Chocolate Chip Sea Star - Protoreastor nodosus - Chocolate Chip Sea Star

Taxonomy: Chocolate Chip Sea Star belongs to the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Echinodermata, Class Asteroideas, Family Oreasteridae, Genus Protoreastor and Species nodosus.

Scientific names: The scientific name of Chocolate Chip Sea Star is Protoreastor nodosus.

Other common names: Chocolate Chip Sea Star is also commonly known as Sea Star, Nodular Sea Star and Chocolate Chip Starfish.

Origin or natural range: Protoreastor nodosus originates from the Indo-Pacific region including the Red Sea.

Size: Chocolate Chip Sea Star may grow up to a size of around six inches or fifteen centimeters.

Color: Protoreastor nodosus occurs in Cream, Tan, Brown, Yellow, Red, Blue, White and Orange colors.

Aggression: Chocolate Chip Sea Star is aggressive towards the marine aquarium invertebrates.

Compatibility: Protoreastor nodosus is not reef compatible.

Venom status: Chocolate Chip Sea Star is non-poisonous in nature.

Habit & Habitat: In its natural habitat, Protoreastor nodosus is found on shallow reef areas, generally seventy-five feet deep from the sea surface.

Hardiness: Chocolate Chip Sea Star is Hardy.

Life expectancy: Protoreastor nodosus lives for over five years to seven years.

Morphology:

• The dorsal surface of Chocolate Chip Sea Star is bumpy or knobby due to projected spines or tubercles running along the length of each of the sea star’s five arms. The projections are marked in a deep and distinct color.
• Protoreastor nodosus is unisexual. There are however, no significant morphological differences in the male Chocolate Chip Sea Star and its female counterpart.

Growth enabling environment in your marine aquarium: Aquarium habit & habitat:

• Tank type: To host Chocolate Chip Sea Star, you should have a Fish Only Marine Aquarium with a minimum water capacity of thirty gallons.
• Aquarium set-up: Keep Protoreastor nodosus with peaceful fish.
• Temperature of water: Seventy-two to seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit.
• Specific gravity of water: 1.023 to 1.025.
• pH of water: 8.10 to 8.40.
• Acclimation: Slowly acclimate Chocolate Chip Sea Star to your marine aquarium’s environment using the Slow Drip Method. The slow acclimation process of Protoreastor nodosus takes a minimum time period of two hours.

Feeding & Nutrition:

• Diet: Chocolate Chip Sea Star is Carnivorous in feeding habit.
• Food content: Protoreastor nodosus eats detritus, algae and the meaty bits of seafood. Chocolate Chip Sea Star also catches preys such as, oysters, tube worms, other starfish, crustaceans, corals, sea anemones, sea urchins, small fish and other small sessile and slow moving marine invertebrates.
• Supplements: Youcan supplement the diet of Protoreastor nodosus with the meaty bits of clams, squid and shrimp.
  Breeding: Chocolate Chip Sea Star does not generally breed in captivity.
  Benefits: Protoreastor nodosus eats detritus and therefore, prevents your marine aquarium’s water from getting contaminated by the perishable organic waste matter in it.

Care:

• Chocolate Chip Sea Star is moderately difficult to maintain.
• Sudden fluctuations in the pH and the temperature of your marine aquarium environment may give pH shock and temperature shock, respectively, to the Protoreastor nodosus therein.
• Copper in any form in your marine aquarium may prove lethal for Chocolate Chip Sea Star in it.
• Do not keep Protoreastor nodosus with Triggerfish.
• Dispensing any anti-parasitic chemical in your reef tank’s water can be harmful for the health of Chocolate Chip Sea Star.

FREE SHIPPING on order over $500 on all Fish, Corals, Inverts, Package Deals, and Live Reptiles excluding Live Rock, Sand, and Natural Sea Water! If order under $500 Shipping Charge will be calculated base on the actual shipping weight. All livestock orders are shipped via Next Day Air. If other shipping method is chosen we will modify the shipping method. Live Rock and Sand are ship using 2nd day service. Dry goods, Aquarium Supplies, and Reptile supplies are ship using ground service unless Specified. All livestock orders must be shipped overnight via UPS or FEDEX Priority Overnight to reduce transit time. Orders generally ship within 1-2 business shipping days. All LiveStock are shipped Wednesday and will be deliver Thursday Morning. You will receive a confirmation email with your tracking number when your order has shipped. How much is Saturday delivery? Saturday delivery must be made by special request by email or phone. Saturday delivery is an extra $26 charge. Availability In the interest of meeting your schedule, if 70% of your order is in stock, it will be shipped. Any missing items or substitutions will be marked on your order and your total will be adjusted accordingly. If you would prefer to be contacted if we are missing items, please let us know when placing your order in the comment field. However, this may delay your order. Due to the nature of our products, we cannot backorder live animals. SHIPPING AND BILLING ADDRESSES: If your shipping address is different from your credit card billing address, please make sure your card issuer has listed this shipping address as an "authorized" address. We verify all addresses with VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Signature Required UPS generally requires a signature for delivery. You or someone authorized by you, must be present to sign for a shipment if you choose to have it delivered to your home or office. Arrive Alive Guarantee Under the following circumstances we WILL NOT be able to honor our warranty:

• Orders not received on the first delivery attempt.
• Orders not held for pick up at the FEDEX/UPS facility when temperatures are greater than 90 degrees or lower than 40 degrees.
• Orders placed during extreme weather will not be cover under our alive arrive guarenteed.
• If the weather delay a flight, or closes an airport, you live stock will be delayed. Fedex has no control over the weather, nor does Freshmarine.com.
• If your Live Stock is delay, Damaged, or Never Delivered due to severe weather condition, Fedex will not honor GUARANTEES, and therefore neither can Freshmarine.com.

FreshMarine.com only ships within the continental U.S. excludes Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico