So my Green Brittle Star 'cleaned up' my "cleaning crew" - Need Advice

Fishy Business · #1 10/10/2007, 07:41 PM

A couple of weeks ago I added a Green Brittle Star to my tank.

I thought at one time that my blue legged crab population looked slimmer than I thought. Couldnt locate like 20 off hand. It just looked like some were missing.

Well today, I found my Green Brittle Star hovering over some hermit crab's carcsses. It looked like the reamins of atleast 2 crabs. Just their legs were left.

Should I be concerned about my fish in my tank? Has anyone had any experiences like this for themselves? I have heard alot of "rumors" about this species but would like to hear someones real experiences. Also, I would like to add so more crabs to my tank now. What type of crabs (if any) would you reccomend now?

Thanks for everyones help. This site is awesome.

Fishy Business · #2 10/10/2007, 08:49 PM

bump

kau_cinta_ku · #3 10/10/2007, 09:14 PM

the green brittle stars have a reputation for eating anything it can catch. not one of the good stars IMO. if I was U i would either trade it back to the LFS or send it to the sump/fuge

rcerulli · #4 10/10/2007, 09:57 PM

welcome to "The Green Death". On a side note the only thing my brittle ever ate was a dieing clownfish, which most likely died then got eaten.

Bygkid · #5 10/10/2007, 10:07 PM

I was talking to a guy at the LFS a few weeks ago. He said that he actually saw his green brittle climb up and over a chromis of his and then collapsed on the little guy like some kind of trap and caught him right before his very eyes. The eating came next.

I worry sometimes about the black brittle in my tank.

Scott

jakkalofv · #6 10/10/2007, 10:09 PM

if I were to get a brittle star what would be a safer choice?

demonsp · #7 10/10/2007, 10:10 PM

If this i a new tank then there wont be any food for him to scavage for. If hungry enough then anything is a meal. Same with the cleanup crew. If there isnt much to clean then they will eat each other. Start with half then add more as the stock is added. Also be sure there enough live rock for them .

RickySan · #8 10/10/2007, 10:29 PM

i have a black brittle star and so far have had no problems....i know if you feed the star it shouldnt go after your fish. I feed my star sliverside and it seems to stay away from the fish...actually my sixline wrasse loves to go and "hang out" with the star...i would stay away from the green ones....putting it in the sump sounds good to me. goodluck

demonsp · #9 10/10/2007, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RickySan
i have a black brittle star and so far have had no problems....i know if you feed the star it shouldnt go after your fish. I feed my star sliverside and it seems to stay away from the fish...actually my sixline wrasse loves to go and "hang out" with the star...i would stay away from the green ones....putting it in the sump sounds good to me. goodluck

I just got rid of mine , i caught him eating my cleaner shrimp's. I was feeding a few times weekly small pieces of shrimp but i guess that wasnt good enough.

greenbean36191 · #10 10/11/2007, 06:33 AM

Stories of O. incrassata eating fish are more than just rumors, even when the star is well fed. The behavior is well documented within the hobby and in the scientific literature on the species.

Fortunately, most other species are better behaved, but there isn't any way of knowing which species will be fine and which wont. There is no difference between brittle and serpent stars behaviorally or taxonomically. The division between the two is just a distinction made in the hobby based on how the leg spines are held and means nothing about their feeding habits. Almost all are scavengers, and most will stick to dead food unless times get really lean. Each animal is an individual though and they don't read the books about how they're supposed to behave, so use caution.