Sand dollar info.
 

Hi, I was wondering about peoples experiences with sand dollar starfish. I was think of getting one however I can't seem to find much info. on them.

I was told they do not survive well....but ours is 2 yrs old and does a great job cleaning the sand. We will probably add a couple more as the new tank matures.

Scott

They are living well in my tank....does a very good job of sand sifting.

I bought one about a month ago. Promptly buried himself in the sand and hasn't been seen since. The spot where I plopped him in though appears cleaner than elsewhere, so I assume he's sand sifting, but really, between that and the hedgehog urchin I bought (who also buried himself in 30 seconds), I kind of wonder if that was the best reef dollars I've ever spent :neutral: - I caught a fleeting glimpse of the hedgehog about a week ago but even at that, it was a pretty sketchy "sighting." So .. um .. yeah: don't buy them for looks..

I had one for about 3 weeks. Looked great, ate something in the sand. Took him an entire day to get across my 5" tank. One day I noticed he didn't move and sure enough there were several polyclads stuck on eating him. He was already dead. I hate those things (giant flatworms).

I have heard they don't last long term but from what I could tell in the time I had one they find enough to eat in the sand bed. Very interesting creature. I would recommend a mature sand bed and not much competition.

Are the sand dollar starfish and the sand sifting starfish the same thing?

nope two different things

ok, because I think these people are giving advice of the sand SIFTING rather than sand DOLLAR stars. Just getting a little confused! :redface:
The OP was asking about sand Dollars.

here's a pic of mine when I first got it.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...7/IMGP1883.jpg

Not sure if you meant me, but I definitely referring to a sand dollar with my comments.