Pentaceraster mammillatus

(Audouin, 1826)

Common Knobbed Star, Multicolored Knobbed Sea Star

Range: Indian Ocean: Red Sea, Madagascar, South Africa to Singapore.

Size: 6 inches (15 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits sandy and muddy bottom areas.

General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the home aquarium trade.

Should only be maintained in fish-only aquariums, and fed daily with small pieces of fish or mussel flesh.

This species star will eat any other invertebrates in the aquarium, and also possibly sleeping fishes.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Echinodermata

Class: Asteroidea

Order: Valvatida

Family: Oreasteridae

Genus: Pentaceraster

FYI: Vulnerable to sudden salinity/specific gravity changes.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Diet: Carnivore

Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium

Coral Safe: No

Fish Safe: With caution

Invertebrate Safe: No

Acclimation Time: Sensitive to specific gravity/salinity changes, therefore be sure to adjust the bag's water to that of the aquarium in which it will be placed by slowly adding small amounts of aquarium water to the bag every few minutes. In most cases, this process should take at least 15 minutes.

Aquarium Hardiness: Moderately difficult

Temperature Range: 72 - 83°F (22 - 28°C)

Minimum Tank Size: 100 gallons

Specific Gravity: 1.023 - 1.025

pH: 8.0 - 8.4