Chocolate Chip Sea Star

About

Found across sandy flats and seagrass beds of the Indo-West Pacific, Protoreaster nodosus is one of the most recognizable sea stars in the marine hobby. It goes by several common names in the trade, chocolate chip sea star and horned sea star among them, earned from the dark, spine-tipped nodules arranged across its reddish-brown or tan body. Those knobs are not just decorative; they give this animal an almost prehistoric look that draws a lot of attention in fish store tanks. In the wild it roams shallow coastal areas, turning over substrate and consuming pretty much anything it can engulf. Sponges, coral tissue, mollusks, detritus, and slow-moving invertebrates. That opportunistic feeding habit is the main reason it earns an intermediate care rating and why experienced keepers recommend thinking hard before adding one to a reef setup. It will eat coral, clams, and other sessile invertebrates without hesitation. A large, established system with a deep sand bed and plenty of natural food sources suits it better than a sparse or newly cycled tank. Handle it carefully and keep it fully submerged during any transfers, as air exposure is genuinely harmful to this species.