View Full Version : brittle starfish
jadeguppy
12/29/2008, 02:09 PM
Are these reef safe? Are they a good idea? Is there a benefit to having some? Tank in question is a 125g mixed reef.
Toddrtrex
12/29/2008, 02:13 PM
I like the serpent ones better.
If you do go for a brittle, I would suggest staying away from the green ones. People ( myself included ) have lost fish to them.
chrisp074
12/29/2008, 02:15 PM
Depends on the species, I have a Ophioderma ensiferum, got to be almost 10 years old (I'm the third owner, had it for 5+ years now), and is easy to keep, feed, and has not bothered anything. Besides it's pretty cool.
Oh yes, and avoid Ophiarachna incrassata, they are known fish eaters.
jadeguppy
12/29/2008, 02:22 PM
Is there a way to tell the difference visually?
Toddrtrex
12/29/2008, 02:22 PM
Basically serpents have smooth arms, and brittle have "spikey" arms.
chrisp074
12/29/2008, 02:23 PM
They look completely different, google the names and you will see. Basically avoid anything green.
jadeguppy
12/29/2008, 02:36 PM
Sorry, I meant between the two types of brittle stars. Avoid green sounds easy enough.
reidcrandall
12/29/2008, 02:40 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14036067#post14036067 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toddrtrex
I like the serpent ones better.
If you do go for a brittle, I would suggest staying away from the green ones. People ( myself included ) have lost fish to them.
I agree here. The serpents are safer bets. I have one in my tank to track down any food that gets trapped in the rocks and anything that dies in there (snails, etc).
Don't expect to see it a whole lot. Things dig themselves under your rock and try to only eat what ever comes within arms reach.
I say, don't feed it until it moves around the tank a bit. That way you know its hungry and it will actually eat a bit of detritus between feedings. Make it earn its keep. ;)
otrlynn
12/29/2008, 04:19 PM
I have a black brittle star that has been in the tank about 18 months. Stretched out, he's about as big as a dinner plate. I tend to see the body only at night, but often there are a few legs poking through the crevices in the rocks at the bottom of the tank. I think it does a pretty good job scavenging food that the fish miss. I don't feed him--he gets what he can find and has thrived.
Overfeeding your fish equals hand feeding your star. Two ways to the same destination. Stars can not survive on detritus alone, but overfeeding your star will add to your bio-load rather than reducing it. Make sure it has it own food to eat, but try to keep it hungry.
jadeguppy
12/29/2008, 05:12 PM
Do they stir the sand?
Elan L.
12/29/2008, 05:29 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14037115#post14037115 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jadeguppy
Do they stir the sand?
yes
Gently, which is good for a DSB. Their main benefit, as I see it, is they clean UNDER the rock. Liverock deposits a fair amount of detritus all by itself.
Johnny C
12/29/2008, 06:49 PM
I had a green brittle and it ate two of my fish (flame angel and clown goby, rip). Stay AWAY from the greens, and I really wouldn't recommend brittles at all. The only thing mine stirred is my emotions from losing my fav fish to him! :/
I've haven't heard of anyone losing anything to a brown brittle. Don't know about the black ones. I have a red-stripper goby, court-jester goby, emerald crab, and a sexy shrimp. None of them seem afraid of the star and star has never bothered any of them, even tho I try to keep my star hungry.
IMO, they are an excellent addition, as I don't know of anything else that will clean under the rock as effectively.
SWaquariast
12/29/2008, 07:51 PM
I would stay away from all brittles myself. They are great if you have the micro ones.
BucNtears
12/29/2008, 07:52 PM
I have both a serpent and brittle starfish and have not had any problems. The brittle is also the size of a dinner plate and the serpent is as big as a saucer plate.
Every blue moon I hand feed the brittle star a small piece of krill.
slimy fish
12/30/2008, 02:41 AM
I have a serpent and have had no issues with it in my reef tank.
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