Necklace Starfish

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Widely distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific reefs, from the East African coast to Hawaii. Lives on shallow rocky and sandy reef substrates.

Taxonomy: Belongs to the Ophidiasteridae family, genus Fromia. Features a flat central disc with five triangular arms covered in beaded calcareous plates. Reaches a diameter of about 10 cm.

Social Behavior: Solitary and peaceful creature. Spends daylight hours slowly crawling over live rocks in search of bacterial biofilm and microalgae.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Displays a bright red or orange base body color with cream, pink, or red nodules along its arms, creating a pearl-like pattern. Sexes are externally indistinguishable.

Tank Setup: Demands a well-established reef aquarium (at least 6-12 months old) with plenty of live rock to provide natural grazing. Enclosure size should be at least 150 liters.

Diet and Feeding: Omnivorous scavenger. Feeds by scraping bacterial biofilm, microscopic algae, detritus, and small encrusting sponges from rocks. Rarely accepts prepared foods.

Water Quality: Requires strictly stable parameters. Salinity 1.023-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4, temperature 22°C-26°C. Zero tolerance for sudden changes in salinity or density.

Compatibility and Tankmates: 100% reef-safe. Compatible with corals and small peaceful fish. Avoid aggressive tankmates like pufferfish, triggerfish, or large predatory crabs.

Aquarium Breeding: Extremely rare in captivity. Reproduction is mostly sexual via gamete release, though asexual reproduction by fragmentation (autotomy) is theoretically possible.

Risks and Diseases: Highly susceptible to osmotic shock; requires a

very slow drip acclimation process: (at least 2-3 hours). Exposure to air can cause rapid tissue necrosis.