# Marine Aquariums > Marine Fish >  Crinoid Feather sea star

## Gary R

Went out yesterday and got myself a Crinoid Feather Sea Star, or Feather Starfish, which has vivid colors; yellow, red, black, and patterned. It has up to 40 arms with hundreds of pinnulesi, which give the appearance of a feather.
Although usually nocturnal, some Feather Starfish are diurnal. The Crinoid Feather Sea Star feeds on plankton in the current and will seek a secluded, shaded spot. When night falls, it will climb out to find a good location to catch the current and the plankton it carries. The specialized feeding requirements may make it difficult to house in a reef aquarium, but it will not bother any other organisms of the reef. Since it needs to be heavily fed with plankton, an excellent protein skimmer and numerous water changes will be required to maintain proper water quality.
When stressed, it can break off pieces of its arms and cirri. It will usually regenerate the missing pieces fairly quickly in the wild, but in the home aquarium, it will be less likely to do so. The Feather Starfish is particularly susceptible to sudden changes in pH levels. It is sensitive to high levels of copper-based medications and will not tolerate high nitrate levels.
It is extremely difficult to breed in an aquarium with no distinguishing characteristics to help differentiate it from its mate.
The Crinoid Feather Sea Star requires multiple feedings each week of liquid plankton foods for invertebrates.

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## plankton

they are stunning starfish 

but a bit hard to keep 

wish you luck with it gary

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## Nicky M

> The Crinoid Feather Sea Star feeds on plankton


I wouldn't be going near Gary's tank then Simon!

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## Anne

its a very nice starfish...any chance of a frag !!

if its like asterinas, they cast a leg and it regenerates into a new one !

PS gary only got his hands on it coz it was so well camouflaged I thought it was part of the coral  :Smile:

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## Gary R

> PS gary only got his hands on it coz it was so well camouflaged I thought it was part of the coral


Lmao i saw it the week before .... and no one else knew about it  :Stick Out Tongue:

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