I don’t normally support the capture and sale of creatures that don’t survive and thrive in captivity. That’s true of the reef, as well as everywhere else. Whenever possible, I purchase captive-bred specimens to minimize the impact on wild reefs, and I avoid bringing home any creature that won’t mix well with the existing ecosystem in my little reef. For that reason, I’ve mostly avoided feather stars–a filter-feeding crinoid from the family that also includes sea lilies. Crinoids have extremely specific, limited diets and typically starve to death in captivity. They’re beautiful, but delicate and hard to keep alive. Feather stars use
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A fishy fail – and win!
I was so busy preparing to leave for the Left Coast Crime conference in Monterey (I leave tomorrow) that I completely forgot to post an aquarium blog today. In semi-redemptive news, I went to the fish store to get the water I needed for a pre-conference water change (my husband will handle the feedings while I’m gone) and discovered the store had a lovely specimen of a rare and fragile species that doesn’t usually do well in reef tanks but for which my reef is unusually well-suited. A feather star. This is our new crimson feather star, who doesn’t yet have a
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