dry of good and bad stuff and leave it sterile. is this true???

Yes, it's true. Not only that, it won't survive very long in a 12-gal nano tank because it won't find enough of the right stuff to eat. These sea stars are not surface scavengers. They eat tiny microcrustaceans, polychaetes and other sand bed infauna that populate the top 1" layer of the sand bed.

It usually takes months for them to waste away but without access to the right diet items, they will eventually die in a small tank.

Sorry.