what the heck is this thing?

[Keaton]

Ok, so I have a few of these tiny things crawling around my tank and i cant figure out what they are. They are extremely small....almost to the point where you might not be able to see them. They are white, with a flat circular mid section, and 4 or so "legs". they look like a combination of a spider/mini-octopus/weird starfish...... ok, that probably doesnt help at all...but has anyone seen anything like this? their legs are "stringy" or tentacle-like...and they almost "inch" around the tank. I dont know how else to describe them...and they are really too small for me to get a picture of. if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

I have attached a drawing of what it looks like.....

Thanks!

 

[yote]

They are probably what is called micro-brittle starfish.They are great additions to your clean up crew and are reef safe.

 

[Bifferwine]

Brittle star or serpent star is my guess too.

 

[Keaton]

Thanks guys! I looked them up, and that seems to be what they are. How big will they get? Do the micro brittle stars get to be as big as regular brittle stars or do they stay micro forever?

 

[Bifferwine]

They stay micro forever. I bet you have a gazillion of them and just don't know it.