Serpant sea star

i've seen pics of them eating snails/hermits....other then that i thought they just ate junk left over on the floor
 
Why do you want to get rid of yours concretereefer? I'm not going to buy one just yet bec. I have some algae to rid of before I start getting more livestock, but I will definately take you up on your offer once the algae prevents to prevail!
 
I have one in one of my tanks and he has never bothered anything else. I periodically feed him shrimp pellets just to make sure he is getting enough food.
 
So there's no setback to having them? Such as releasing toxins when they die, or stressed or hard to take care of? If not, it sounds good.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12380560#post12380560 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mappelbaum37
So there's no setback to having them? Such as releasing toxins when they die, or stressed or hard to take care of? If not, it sounds good.
Click to expand...

Nope. Just be sure to acclimate them slowly. They can be sensitive to rapid osmotic changes... basically anytime within the first couple of weeks they can start losing chunks of their arms and end up dead if they're shocked by being added to "different" water too quickly.

Kevin
 
Another vote for no problem. Have had one in my 55 for a couple of years who has grown HUGE. If I don't feed him, I'll catch him standing up like he's trying to catch something, but it's fun to feed him so I don't mind. Now he begs whenever food hits the water by waving an arm from wherever he is in the rocks. The kids invite their friends over to watch me "feed the sea monster". We enjoy ours a lot and I've never seen him eat a crab or snail. If anything, I have to knock the crabs off of him when I'm trying to feed him.
 
I rescued one of these from a local pet store. I put it in my refuge just to be safe. I get a little nervous about putting it in with my fish. I know there probably wouldnt be any problems, but I dont want to take the chance.

Also avoid the green stars they are notorius for hunting , and eating small fish.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12380449#post12380449 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mappelbaum37
Why do you want to get rid of yours concretereefer? I'm not going to buy one just yet bec. I have some algae to rid of before I start getting more livestock, but I will definately take you up on your offer once the algae prevents to prevail!
Click to expand...

My girlfriend is deathly afraid of it.. also- he disturbs my sand bed with all his scavenging..
 
Love my red serpent! Sneaks out each time I feed. Never had a problem with mine taking fish, hermits or snails. I also have a few brittle stars. As stated above, avoid the green stars.
 
Yeah, I read about those green stars also. Fish go randomly missing and they realize they had the killer green star in the tank. I think I'm only going to get the tiger striped one and maybe one other diff. type. How often do you guys feed them? Daily? can they go a couple days or every other day with no food?

Thanks
 
I dont specifically feed mine, it eats what it can. next time I am at the LFS tho I do plan to get some frozen silversides for it to eat. I had mine live through a period w/o food for few months, and it never went after my clown who slept in very easy reach of hungry tenticles at night. I go away on the weekend and dont feed at all, usually my tank gets 1 cube of frozen mysis every week day (split between 2 clowns, a cleaner shrimp, some hermits, the frogspawn and the star). they are pretty hardy little critters and I plan to get a second when I have my 75g up and running. the one I have now is a harlequen serpent star (has grey and black badns on arms and a arking on its 'head').
 
I love my serpent, he is a green brittle star, and you will hear horror stories about these guys but mine has been great. I hand feed him 3 times per week and he doesn't bother any other tank inhabitants. He also generates the most interest in the tank when we have guests.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12388832#post12388832 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mappelbaum37
I plan on getting this one below:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+528+735&pcatid=735

3 last questions:

1) How many for a 75 gallon tank? Is there a min. or max.?
2) They ARE reef safe right?
3) I have some frozen food that stays in cube form when wet. Can I feed that, instead of silversides?
Click to expand...

1) There really isn't a maximum, other than the amount you'd have to feed to keep a bunch of them. Keep 1, 2, 3 or 5 if you want, they'll be fine in a 75 with some live rock to hide under/around.

2) Yes, they won't harm your reef. The green ones are known to trap and consume fish and an occasional shrimp, but they certainly aren't a problem for larger fish or corals.

3) If you just end up with one or two, you don't have to target feed them, as long as you feed your fish a few times a week - the brittles/serpents will simply clean up the scraps. They do like larger chunks of meaty food, so a larger chunk of that frozen cube, a silverside, a chunk of raw shrimp or krill will all be appreciated (plus it's cool to wtach them eat a larger chunk of food, especially after they have just taken it from your hand...).

Kevin
 
Susan has a very informative star site here:

http://home.att.net/~ophiuroid/

From her main page, go down to the OPHIUROIDS link on the lower right, or the "BRITTLESTARS in the home aquarium" link on the left. Those will give you lots of info on serpents/brittles.

Here's a picture of my favorite type of serpent:

1075RedSerpent_Ophioderma_squamosissimum__.jpg


I had this one for over 9 years before a powerhead-blenderized RBTA caused its death (and another that I'd had for over 7 years). It was about 20" in diameter, with a 2+" diameter body.

I have only one red serpent right now, which has been with me for 5 years.

FWIW,
Kevin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Novice Aquarist - Sump & Equipment Questions
Replies
9
Views
343
wvned
wvned
Niven
I'm back....and ready to jump back in, feet first in the deep end, speedo, everything!
2
Replies
24
Views
745
griss
griss
vlangel
75g Lurking danger and Leafy Seadragons
13 14 15
Replies
298
Views
12K
vlangel
vlangel
P
50 Gallon Stocking Help
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
Urka
U
NancyT3
Appropriate light for anenomes and sea star
Replies
7
Views
1K
NancyT3
NancyT3
Back
Top