New BrittleStar

W

WerezMiePie

New member
So I just added a brittle star to my 55 gallon tank. I am just wondering if it is doing alright. Upon placement in the tank after 40 minutes of acclamation a water addition every 8 minutes, it instantly went under the rock. I was told to put him in a steep edged container for acclamation because he would try to escape. He didn't try to escape all he did was move around a little then went under my arch and hid.

This is my first sizable creature to put in my first tank so I am very anxious so just bear with my questions.

SG, 1.025
Ammonia, 0
Nitrates, 0
Alkalinity, 250
pH, 8.3
Nitrite, 0

Thank you :uhoh2:
 
It's completely normal. When I took apart my 8 gallon reef, I found tons of brittle stars hiding under my rocks that I didn't even know I had.
 
brittle stars typically do most of their cruising around at night, after lights out. give him a couple of days to settle in and then check with a flashlight (when you do have fish, use a flashlight with a red beam so as not to disturb them). you will most likely see him out and about.

when you say this is your first "sizable" creature, do you have anything else in your tank that you have been feeding? if not, you might want to throw in a few tiny pellets every couple of days to give him something to scavenge for. i have a couple of small ones and one very large brittle star that i target feed with pieces of shrimp or scallop every other night or so.
 
Okay I got some small smolt I can feed him... No All I got is two zombie snails, one other snail, one blue legged hermit, and 2 polyp clusters. Should I feed him right away? I turned off the lights and dropped a piece of small frozen fish in there, he stirred a little when I turned off the lights should I have a dark period every night?
 
They're mostly nocturnal and will come out to eat at night most of the time. Be sure to feed him a few times a week. And, yes, you need a dark period at night. In fact, you need a dark period at night for whatever you're keeping.
What the hey is a zombie snail?
 
Not sure if zombie snail is their actual name but, they are very small and they bury them selves so their nose is out. the come out when they smell food. I just got them to see if they would be suitable for shifting my sand. I think I may get a sleeper goby as well though.
So funny story I turned off tank lights after putting piece of frozen smolt in the tank and I came back and the brittle star was on top of it...
 
Ah, nassarius snails. Not sure if I spelled that right. They do act like zombies! And that's easier to spell.
Yep, that's what they do! Brittle stars search for noms at night.
A sleeper goby will eat all the useful bugs in your sand. I wouldn't suggest getting one, just add more zombie snails or perhaps a fighting conch.
 
I have my daylights set from 12PM-7PM, and atinics around 3ishPM-whenevr I go to sleep (usually 2AM, atinics I don't have a timer for yet.) if that helps at all. I normally don't ever see my serpents in the open.. I'm lucky if I see a leg once a week, they do come out during feeding time however. You can even lure them out by handfeeding them.

Star polyps should be fine.. they're pretty difficult to kill actually. I know people who have their hardyness used against them.

Yeah that sounds like nassarius snails. A zombie snail would actually be the name of a parasitic maggot hosting a land snail. Actually pretty freaky if you research it. I would post an image but I want you guys to enjoy your lunch first. ;)

EDIT: I'll leave this here.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnuo6N3uHC8 notice the maggot moving in the stalks.
 
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Toxoplasmosis I think is the name right... I studied it on a college tour freshman year of highschool. I'm 15 btw... and he found himself a cave, but if they are as hidden as you say I may need to setup a better spot I can still see him well.
 
you will be surprised at how a brittle star can fold itself up and get into places you were just sure it wouldn't fit.

like joe said, you can lure him out with food. put a little (pea-sized) piece of shrimp or whatever else you have for him on the end of a wooden skewer. hold it down near where he is and he'll come out and wrap a leg around the food. i have even had mine take food right from my fingers. it's kinda creepy and cool at the same time. LOL
 
Yeah, you can have a bare sandbed with nothing in it.. next thing you know it takes a week for you to figure out it's hiding in a powerhead, overflow, or filter somewhere. Sneeky little guys.
 
Corals won't have a problem with lights off at night, no. That's what nighttime is out in the ocean, nothing but very faint moonlight, if that.
 
Just kind of a a update. I've bean putting like a 1/2cm x 1/2cm piece of food out every other night and I wake up and it is gone.I have also caught the star moving around the tank last night so I know he is active. Looks like he is doing good!
 
awesome! they are probably my favorite invert. they're poop-eaters-extreme, too. my kole tang is a poopin' machine. i think because of my flow, piles of tang poop end up in one corner of my tank. every night when the lights go out, my big brittle star comes out from under his rock and heads straight to that corner.

eta: here's a video of my big guy taking a piece of shrimp from a skewer. :)
 
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It sounds like your new brittle star is doing fine. Depending how much rock you have, you may seldom see it, and only see part of an arm when you do. I hav one I have had for 8 years, most of that time in a 30g. At times I would not see it for months and kinda forget it was in there. When I upgraded to a bigger tank this summer I was surprised how large it was when I saw the whole thing.
 
Yeah I have very little rock, about 18 pounds in the main tank and another 5 pounds in the refugium. I got a CUC everything is happy, the darn pepper shrimp had babies the day I put it in, lol... There isn't any more gha any more. My emerald crab is starting to come out play full little thing. This is a seahorse tank so now I'm planning gorgonians and macro-algae now. I made a new thread that I wouldn't mind some input on if you don't mind the name of the thread is "Aqua shaping a seahorse tank!?!"
 
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