Brittle Star Question

[spw4949]

I picked up some brittle stars as hitchikers on some live rock, I'm not sure exactly what kind they are. They are all quite small,(1-2cm in diameter)with the exception of one I saw in my fuge which is about maybe 5or6 cm, they are greyish with dark bands on their legs. My question is; does anyone know what kind they are(sorry no pics) & are they reef safe. I don't yet have any corals but once I do a lot of reading I was going to add some & would like to know if these guys are going to be a problem. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[natan]

No problem at all. harmless filter feeders and scavengers.

 

[cplklegg]

The small ones will be no problem and are actually desirable as they are great detrivores and can get in all the nooks and cranies to keep your tank clean. The big one, as long as it is NOT GREEN should be ok. The green ones are KNOWN PISCIVORES(fisheeaters), research about them, plenty of horror stories out there. I have a tan serpent and a black brittle that are the neatest, kookiest otherwordly looking creatures IMHO. To each his own I suppose, best of luck to you.

 

[Tennyson]

Like they both said, they are good and desireble little scavengers. People actually sell them, your lucky you got them on that rock, even though they are very common hitchikers.

 

[pcsimon]

GREEN BRITTLE STARS = MISSING FISH!

My two green brittle stars have racked up an impressive kill record. They even caught and killed my Tang! I have to feed them regularly, and even that doesn't ensure they are safe.

 

[esam3]

I agree with pcsimon. The green serpents are bad. There are some brown brittle stars that can get big and sometimes some of them can be bad.

 

[plateboy3293]

If the stars are about half an inch they are micro stars. Harmless brittle stars.