I asked about a serpent starfish at the LFS and was quickly told that they will consume my fish. Reading about them on here and liveaquaria, I thought l one might be a good additional to my cuc. I was surprised when he told me that as I assumed starfish aren't like a Venus flytrap that would catch fish if they got too close.
serpent starfish
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FishyReef
Broke Reefer!
The green brittle starfish will eat fish and are commonly known as the green brittlestars of death. I haven't heard that about serpent stars, but my guess is that any brittle or serpent star could go after a fish when they get really large. That said, if you get a smaller sized brittle or serpent you should be fine, just stay away from the green ones! (For what its worth, I've found that my LFSs all only carry the green ones - to get non-green ones I had to order online, and that ended badly for me because they ship so poorly).
Cathic
Fish Wrangler
Never had a problem with my serpent star, go nuts whenever i put food in the tank, i occasionally supplement his feeding with a small sized krill (frozen), which he then battles against the hermits to consume. Entertaining to me, those hermits dont waste time hauling their tiny asses across the tank when krill goes in.
little_fish
Moderator
Stick with the brittle/serpent stars until your reef is well established, and then you can think about keeping the more difficult types
yote
In Memoriam
The only Brittle stars that's NOT fish safe is the green ones. The others are mostly scavengers that had rather eat waste than try to catch a fish.
The Green Brittle's are seasoned predators that prefer live prey.
Serpents are safe to have.
The Green Brittle's are seasoned predators that prefer live prey.
Serpents are safe to have.
Thanks to both of you. I read the posts on this site a lot and the views expressed here heavily influence my decisions. As such, I find it ironic when one salesperson, at the LFS I go to, suggested I join a salt water tank forum, but when I return to the store to ask questions, I find myself heavily filtering the information they disperse with information I have learned on here. But to me, the proof is in the tank, if the person has a tank that looks awesome, I give much more credence to what that person says. (My current rock scapeing was based on showing my wife the pictures of biff and lf's pictures posted a couple of months ago in a thread about having adequate flow and the person saying they were leaving the forum because they thought the moderator, I think little fish, was crazy. That was a cool thread, really git me to move on increasing flow in my tank.)
little_fish
Moderator
Glad to have been a source of inspiration and encouragement :)
Bifferwine
I am a girl
LOL, that thread. :lol:
Like others have said, serpent stars are fine. The only brittles you need to watch out for are the big green ones (and they are normally BIG!!). I don't think any CUC is complete without a brittle or serpent star or two -- they are great at picking up leftover fish food and detritus from the sand. And are fun to feed too -- they will gladly take food out of your feeding tongs and it's cool to watch them grip the food and move it to their mouth.
I thought I read that before on here, I guess the LFS guy either doesn't get real serpents, didn't want to sell me one or boy I'm stumped on why he would tell me that. The first time I met the guy, probably my inexperience skewed my views, he seemed really knowledgeable and seemed to care, reassuring me that if I listen to his advice, I couldn't fail. That was the same day he didn't suggest a dump instead of a canister, which on another occasion he told me you shouldn't use a canister when I was asking him about tuning in my coralife 65 that he also sold me. Maybe I should just consult with a different person when I go there. It is a really clean store, their forte is fish, not a dog and cat store with some fish in the back, their prices on livestock and dry goods tend to be on par with online retailers, and finally, the other LFS is yucky and overpriced. :frustrat:
Bluesaltwater87
Aquarium System Design
I have brittle stars in my tank and they hide all the time but i see there legs sticking out and i have never had a problem with a fish eater. i like them and will alwas have them.
yote
In Memoriam
No matter how knowledgeable a LFS employee seems to be. We don't know everything and just flat out make mistakes sometimes.
So arm yourself with at least the basics before you ever set foot in the LFS.
Anybody got a link to the a fore mentioned thread?
Yote, I hear what you are saying, I know that no one is perfect. However, the guy just gave me a list of tangs that he would recommend for my 55 gallon tank and told me that serpent stars were bad if I wanted to keep my fish, did I mention that he tried to upsell me to an eheim canister verses the fluval I ended up purchasing and stopped using after learning more on here about how it is a nitrate factory, oh, and now he suggests I place the skimmer in a sump. Just a bit frustrated, and stating that if you keep telling me things that are not right, they add up to me not believing much of what you say. Yes, knowledge of what I am looking to purchase is the best thing before I enter the store.
yote
In Memoriam
I wouldn't be trusting that guy at all. I don't recommend any tangs in a 55 and try to discourage my customers with smaller tanks from buying them.
BUT, I too would recommend having an in-sump skimmer. Personally,I like the cone skimmers.Mainly because the cone sets on top of the pump which saves space in the sump. Plus the sump is where most of the dissolved proteins end up,since they tend to collects on the water surface, going through the over flow into the sump.
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yote
In Memoriam
We run those coralife cone skimmers at the LFS. They seem to do a good job. Probably not the bast out there, but they work.
The thing about this hobby is that what works for one tank may not work on another. Every tank is different. So everybody has a different train of thought.
Cathic
Fish Wrangler
Ahhh I enjoyed reading that thread about the koralia pump.
yote
In Memoriam
Yeah,,,I missed that one. :frustrat:
2XAl
Salt Addict
I have a brittle star in the 55, he's been in there for years and never had a problem with him eating anything. We'll go a month without seeing him then one day you see an arm sticking out of the rock like he's waving and just saying hey!
