Feather stars/Crinoids

[jolt26]

We see a lot of these sa Carti, being offered as an easy to keep animal, cleaning dirt daw, etc. Read this. It is effectively IMPOSSIBLE to keep in an aquarium. so stay clear!



http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rs/index.php

[philaquarist]

Yes Tito, I also saw a dying feather star once at Cartimar.

BTW there's a long feature article with great photos (plus the cover photo, to boot) on Feather Stars by James Fatherree in the August issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist. His message is exactly the same: don't even attempt to keep them in a home aquarium.

I wish we could somehow influence the divers/collectors (and ultimately the LFS) not to touch "impossible" livestock. I call it the "cut flower" syndrome. People buy "cut flowers" because they are a such pretty sight, but throw them away after a few days. This was the same situation for marine aquaria in the 1970's to 1980's. Nowadays, I would hope the creatures we keep in our aquaria would last much longer than "cut flowers".

But unfortunately, feather stars, nudibranches, and many other beautiful but impossible "cut flower" livestock are still sold at Cartimar, and worse, are bought by reefers (often innocently, sometimes out of ignorance).

Irresponsible action like this gives our hobby a bad name, and ultimately could provide the "excuse" for intervention, regulation and controls from government and environmental groups.

Phil

[tommy]