Serpent Sea Stars Reef Safe?

MHannon · 03/10/2009, 11:55 AM

I have a green/yellow serpent sea star under the assumption they were reef safe. Somebody recently told me they will eat snails. After he mentioned it I did notice I have been losing snails and some hermits. I have also mysteriously lost a couple fairly large fish. They just disappeared, never found the bodies. I just figured the snails were falling off of the rocks and not able to turn themselves over. Is any of it true?

MHannon · 03/10/2009, 11:56 AM

Everything on line says they are reef safe, but this guy has me paranoid now.

rayjay · 03/10/2009, 12:42 PM

I have six serpents in 3 different tanks, and, haven't had any problems in the 10 plus years I've had them.

MHannon · 03/10/2009, 01:03 PM

Thats what I thought, But this guy swore they suck the snails right out of their shells.

rgentry123 · 03/10/2009, 01:42 PM

i think he's thinking about brittle stars which from whati understand ae not reef safe

noahm · 03/10/2009, 02:30 PM

The green serpent/olive brittle is predatory. Almost all the rest are totally harmless. The green will sit with its middle up in the air/water and basically drop on unsuspecting prey. Here is a pic of a green. Don't know what yours looks like, but this is the fishy killer.

bubbly · 03/10/2009, 03:39 PM

From what I hear the green is good enough for your refugium, but that's about it.

I remember hearing from one guy that the green serpent will eat corals if it gets hungry enough.

I have heard others say that they suspected their serpents (the non-green ones) -- you might want to drop it in the fuge to be safe.

papajojo · 03/10/2009, 05:00 PM

ime i added one to my dt and all of my pods disappeared, ive watched it eat anything it comes into contact with mines a barbed bristle star. it eats micro stars and pods after i removed it from the dt i noticed in about 2 months my pod levels were booming

noboddi · 03/10/2009, 06:25 PM

serpent stars, if they get big enough, can be a problem. But they are still reef safe as they don't eat corals. Eating fish doesn't disqualify you from being reef safe. Or snails. Lots of things eat snails

mmounajjed · 03/10/2009, 06:42 PM

I lost a cleaner shrimp and a Mandarin Guppy to a serpentine star.
just in front of my eyes

Stanley-Reefer · 03/10/2009, 07:00 PM

I had one snatch a mandarin as well!

But I have many serpents, fromias, and linkias in both tanks.

MHannon · 03/10/2009, 08:26 PM

I have had a mandarin, dragon goby, and fire fish all disappear within a few months of each other. All were established and very healthy. I just attributed their deaths to some sickness... although all my other fish are perfectly fine. If it was the serpent star that ate them, it would make sense. The mandarin goby, dragon goby, and fire fish all stay near the bottom/sand where the star hangs out.

ulli · 12/14/2015, 04:28 PM

I just watched one eat a tube anemone.
I had just feed the anemone and i guess the Star could smell it and ate the tube anemone.
I pulled it out of it not sure if the anemone is alive or not.

MeghanisradxD · 12/14/2015, 05:55 PM

I've had serpent stars in all my reef tanks and have never had an issue with them eating fish or inverts.

Brittle stars on the other hand...

Bent · 12/14/2015, 07:06 PM

I currently have 3 pretty humongous serpent stars.

They literally all sit under their prospective rocks and I rarely if ever see them move unless I stereo feed the tank.

I do target feed them shrimp chunks though while I feed the nems and engineer. So that might attribute to their docility. (Is that even a word?)

DocHogan · 12/16/2015, 10:44 AM

From my understanding serpent stars are like angel fish. May be fine for awhile even a long while but there is always a risk. If you have smaller fish I would error on the side of caution. JMO.

Scorpius · 12/16/2015, 10:45 AM

My brown serpent starfish is king of my sump.

BrandonFlorida · 12/16/2015, 10:49 AM

I have Harlequin Serpent star and those guys are awesome, they leave everyone alone.. I recommend them to anyone looking for a serpent that is reef/snail/fish safe..

_E_ · 12/17/2015, 04:40 AM

I've had a green serpent star for over 10 years now and never had an issue with him. He's the oldest surviving thing in my tanks.

03/10/2009, 11:55 AM	#1
MHannon Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: On the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland (Cecil County) Posts: 800	Serpent Sea Stars Reef Safe? I have a green/yellow serpent sea star under the assumption they were reef safe. Somebody recently told me they will eat snails. After he mentioned it I did notice I have been losing snails and some hermits. I have also mysteriously lost a couple fairly large fish. They just disappeared, never found the bodies. I just figured the snails were falling off of the rocks and not able to turn themselves over. Is any of it true? __________________ "Never take life too seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway." Current Tank Info: AGA 90gal W/ megaflow, 75gal sump in basement, Mag18 return, Vortech MP40 & MP10, six bulb 48" 54w TEK T-5, ASM G-3 W/ gate valve mod, softies, LPS, SPS, clams, lots of live rock & sand, & a 12 Gallon Nano Cube Deluxe w/ 70watt halide

03/10/2009, 11:56 AM	#2
MHannon Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: On the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland (Cecil County) Posts: 800	Everything on line says they are reef safe, but this guy has me paranoid now. __________________ "Never take life too seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway." Current Tank Info: AGA 90gal W/ megaflow, 75gal sump in basement, Mag18 return, Vortech MP40 & MP10, six bulb 48" 54w TEK T-5, ASM G-3 W/ gate valve mod, softies, LPS, SPS, clams, lots of live rock & sand, & a 12 Gallon Nano Cube Deluxe w/ 70watt halide

03/10/2009, 12:42 PM	#3
rayjay Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 3,969	I have six serpents in 3 different tanks, and, haven't had any problems in the 10 plus years I've had them. __________________ Seahorses. Culture nanno, rotifers and brine shrimp. Current Tank Info: Seahorses

03/10/2009, 01:03 PM	#4
MHannon Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: On the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland (Cecil County) Posts: 800	Thats what I thought, But this guy swore they suck the snails right out of their shells. __________________ "Never take life too seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway." Current Tank Info: AGA 90gal W/ megaflow, 75gal sump in basement, Mag18 return, Vortech MP40 & MP10, six bulb 48" 54w TEK T-5, ASM G-3 W/ gate valve mod, softies, LPS, SPS, clams, lots of live rock & sand, & a 12 Gallon Nano Cube Deluxe w/ 70watt halide

03/10/2009, 01:42 PM	#5
rgentry123 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: fredericksburg, VA Posts: 975	i think he's thinking about brittle stars which from whati understand ae not reef safe __________________ there is going to be an episode of intervention based on me soon if someone doesnt come up with a 12 step program for this hobby soon. And i have RC members to thank for enabling me.

03/10/2009, 02:30 PM	#6
noahm Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 2,736	The green serpent/olive brittle is predatory. Almost all the rest are totally harmless. The green will sit with its middle up in the air/water and basically drop on unsuspecting prey. Here is a pic of a green. Don't know what yours looks like, but this is the fishy killer.

03/10/2009, 03:39 PM	#7
bubbly Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 331	From what I hear the green is good enough for your refugium, but that's about it. I remember hearing from one guy that the green serpent will eat corals if it gets hungry enough. I have heard others say that they suspected their serpents (the non-green ones) -- you might want to drop it in the fuge to be safe.

03/10/2009, 05:00 PM	#8
papajojo Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Tampa FL Posts: 234	ime i added one to my dt and all of my pods disappeared, ive watched it eat anything it comes into contact with mines a barbed bristle star. it eats micro stars and pods after i removed it from the dt i noticed in about 2 months my pod levels were booming

03/10/2009, 06:25 PM	#9
noboddi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 813	serpent stars, if they get big enough, can be a problem. But they are still reef safe as they don't eat corals. Eating fish doesn't disqualify you from being reef safe. Or snails. Lots of things eat snails __________________ Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem - William of Ockham Current Tank Info: 55 gallon (36x18x20), 40 gallon sump, 25 gallon refugium, TEK 6x39w fixture, Osmolator, Kalk Reactor, Vortech MP20, 2 Koralia 3s on controller, Acropora, Anthelia, Montipora, Starry Blenny, Yellow Watchman, Rainford Goby, Tiger Gobies

03/10/2009, 06:42 PM	#10
mmounajjed Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 131	I lost a cleaner shrimp and a Mandarin Guppy to a serpentine star. just in front of my eyes

03/10/2009, 07:00 PM	#11
Stanley-Reefer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stanley, NC Posts: 1,933	I had one snatch a mandarin as well! But I have many serpents, fromias, and linkias in both tanks.

03/10/2009, 08:26 PM	#12
MHannon Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: On the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland (Cecil County) Posts: 800	I have had a mandarin, dragon goby, and fire fish all disappear within a few months of each other. All were established and very healthy. I just attributed their deaths to some sickness... although all my other fish are perfectly fine. If it was the serpent star that ate them, it would make sense. The mandarin goby, dragon goby, and fire fish all stay near the bottom/sand where the star hangs out. __________________ "Never take life too seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway." Current Tank Info: AGA 90gal W/ megaflow, 75gal sump in basement, Mag18 return, Vortech MP40 & MP10, six bulb 48" 54w TEK T-5, ASM G-3 W/ gate valve mod, softies, LPS, SPS, clams, lots of live rock & sand, & a 12 Gallon Nano Cube Deluxe w/ 70watt halide

12/14/2015, 04:28 PM	#13
ulli Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: iceland Posts: 212	I just watched one eat a tube anemone. I had just feed the anemone and i guess the Star could smell it and ate the tube anemone. I pulled it out of it not sure if the anemone is alive or not.

12/14/2015, 05:55 PM	#14
MeghanisradxD Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Manassas, VA Posts: 183	I've had serpent stars in all my reef tanks and have never had an issue with them eating fish or inverts. Brittle stars on the other hand...

12/14/2015, 07:06 PM	#15
Bent I got nothin' Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The anals Posts: 6,420	I currently have 3 pretty humongous serpent stars. They literally all sit under their prospective rocks and I rarely if ever see them move unless I stereo feed the tank. I do target feed them shrimp chunks though while I feed the nems and engineer. So that might attribute to their docility. (Is that even a word?) __________________ Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump

12/16/2015, 10:44 AM	#16
DocHogan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 119	From my understanding serpent stars are like angel fish. May be fine for awhile even a long while but there is always a risk. If you have smaller fish I would error on the side of caution. JMO. __________________ 125 gallon reef ready with 25 gallon sump. Aqua illumination led, Mp-40 and mp-10 quiet drives. 30 Nuvo AIO SPS focus tank with Hydra Prime HD fixtures MP-10 (No skimmer)

12/16/2015, 10:45 AM	#17
Scorpius Stick Head Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Northwest Indiana Posts: 1,208	My brown serpent starfish is king of my sump. __________________ Current Tank 65gal DSA rimless. Vortech MP-10 x4 Vectra M1. Kessil A360we x3 4-24in T5's. BRS 2 part LPS/SPS mixed reef. Will do ______ for Acropora.

12/16/2015, 10:49 AM	#18
BrandonFlorida Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Port Orange, FL Posts: 637	I have Harlequin Serpent star and those guys are awesome, they leave everyone alone.. I recommend them to anyone looking for a serpent that is reef/snail/fish safe..

12/17/2015, 04:40 AM	#19
_E_ Professional Lurker Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Du Quoin, Illinois Posts: 1,169	I've had a green serpent star for over 10 years now and never had an issue with him. He's the oldest surviving thing in my tanks. __________________ Eric "If you think things can't get worse it's probably only because you lack sufficient imagination." Current Tank Info: 140 DSA with basement sump room