Upon Arrival
Unpack the shipping container promptly. Specimens are usually packaged with seawater in a sealed plastic bag containing oxygen instead of air. Float the bag (still sealed) on the surface of the marine tank that you intend to put the organisms into for at least half an hour, so that they can gradually acclimate to the new water temperature.
Water Temperature
All of WARD’S marine echinoderms listed below are warm water marine organisms, and should be maintained from 72 – 80°F. If the room temperature that the tank is in does not stay within this temperature range day and night, or if it fluctuates more than 3– 4°F, then a water heater appropriate for your tank size should be used.
Water Quality and Conditions
Excellent water quality is required for the long-term maintenance of most marine echinoderms. Refer to the set-up or marine aquaculture guide that came with your marine aquarium for system start-up and maintenance instructions. Pay especially close attention to the instructions concerning biological load and establishment of a biological filter! In brief: add only a couple of hardy specimens in the first six weeks to a new tank, and then add only a few more specimens at a time, while you monitor ammonia and nitrite levels. Provide 25 – 50% water changes on a monthly basis; more often during tank break-in periods or when ammonia levels rise. Water specific gravity (salinity) should be checked and adjusted to s.g. 1.020 –1.024 on a weekly basis. The pH should be held steady in a range of 8.0 – 8.4 by using a calcium carbonate (crushed coral) gravel/filter media or else a water buffer specifically formulated for marine aquariums. Unless specifically noted, these organisms have no special lighting requirements.
Feeding
The food requirements for captive marine echinoderms are generally modest and simple. Follow the feeding table on the next page. If specimens become less turgid or decrease in size, first check all water quality parameters as outlined above, then consider increasing the amount or frequency of feedings, but don’t feed so much that the tank and water become dirty. Filter/adsortive feeders require high protein particulate (planktonic) infusion on a daily basis. Invertebrate Feeding Blocks consisting of a calcium carbonate buffer with embedded food particles are the easiest to use, since they dissolve slowly over 2–3 weeks. The best alternative is to feed your specimens with cultures of living microbes; samples of marine micro-algae or rotifers may be added to the tank daily if you culture them separately, and many well-established tanks can support an indigenous population of micro-algae if provided with enough light.
Marine Echinoderms Feeding Guide
| Organism | Foodstuff |
| Aiptasia Anemones | live or frozen brine shrimp, particulate infusion |
| Anemone-Cleaning Crab | small fish flakes and pieces, detritus from giant anemone |
| Brine Shrimp | particulate infusion |
| Cassiopeae Jellyfish | bright light (for symbiotic algae) particulate infusion, Tubifex worms |
| Flame Scallop | particulate infusion |
| Giant Sea Anemone | live or frozen brine shrimp, fish pieces weekly, particulate infusion, earthworms |
| Hermit Crab | fish pieces, [sinking] fish/crab pellets |
| Horseshoe Crab | fish pieces, [sinking] fish/crab pellets |
| Lettuce Slugs | algae, micro-algae on surfaces, sometimes prey upon small anemones and corals |
| Living Rock | particulate infusion, bright light for macroalgae/plants |
| Marine Snails | micro-algae on surfaces |
| Polychete Worms | particulate infusion |
| Sea Cucumber | small fish pieces, [sinking] fish/crab pellets |
| Sea Peach | particulate infusion |
| Sea Urchin | small fish pieces, [sinking] fish/crab pellets |
| Serpent Star | small fish pieces, [sinking] fish/crab pellets, microalgae earthworms |
This guide is also available in PDF format on wardsci.com.
