help with brittle or serpent star selection

[crawfish]

I'd like to add a brittle or serpent star to my 4-year old 58-gal reef tank. Over the years, I've tried two star fish that didn't thrive, and a red-and-white banded serpent star that simply disappeared into the rocks and was never seen again.

At the risk of killing another poor animal, I'd like to have another go at it if a knowledgeable person can tell me that I have a fighting chance. I'd like to try another harlequin or banded serpent star, or a red serpent star. How long can I reasonably expect these to last in captivity? My tank has a lot of live rock and plenty of soft corals and large-polyp hard corals. The only fish are a largish tomato clown, a neon dottyback, and a bicolor angelfish.

Thanks in advance.

 

[keithntracy]

We have a harlequin and a reddish serpant in our 55g. They've been in there for about 8-9 months. We target feed them occasionally but they get most food from the mysis we feed the tank. We also have a foxface, mandarin and 2 clowns. They all seem to get along.

 

[mrobbtx]

Hi, the harlequin or banded serpent star is what I would recommend, I can tell you the red serpents are going to be a little more difficult to keep, I have bought 12 or so of them over the past 15 years and managed to keep only one for greater than a few months, I suppose it could have been just bad luck, but there were very few losses of anything in the tanks those were kept in. Just my experiance...Good Luck

 

[crawfish]

Thanks for the replies.

 

[SINNERMF]

I've had the most luck with a black Brittle Star. He is between 12-14 inches!!!!!! People say I'm crazy until they see him. Never had any problems with mine.

 

[SINNERMF]

BTW, avoid the green or "emerald" Serpent stars. I hear they eat tankmates.

 

[ophiuroid]

Please provide specific tank parameters, as well as what and how often you were feeding these stars.

Brittlestars are not known to "age" per se and so their lifespan is open to debate. But they should easily live many many years (the oldest I've heard is 15). I have some that I've had 5 years so far.

Note also there is NO BIOLOGICAL distinction between brittle and serpentstars. This distinction is made in the hobby only, and provides no behavioral information or even a consistent means to distinguish different animals.

 

[laf-reef]

Like sinnermf, I also have a large (12-14") black brittle star. It has been in my 120g reef for nearly a year and is doing great. No problems...

 

[crawfish]

Thanks for all the responses. My tank has been up for almost 5 years and I've gotten pretty complacent about checking tank parameters. I'll try to check on the pH, alkalinity, and calcium levels tonight. I know the specific gravity is 1.025 and the tank temp ranges from a low of about 78 to 82, but often goes up to about 84 in the summer. I've been getting a lot more algae lately (past 6-12 months), and I'm not sure if it is due to using prepared frozen foods, a new DI/RO filtration system, or one of the fishes that is digging into and disturbing the deep sand bed all over the tank.

I have lots of mini brittle stars in the tank that just appeared and propagated from nowhere. They like to hang out on the powerheads. I used to have zillions of medusa and spaghetti worms, but they have all disappeared. I think the neon dottyback took them out since they started to decline around the time I got him. I still have a few bristle worms, but not the abundance I had before the dottyback.

I had an orange knobby star and a burgundy star, possibly a linkia, that I couldn't get to eat anything. I tried a variety of prepared foods, homemade mixes, brine shrimp, and small bits of fresh shrimp. The knobby star developed white patches and started to fall apart after about 3 weeks. The burgundy star actually shrunk from about 3 inches across to the size of a nickel. I think I put a post here about my "incredible shrinking star" a couple of years ago. I eventually gave him away accidently during a frag swap. I noticed him in the bag at the last minute but decided that he'd probably have a better chance in someone elses tank since he obviously wasn't thriving in mine.

I also tried a red-and-white striped serpent star that immediately went and hid in the rocks. I tried to feed him bits of shrimp and other foods, but he wouldn't ever come out of the rocks to get them. I'd occasionally see his arms waving around and try to target feed him, but he wouldn't grasp the food and eventually just disappeared. For all I know he's still in there, but I seriously doubt it.

 

[crawfish]

tank parameters

tank parameters

Okay here are the tank parameters:

pH 7.8
ammonia 0
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
alkalinity 10 dKh ; 3.6 meq/L
calcium 50 mg/L - oops!

I added Turbo Calcium and will keep adding until it is in an adequate range. I had no idea it had gotten that low. I've been dosing irregularly, but not checking the concentration in the tank.

The tank is 58 gallons, with a hang-on skimmer, 3-4 inch deep-sand bed, about 70 lbs of live rock, no sump, 300W power compact lighting, lots of muschrooms, soft corals, and a flower anemone. Five years ago, I started out with a big clean-up crew of snails, hermits, and emerald crabs, but only have a few snails and hermits left. I also have a good population of mini-brittle stars in the tank now.

Do you see any reason that a serpent star wouldn't make it? I assume that the one I had before didn't have an adequate food source. If I get another, how should I feed it?

 

[ophiuroid]

I am certainly concerned about the variability of your pH, alk anc calcium (the group, as they are all interrelated). I would not add anything until you get all of those in check, as fluctuations in such parameters would be very stressful on these stars.

I see no reason in general why it wouldn't surive. It will come down to selection and acclimation in the end I think....more in a bit .

 

[MiddletonMark]

In my experience, ophiuroid has had great advice.
Helped me pick out one of mine a few years ago - and helped me get on the path to long-term success [at 3 years with one!].

Unless you're wildly overfeeding ... I would be sure to regularly feed your starfish. IMO, if I see them at feeding time - I haven't been feeding them enough.

 

[crawfish]

What do you feed your serpent stars? How often do you feed them? Do you target feed?

 

[keithntracy]

We target feed ours maybe once a week. For the most part ours eat the mysis that everyone else eats. It's neat to see their legs come out of the rocks, waving around trying to catch food.

 

[MiddletonMark]

I target feed as well. Mysis, shrimp chopped finely - or else just a bunch of my DIY fish food. Anything big enough for them to grab, unsure if they can be too large - but generally I try to chop them smaller if very large.

Generally try to weekly - on top of normal tank feedings.

 

[wrasseguy2]

i have 2 red serpent and a black bubble tip...all three have been in my tank for over a year now with no probs at all...i target feed them 1 a week....my black bubble tip is almost 10" now and has been a good guy

 

[650-IS350]

I've red somewhere that the harlequins were the better ones to have... or you could always go with MINI stars...