How deep can they go?

[reidcrandall]

I have a serpent star that I put in my 29g last weekend and he was nowhere to be found while I just moved all of my rock work. How deep can one of those guys that is about 3" in diameter get into live rock? I didn't think any of the holes were small enough for him to completely disappear into...

Reid

 

[Maxxumless]

I’ve seen some go so far in that only an arm or two would come out during feeding. In my smaller tank the one I have in there has never gone into the rocks themselves though.

 

[reidcrandall]

I'm kinda worried. There is no sign of the little guy...

 

[reidcrandall]

Still no sign! I'm freaking out! or something like that.

Reid

 

[Amphiprion]

Calm down. While there is some rigidity in the body of serpent stars, they are still quite flexible and can squeeze into tight places. Try introducing some food into the tank to see if you can't entice it out of hiding.

 

[nmprisons]

i am sure he is fine, they can hide pretty effectively. you might want to put a small piece of shrimp in the tank after dark and see if he comes our to feed on it. otherwise, just check your ammonia daily and don;t worry.

 

[reidcrandall]

I take it that there would be an ammonia spike if he had died?

 

[Hop]

It took six months for mine to start coming out regularly. And I have yet to see any more than a leg or two of any of them.

 

[Nykademus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7988154#post7988154 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reidcrandall
I take it that there would be an ammonia spike if he had died?

Yes, if any of your animals die in the tank you will get higher levels of ammonia. These need to be removed asap.. but there is no need to worry unless you get funky ammonia readings.

Also bear in mind that any time you add to the tank that there will be a change in the amount of waste being produced in the tank and will probably show on your tests, this should only be minor and not last long ( biological filtration should catch up ).. so dont get crazy if you do see a small change.

 

[rdmpe]

Put a piece of shrimp or silverside in there at night, away fromt the rocks. It might come looking for the meaty smell. I have several in my tank that have never come out from under the rocks. They can be extremely recludsive. I wouldn't worry too much about it. And all of mine came as unknown hitchikers hiding inside the rocks...

 

[mr pink floyd]

my serpent star in my 29 is HUGE

maybe 6 inches with arms out, and i still cant see it sometimes

but BE CAREFUL he is a frag stealer

a guy in my reef club even told me he had one come take down a big tang, the tang was in the corner after acclimation, he watched the star come out, grab it, adb pull it under a rock, granted the tang was weak but still, when they get bigger they can do some damage

 

[reidcrandall]

Jesus... I didn't know they could be that dangerous. I'm starting to regret my choice. The people at the store said that he would be safe and just eat scraps.

Reid