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Every species is checked against your display tank before it goes in the water.
How this works →How we check: each species' minimum tank size against your display volume, plus quantities and behaviour pairings between tankmates.


Sand-Sifting Starfish
Astropecten polyacanthus is an Indo-Pacific sand-dwelling starfish sold as a "sand sifting starfish" for plowing the substrateThe material covering the tank bottom, such as sand or gravel., but its biology makes it a poor long-term reef fit. It is an active carnivore, not a simple detritivore — its natural diet is live sand-bed infauna: small bivalves and gastropods swallowed whole, plus worms, copepodsA tiny crustacean that lives in the rock and sand; natural live food for many fish., amphipodsA small shrimp-like crustacean living in rock and sand; live food for many fish. and even other small sea stars — and it strips that population out of a home aquarium's sand bed far faster than the tank can replenish it. Once exhausted it typically burrows out of sight and starves, often unnoticed until it decays and fouls the water; it needs a large, mature tank with a substantial, well-established sand bed. It also carries tetrodotoxin in its tissues.
Care & compatibility guidance only — confirm this fish’s needs and temperament with your supplier before you buy. Disclaimer
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