little brittle stars...

[ReefTrafficker]

New here,
Anyone have any idea about brittle star reproduction?
How often they reproduce? How many little brittles do they have?
You see, one of my tanks, a 30 gal has a couple of fungia a lot of mushrooms, candy canes, echino and what I thought were 2 brittle stars. Now within 2 months of introducing the brittle stars. There seem to be hundreds of baby brittle stars... They are everyehere.
Cause for concern????
How often will this happen????
What do I do with them?????
Ahhhhhhhhhhh !!!

Thankx for your help

 

[dc]

They are harmless, and probably full grown. I know they split, not sure how else they reproduce. The little ones are different than the large ones. You've probably had them in your tank all along and just started noticing them.

[welcome]

 

[ophiuroid]

Like any animals that "bloom," you may want to review your feeding. These animals are scavengers, and if there is a lot to eat, there will be a lot of brittlestars. I agree that the one's you see are fully grown, and are considered highly beneficial. But if you have a lot, it is worth taking a look at your feeding.

If they are white and have five arms, they are Amphipholis, and this is a self fertilizing hermaphrodite that broods its offspring. If these are six armed one's or have banded arms, then it is Ophiactis, and it reproduces primarily by splitting. Larger species of brittlestars do not typically reproduce in our tanks.