Care: | Easy |
Temperament: | Peaceful |
Reef Safe: | No |
Max Size: |
15" |
Stocking: | 1 per 100 gallons |
The Chocolate Chip Starfish is one of the most widely available and easiest to keep starfish in the aquarium hobby. Once established, they are known to be very hardy, and unlike many stars, will accept most foods. They're named for the dull spiked nodules extended off the top of their bodies which are often colored deep chocolate brown. Combined with their tan base color, they resemble a living star-shaped chocolate chip cookie.
The Chocolate Chip Starfish is often purchased by beginners due to their low price and unique appearance, but there are several caveats that must be considered before purchasing. First, this is a truly large species, growing up to 15", so they must be kept in a similarly large aquarium. Second, they are extremely NOT reef safe, and will happily consume any living matter that they can crawl on top of. As such, they're best kept in large non-aggressive fish only systems. As with other invertebrates, they're intolerant of copper and rapid changes in water conditions, so should be acclimated carefully.
Chocolate Chip Starfish aren't known for being picky eaters, and will happily consume almost any meaty foods they can find.