what is this?

[snesbit01]

hello all and thanks in advance for any info you can give me. i just recently got my first tank going. i added 2 black and white clown fish to the tank along with an anemone that they had already hosted to in the fish store. the anemone was already attached to some live rock so i decided to buy the rock with the anemone on it. since ive added it to my tank ive noticed some interesting hitch hikers. im going to try to attach a picture and hope somebody can identify what it is. thanks again for the help.

 

[frey]

looks like a small brittle star. how long has your tank been up and cycled? anemone's should not be added until the tank is well established. but since you have it now, good luck

 

[gunner105]

kinda looks like a brittle star but im no expert sadly

 

[snesbit01]

thanks for the info. are they good to keep around?

 

[SALTYwaterDOG]

:thumbsup:Good guy

 

[snesbit01]

awesome. do i need to do anything to care for it so it can grow or does it just scavenge?

 

[frey]

its good until they get bigger, I have also seen dwarf ones that never seem to get large. it will just scavenge around for whatever it can find. just think of it as part of the clean up crew. if it is a larger variety just watch it around small fish once it gets to be the size of your hand or near there.

 

[Jeff4777]

its good until they get bigger, I have also seen dwarf ones that never seem to get large. it will just scavenge around for whatever it can find. just think of it as part of the clean up crew. if it is a larger variety just watch it around small fish once it gets to be the size of your hand or near there.

No they are beneficial even when large. You only really need to worry about green serpents attacking fish. Good to keep even when they grow.

 

[Ron Reefman]

its good until they get bigger, I have also seen dwarf ones that never seem to get large. it will just scavenge around for whatever it can find. just think of it as part of the clean up crew. if it is a larger variety just watch it around small fish once it gets to be the size of your hand or near there.

I have 2 very big serpent stars in my 180g reef and 3 stars, 2 serpent and 1 brittle in my 75g hexagon tank and even the small fish have been perfectly safe. The only star that has a reputation for going after live fish is the green serpent star. And even that is not a sure thing depending on the star and your feeding habits.

 

[SALTYwaterDOG]

I have one that is enormous, and I haven't had any missing fish yet. And it's fun to feed

 

[snesbit01]

Thanks for all the input. This is only the second time I've seen it since I put that rock in my tank. I guess I will let home do his thing and see what happens.

 

[frey]

I have 2 very big serpent stars in my 180g reef and 3 stars, 2 serpent and 1 brittle in my 75g hexagon tank and even the small fish have been perfectly safe. The only star that has a reputation for going after live fish is the green serpent star. And even that is not a sure thing depending on the star and your feeding habits.

I have had both large brittle stars and large serpent stars catch and eat fish and watched with my own eyes. not the fish died and the star came over to get a meal, literally watched them grab a fish hold on to it and eat it over the course of a few hours. I even got a serpent again about 3 years ago and I had to move him to my sump about 8 months ago because my gobies were going missing. since I moved him nothing else has disappeared. not trying to say anyone is right or wrong, I just know from my experience it happens.

 

[ca1ore]

Looks like a micro-star. Useful detritovore. Population will wax and wane with available food. Doesn't get much bigger than that.