brittle star stow aways

[pixelpixi]

I got a piece of live rock today that has a whole bunch of tiny brittle stars in it. The largest seems to be about 1.5" in diameter. The legs have black and white bands with little hairlike protrusions all over them.

Does anyone know what specific species this might be? How big will they get?

Thanks!

 

[LeslieH]

There are hundreds if not thousands of species. For the small ones in particular most pictures aren't detailed enough to identify them let alone a description. Size varies from a fraction of an inch to over a foot across. Usually the ones that come in on live rock do stay under an inch or two in diameter.

 

[pixelpixi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12516206#post12516206 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LeslieH
There are hundreds if not thousands of species. For the small ones in particular most pictures aren't detailed enough to identify them let alone a description. Size varies from a fraction of an inch to over a foot across. Usually the ones that come in on live rock do stay under an inch or two in diameter.

Oh, excellent! The brittle stars I've seen have been large, so I was afraid these would get too big for the tank. Thanks!