Brittle Stars/Serpent Stars

[MOT]

heyall, I got a serpent star from a friend when I first set up my 40 gallon reef. It is pretty darn big; bigger than my hand. I see that they are recommended as excellent sand bed cleaners and for eating uneaten fish food. I have never not had one but I tend to think he does a good job of cleaning. However, I had a sixline wrasse that was perfectly healthy one day and then gone the next. I thought that maybe he had gotten sucked into the skimmer because I had rescued my lawnmower blenny out of the overflow box a couple of times. The skimmer is a CPR bakpak2R with the attachable surface skimmer box. Then the lawnmower blenny dissappeared. I chalked it up to the surface skimmer box not having any teeth on it to keep fish out. Then I started to read more about serpent stars. Apparently at night they have been known to arch their center pod area up creating a little cave that a fish might swim under...then they drop on the fish and eat them. I thought that the wrasse and the blenny might both have been good candidates for this trap considering they both sit on the sand bed. So I'm think I ought to get rid of this serpent star...but is he an irreplacable cleaner? Should I get a small one? maybe not as dangerous? Anybody else experience this? Any ideas what to replace him with? All of that aside they are very cool to watch, but maybe for a tank with bigger fish. ~Tom

[stevil]

Brittle Stars murder and eat fish... Small ones turn into big ones that murder and eat fish. I had one that ate 3-4 of my fish before I figured it out.

 

Serpent stars are generally ok from what I understand. I have two and they haven't eaten any fish.

[jamal]

could a brittle star eat mandarins or would it? i know mandarins have oily skin so i was wondering if they would be as appetizing to the brittle star

[rioreef]

I have a large green brittle star (at least 15" across the arms) living in my sump. I can bring it to the meeting if anyone wants to buy it.

[flowerseller]

How new is your tank and how long did you have these fish?

 

I have 6 serpent stars that have been with me for 12 or more years.

They even eat flake food.

[jamal]

i had the tank for 3 mths and i had the fish for like 2 weeks

Edited March 16, 2007 by jamal

[lanman]

heyall, I got a serpent star from a friend when I first set up my 40 gallon reef. It is pretty darn big; bigger than my hand. I see that they are recommended as excellent sand bed cleaners and for eating uneaten fish food. I have never not had one but I tend to think he does a good job of cleaning. However, I had a sixline wrasse that was perfectly healthy one day and then gone the next. I thought that maybe he had gotten sucked into the skimmer because I had rescued my lawnmower blenny out of the overflow box a couple of times. The skimmer is a CPR bakpak2R with the attachable surface skimmer box. Then the lawnmower blenny dissappeared. I chalked it up to the surface skimmer box not having any teeth on it to keep fish out. Then I started to read more about serpent stars. Apparently at night they have been known to arch their center pod area up creating a little cave that a fish might swim under...then they drop on the fish and eat them. I thought that the wrasse and the blenny might both have been good candidates for this trap considering they both sit on the sand bed. So I'm think I ought to get rid of this serpent star...but is he an irreplacable cleaner? Should I get a small one? maybe not as dangerous? Anybody else experience this? Any ideas what to replace him with? All of that aside they are very cool to watch, but maybe for a tank with bigger fish. ~Tom

 

From a link someone just posted: (http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com/library.html)

"(Q) I purchased a Green serpent starfish a couple of months ago. It seems to be healthy because, it is usually searching the aquarium for food. One of my friends warned me that these starfish are very good predators so they will eat my small fish and shrimp. Should I get rid of this starfish or is there anything I can do? It hasn 't eaten any tankmates yet, but I don't want that to happen. I really enjoy watching it and I get a lot of comments about how cool he looks from people that see my tank.

 

 

(A) First, I must say that sometimes there is no hard and fast rule; you just have to go with your intuition and experience. I believe that a captive animal's behavior is greatly influenced by the environment and conditions in which it is maintained. Having said all that, my answer depends greatly on how frequently you feed this starfish.

 

If the animal is not target fed at least a couple times a week, then its tankmates are at a greater risk. Sometimes people purchase these starfish with the idea that they are strictly scavengers and will get enough to eat from the leftovers in the tank. Personally, I do not blame the starfish if it starts eating its tankmates; I blame you for not feeding it enough!

 

Like I said before, there can be exceptions to most anything, but I think this starfish is better behaved when it is not starving to death. I know that a lot of people claim to have lost fish to the Green serpent starfish, and in some cases I am sure that it is true. However, usually the starfish is only doing the job you purchased him for, being a scavenger. They simply find dead or dying animals and do what they are supposed to do, and sometimes this leads to them being blamed for the demise of tankmates. I have a Green serpent starfish in my reef tank that is about 17 inches from tip to tip. I have kept it for about four years now with small fish and shrimp without any problems. I trust mine; but then again I make sure it is well fed! "

 

 

bob

[MOT]

woah I was under the impression that brittle stars and serpent stars are the same thing... I guess not. Here is a link to a picture of what I have on liveaquaria http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=1741 it is labed a fancy brittle star (Ophiure protoreaster). I had the fish 6 months at least before they dissappeared. I also had a couple of peppermint shrimp that are now gone now also.

[dzekunoi]

woah I was under the impression that brittle stars and serpent stars are the same thing... I guess not. Here is a link to a picture of what I have on liveaquaria http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=1741 it is labed a fancy brittle star (Ophiure protoreaster). I had the fish 6 months at least before they dissappeared. I also had a couple of peppermint shrimp that are now gone now also.

 

I have 2 of those and never had fish disappearing.

[jason the filter freak]

linka star?

[jamal]

nah jason the linkias are great and quite reef safe. the brittle stars look diffierent. their arms have spines on them and they are very long also linkias move differently then brittle stars. brittle stars seem to use their arms more like humans would use their arms and legs

[flowerseller]

i had the tank for 3 mths and i had the fish for like 2 weeks

I think they were doing their job as scavangers.

[Black Mammoth]

All of my fish have survived with my star (it is brown...run of the mill). However, I suspect him eating my hermit crabs and a shrimp. One day, in the morning, the star was out (I was feeding) and there was a hermit crab on his back. He was riding the star like he was in a rodeo. I found it quite funny. I gathered up my food and put it away. By the time I came back (no gone but a minute or two), the crab was missing. Normally, I would chalk it up to him finally getting off the star. Except the body of the star was double to triple in size. It was a very odd shape and it actually looked like a hermit crab! It appeared that it swallowed it whole. I can't think of what else it could be.

 

I don't really trust him, but all my fish are around.

[YBeNormal]

I've had a red brittle star in my 29g tank for more than 1.5 years and he's been a model citizen. He's about 10" across, is target fed at least twice per week and coexists peacefully with two small Ocellaris, a fire shrimp, snails and crabs galore. I have fear that he is going to attack any healthy fish but I also have no doubt that he would make a meal of any dead or near dead fish.

 

Edit: I have no idea why the font changed. Oh well...

Edited March 16, 2007 by YBeNormal

[jamal]

i suspect your write flowerseller that is why he is banished to the sump. if my g/f didnt like him he would have been donated to someone else

[flowerseller]

i suspect your write flowerseller that is why he is banished to the sump. if my g/f didnt like him he would have been donated to someone else

 

I think they were doing their job as scavangers.

 

What I'm saying is that the fish were dead or very close to it when they became scavange.

Then again, Scotland is well known for it's Loch Ness Monster.

[rioreef]

When fish have died in my tank (not because of the brittle star), they always ended up in an area where I could not get them out. Along comes the brittle and will consume it. Cycle of life. All that is left were clean white bones. Every see the skull of a yellow tang?

[mogurnda]

Just to unmuck things a little, both "serpent" and "brittle" stars are brittlestars, in the class Ophiuroidea. In the hobby, there are a few species with relatively smooth legs that are called serpent stars (like the one oin the liveaquaria link), and I have never heard a credible account of these eating healthy fish. There are also many species of brittlestars that are perfectly well-behaved scavengers. On the other hand, there are some species, like the big, green, spiny brittlestars, that are well-documented predators, hunting fish while they sleep or by "tenting."

[jamal]

thats what may have happened to my mandarins either way since that he has been banished to the sump and seems to be fine. do you guys think i should drop a piece or two of food in there for him or would this mess up my water chemistry

[rrubberbandman]

What I'm saying is that the fish were dead or very close to it when they became scavange.

Then again, Scotland is well known for it's Loch Ness Monster.

i thought it could be found in williamsburg