Brittle Star In Tank

[nosferatu51]

I have been seeing arms in my 2 month oldish seahorse tank and knew there was a brittle star in there, but tonight I actually saw the whole thing. What he was sticking out from under the rock was the tip of the iceberg. This guy must be a good 8-9 inches tip to tip. He is in with a pair of juv Kuda. Is it safe to leave him in there or should I pull out all the rock and toss him in my 75g reef? It's just a normal, black brittle, not a green one, but I still don't know how safe he is because he's so large (over 2x the horses).

 

[Fredfish]

I would leave it in. It will make a good scavenger. I am surprised it dosn't come out when you feed your horses.

Fred

 

[nosferatu51]

That's when it would stick it's arms out, but it never came out all that much when I was watching. Tonight was just the first night I'd seen the whole thing real well.

 

[luvabunny]

IMO, a brittle star that size in with seahorses is a recipe for disaster. I have personally seen brittle stars that size eat pond goldfish (2"). A juvie seahorse would be no match were it ever to get ahold of one.

Except for micro stars, it would be my opinion to not keep ANY stars with seahorses, especially babies or juvies. If you want good scavengers, get blue leg hermits.

 

[nosferatu51]

Hmmm, that's kind of what I was afraid of. I have a blue and a scarlet hermit in there as scavengers. This guy was just a hitchhiker.
So, I'm assuming I should toss him into my 75g reef? Or put him in the reef's fuge? Would one this size be dangerous to slow fish like my yellow watchman goby?

 

[luvabunny]

The rule of thumb on brittle stars is if they can catch it, they will eat it. The goldfish I spoke of was stunned and laying on the bottom, not dead, but certainly not moving as a normal fish would. Neither do seahorses.

I have actually seen brittle stars go after live, healthy fish. Yours seems to be very cautious at the moment, but that may change when he gets hungry enough. How he would do with a goby? All I can say is that if he can catch him, he will eat him.

 

[Fredfish]

Other than this post, the only brittle star I have ever heard of being predatory on fish is the green brittle star.

I have kept at least 4 different species with fish. The only thing they ever responded to as food was the mysis and brine shrimp I fed.

It is entirely possible that there are other predatory species, but this is the first time I have heard of one entering the hobby.

If you are really worried, toss it in the fuge.

Fred