Any goby-safe brittle stars?

[Betta132]

I think brittle stars are really neat, and I'd like to try keeping one. Here's what I've found regarding them;
Green is a BAD color
Smooth legs means carnivorous star, hairy/fuzzy legs means brittle star
True brittles are supposed to be gunk eaters
Brittle star size varies a lot
Teeny white ones are micro brittles
They hide, I'll probably just see the legs
So, in general, can I assume that a non-green brittle-star-looking starfish with fuzzy or hairy legs is fish safe?
My tank:
29g Biocube
No coral other than a few brown zooanthids (it's okay if he eats those)
Four aptasia that I need to kill
Sandbed varies between 1 1/2" and 3", due to the pistol moving sand
One peaceful blue damsel, about 1 1/4" long
One waspfish, venomous dorsal spines, 2" long
Wheeler's goby, my concern for getting eaten, 1 1/4" long
One tiger pistol shrimp, fairly gentle, 2 1/2" long
Planning to turn it into a marine planted tank
Likely won't have coral other than maybe a few zooanthids and mushroom corals, maybe an easy soft coral of some kind

By any chance, is it possible to find a brittle star in Port Aransas, Texas? As in, along the beach? Maybe in the sargassum seaweed clumps? Or if I went and looked around rocks somewhere, maybe in rock pools?

 

[robotman]

even if you found a star along the water i wouldnt take it, there are laws forbidding that, but most peopel dont mind, but then you wont know what you take half the time doesnt destroy your tank, plus they could come in with pests, but i have 2 green serpent stars that are reef safe, never harmed anything, they just sit in place and move somtimes in the dark.

 

[Nina51]

i love brittle stars! i have 2 in my 29g biocube. one is red, he seems to like living in the pump compartment as every time i catch him and put him back in the dt, he ends up back there so i have just left him alone. also in that tank is a yellowish colored one. it comes out every time i feed the tank.
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/yellowbrittlestar_zps15aeac6c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/yellowbrittlestar_zps15aeac6c.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo yellowbrittlestar_zps15aeac6c.jpg"/></a>
both of them have disks about the size of a nickel.

in my 14g biocube, i have a ginormous white brittle star. this one has a disk about the size of a half dollar. he was much smaller when i got him, he's been in this tank just over a year.
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/brittlestarampshrimp_zpscc577402.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/brittlestarampshrimp_zpscc577402.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo brittlestarampshrimp_zpscc577402.jpg"/></a>

neither one bothers anything else in the tanks, including an orange spotted goby in the 14g. they will eat small pieces of shrimp or scallop right from my fingers. when i'm working in the 14g, the big one likes to wrap his arms around my hand. creepy and cool at the same time. LOL

 

[Betta132]

Judging by the shrimp sitting on him, the white one is safe for everything
Those are some pretty cool stars... I think I'll keep an eye out for some.
Brittle stars seem to have low bio-loads for how large they appear... Given that they're related to sea urchins, can I assume that one of these has a bio-load more or less the same as a sea urchin the size of its disc?

 

[Nina51]

i've had a couple of people tell me the white is some sort of "mutation" of a green brittle star but i have never seen him go after any fish so i doubt that. i recently had to transfer the goby from the 29g to the 14g as the stupid dottyback was picking on him. the goby hid in a corner for a couple of days and was pretty stressed. he woulda been easy pickings for that big brittle star.

as far as bioload, i don't think too much about that when it comes to inverts.

 

[Betta132]

I've read that most brittle stars will go after gobies if you don't keep them fed on clams and shrimp. True?
I'm curious; about how big across do you think the white brittle would be if he was all sprawled? Maybe a foot and a half?

 

[scolley]

Why does it have to be a brittle star? Just get a brown or red serpent star and be done with it. Sure, they are carnivores, but they can't catch fish. Or shrimp. They'll just eat chunks of stuff that fall out of the water column. No different than a hermit crab - except they won't kill your snails.

I've had two for years with ZERO issues. I wish I could say that about some of the supposedly "reef safe" fish I've put in my tank...

 

[Nina51]

I've read that most brittle stars will go after gobies if you don't keep them fed on clams and shrimp. True?
I'm curious; about how big across do you think the white brittle would be if he was all sprawled? Maybe a foot and a half?

i don't know why they would go after a goby any more than they would go after any other sleeping or slow-moving fish. i feed the big guy a piece of raw shrimp or scallop probably every other day but he also scavenges.

i'll have to try to get a picture of him stretched out but the tank is 14" across and when he's stretched out, he can reach from one side to the other. i'll be glad when my 75g is up and running so he'll have more room.

 

[Betta132]

I'm pretty sure serpent stars are the ones to avoid... Aren't those the ones that are more likely to eat things?
I'm worried about my goby because he lives down in a tunnel. If a star went after him and he tried to hide, it could probably either fit in there or reach down and grab him...
Although I suppose I should be concerned about my waspfish, too, he hides in the rockwork at night to sleep.

 

[scolley]

I'm pretty sure serpent stars are the ones to avoid... Aren't those the ones that are more likely to eat things?

Nope. They move real slowly, and don't have the grip that brittles have. I think you have it backwards. With the exception of the green serpents, which MAY be a problem. Personally I'm not sure that might not be because they are being confused with green brittles, which are killers.

Like I said, years and years with no problems with brown or red serpents. But don't take my word for it, use the search function and see for yourself. But if/when you do, make sure that the poster knows the difference between the two kinds.

 

[Calappidae]

To my knowledge, not an expert,


serpents stay 'slightly' smaller than brittles which in some species reach over 2 feet in diameter (some greens for example).

Nonetheless some starfish in general (excluding a few reef safe species) will, if underfed, hunt and eat whatever they can catch. Green brittles peticularly are more of a hunter rather than a simple keep well fed nothing to worry about type star, plus their massive size can pretty much take on anything. The others will scavenge before thinking about hunting.

Correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Betta132]

Are there any signs that a serpent star needs more food? Do they start acting differently, maybe coming out more or feeling at stuff? And, as for feeding them, can I just put a bit of shrimp in the tank near some rockwork if I'm not sure where it is?
Feeding a serpent star by hand would be pretty cool... Do they curl a leg around the food and pull it closer, or do they climb onto it?

 

[robotman]

Nope. They move real slowly, and don't have the grip that brittles have. I think you have it backwards. With the exception of the green serpents, which MAY be a problem. Personally I'm not sure that might not be because they are being confused with green brittles, which are killers.

Like I said, years and years with no problems with brown or red serpents. But don't take my word for it, use the search function and see for yourself. But if/when you do, make sure that the poster knows the difference between the two kinds.

To my knowledge, not an expert,


serpents stay 'slightly' smaller than brittles which in some species reach over 2 feet in diameter (some greens for example).

Nonetheless some starfish in general (excluding a few reef safe species) will, if underfed, hunt and eat whatever they can catch. Green brittles peticularly are more of a hunter rather than a simple keep well fed nothing to worry about type star, plus their massive size can pretty much take on anything. The others will scavenge before thinking about hunting.

Correct me if i'm wrong.

Are there any signs that a serpent star needs more food? Do they start acting differently, maybe coming out more or feeling at stuff? And, as for feeding them, can I just put a bit of shrimp in the tank near some rockwork if I'm not sure where it is?
Feeding a serpent star by hand would be pretty cool... Do they curl a leg around the food and pull it closer, or do they climb onto it?

my lfs has a HUGEEE red serpant, maybe 12-14" diameter
but my 2 green serpents are model citizens, they usually stay in the same area but move at night, but they go crazy for nutramar ova, mine curl their legs over food. also my serpents are really fast when they move O_O they whip themselves to move. they prop their main body up and then slide in the water and fall to the spot they want lol.

 

[scolley]

I'm sorry, but I'm not even going to a answer the "needing more food" question because it is I described - they don't kill fish. So there is no reason to be concerned about how they "act". Use the search.

As far as feeding by hand, that would be super easy. They grab food slowly, wrapping arms around it. In fact, I feed them with super long tweezers (lots of good reasons to keep your hand out of a reef tank) because shrimp will steal their food before they can even grasp it firmly.

 

[finsurgeon]

I have more than 15 brittle or serpents of medium to large size, and almost all have been in my tank for 5-9 years. I don't have a green brittle, but none of mine have ever been caught behaving badly or attacking any of their living tankmates. At times I've hand fed them, but for the most part they don't seem to need it. They are always willing to grab a piece of krill if given to them with a pair of tongs. Here is a picture of 4 of them piling up in a corner when they smelled food.

 

[Betta132]

I'm sorry, but I'm not even going to a answer the "needing more food" question because it is I described - they don't kill fish. So there is no reason to be concerned about how they "act". Use the search.

I was more concerned about one starving... I'm not sure how much food one would be able to get in my tank.

I guess I'll keep an eye out for a red serpent star. Thanks, all!

 

[scolley]

Betta - please accept my apologies. I inferred - incorrectly - that you were trying to figure out when your fish were in jeopardy. Sorry.

But I still can't help much. Serpent stars move so little, IMO determining that they need to be fed cannot easy be determined by behavioral cues. Instead you have to look to see if their central disc begins to look less than plump - emaciated. Then you feed them. Or better - once you know how long that takes - feed them before that happens.

Hope that helps.

 

[Nina51]

Here is a picture of 4 of them piling up in a corner when they smelled food.

those are beautiful!

this is where mine comes out and hangs when i feed the tank. he will wait for me to give him a piece of shrimp or scallop and i recently found frozen squid which he really likes.
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/brittlestar_zps9a573143.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/brittlestar_zps9a573143.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo brittlestar_zps9a573143.jpg"/></a>

mmmmm, shrimp!
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/brittlestar2_zpsdcdb9b11.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/brittlestar2_zpsdcdb9b11.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo brittlestar2_zpsdcdb9b11.jpg"/></a>

i find them to be unbelievably strong. once he has wrapped an arm around a piece of food, he will practically pull the wooden skewer out of my hand.

 

[mayjong]

i gotta get one....
i was also misinformed and thought these were not "reef safe" (fish safe)
serpent star...mmmm....

 

[faithenfire]

this guy is living in a primarily goby tank, only one suspiciously missing fish
banded brittle sea star-serpent?