Chacolate chip stars ARE killers!!!

[bobby]

I have had a chacolate chip since my tank has cycled before the corals were ever added, and when I went to add them people said beware they will eat your corals. Well I decided to give it a shot and for a long time he bothered nothing. I did keep him well feed and credited it to that. Well one day he got on top of a snail and killed and ate it. I though ok no biggy just a snail, heck maybe the snail just crawled under him LOL but still no touching corals and if he did he would go around. So came the day I thought for sure nothing would happen and quit watching him soooo closely and BAM he was ontop of my clove polyp trying to munch away, but luckly enough I cought him before any damage was done and banished him to my HOB filter till my new tank was cycled. He did fine in there till today, today he crawled out and was just mossying around the tank, so I thought I would give him another chance (seeing how the HOB must be a cramped place to live) Well he did fine all day. Then at about 2:00 I noticed he quit moving and thought nothing of it (only because I forgot I had a loose frag of zoas sitting there) Well after about 6 hours of not moving off the sand bed I thought " why is he just staying there" Well I picked him up and found my zoa frag under him in his stomach that comes out. I thought you sneaky little bass tird you belong on the bottom of a bass lake, and now he sits in the HOB filter till further notice.

Well the moral of the story is I bragged on this guy through all the warnings I got. Everybody said becarfull, caution, watch him closely, but did I listen. NO I'M JUST TOO HARD HEADED!!! So if your attemping this same thing or have been warned about something numerus times PLEASE DO NOT STOP WATCHING IT OR WHAT EVER IT IS YOU'VE BEEN WARNED ABOUT.

Well thanks for listening to me rant on a books worth here.LOL And be carefull if your trying this same thing.

[reeffreak]

Sorry to hear that Bobby?....even things that are considered reef safe sometimes isn't and vise versa.I never really been a fan of any starfish including the brittle/Serpent stars.Is there any starfish thats considered reef safe?

[yote]

Hate to here that Bobby.
I had a CC star when I first started my 30.He ate the first mushroom I ever bought.So he got traded for a serpent star.The surpent hast touched anything that I know of YET.
One thing Ive learned since getting into saltwater,is there are no absolutes.When someone comes into the LFS and asks if a certian fish will get along white there others,My answer is always 50/50.

[bobby]

Yea linkas and sandsifter and brittles are considered reef safe, however linka dont last long in tanks beacuse no one knows for sure what they eat, and most die within 18 moinths from malnutrition. I also have a green brittle and sand sifter in my reef tank that havnt bothered anything yet. I have read though that green brittles will eat small fish. So When the 55 ready the CC star and the green brittle will go in there.

I think the zoas might be ok. CC stars have a stomach that comes out of the bottom of them and he ended up droping it after a few seconds, they still look ok but are not opening yet.

[bobby]

Yote, what color is your brittle? They say the green ones are the mean ones, and thats what I have.

[yote]

My Brittle is white with black stripes.All I ever see of him are his arms,he sticks them out of the rock work at night and kinda acts like a filter feeder.When I feed my BTA I always drop the brittle a silverside which he will snatch up quick.

[bobby]

The only big ones I have seen before are black and green. Do you have a pic? I would like to see a white and black one. Today I went to my LFS and they had about a 20 LBS rock full of tiny white brittles all over it, they were only about 1/4 inch though. I would have loved to buy the rock but I have too much in my 30 and I thought the 55 is still cycling so they would just die. Allwell may be next time if I can find one.

[yote]

I wish I did have a pic of em Bobby.But the day I bought him,I brought him home,and found out the wife had loaned my camera out.Now hes set up shop back in the rock where I cant get a picture of em.
I have a bunch of those little micro brittles in my 30.Tomorrow im going to try to catch them out and move them to the 55.Then it will be empty except for the water and crushed coral live sand mix,which is the main reason im gonna re do it any way.

[bobby]

Sounds cool. Do they spread fast? I sent you a PM about a contest did you get it?

[yote]

They seem to spread pretty good.I didnt realize there was so many in there untill this morning.