Will a brittle star kill fish?

[pennrj430]

Hi, I have had a brittle star http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2079 in my tank for about a year now. Through out the year, I have had a few fish disappear mysteriously. 1 purple fire fish, a sixline wrass, a very small purple tang, a green chroma, and most recently a cleaner shrimp. These have disappeared with no trace, and were perfectly healthy before hand. I have also a few small fish that I have had for about a year now, and are still healthy. I'm not sure, but I'm beginning to think that my brittle star might be the culprit. Could this be the case? Thanks

[FloatingFish]

YES!!!!

[pennrj430]

Hi FloatingFish, you have had a bad experience with a brittle star? Anyone else?

[Icedawg4563]

You Betcha

[FloatingFish]

They stand on there legs and wait for the fish to swim between them and when it does it twist it's legs up and captures the sushi. Good eats!!!!!!

[albinooscar]

You bet ya they eat fish! I lost a $80 jawfish to one! I had the jawfish for only 1 day.

Ron

[pennrj430]

Ok, thanks. Can you maybe elaberate a little more? Is it general knowledge that they are bad? Or, are they sometimes good and sometimes bad? Is there maybe another starfish that might be a better choice for me to switch this one out for? One that is a good detritus scavenger?

[pennrj430]

Really, wow. How do I trap mine to get him out?

[albinooscar]

They are hit-n-miss. I had mine for about 7 months. I think it might depend on what kind of fish you have. Fish that swim around a lot don't seem to get caught but fish that sit aroung on/in the rocks do.

To get mine out I lured out with a silver side and grabbed it by hand.

Ron

[FloatingFish]

Sandsifting star. There more active and stay in the sand and don't go into the rocks.

[pennrj430]

Ok, great. FloatingFish, I have crushed coral, is this ok for a Sandsifting star?

[FloatingFish]

Don't know I got sand, sorry.

[greenbean36191]

Most brittle stars are predatory, some species more than others. The serpent stars are safer.
Sand sifting stars like sand, but they eat the sandbed life and in most tanks slowly starve (over several months to years).

[pennrj430]

Thanks greenbean36191, So, is it better to stay starfish free? Is my cuke enough to keep my whole tank detritus free? Or are there other type of stars that would be ok?

[greenbean36191]

The only true starfish that do well in captivity are Asterina and in some in large tanks, Linckia and sand sifters. Serpent stars also do well. Asterina are so small and hard to see that they aren't worth adding (not to mention some eat corals). Linckia and sand sifters need large tanks or they starve and like I mentioned earlier the sand sifters ruin a sandbed. Other than that I wouldn't recommend any stars to anyone. They tend to be hard to feed and sensitive to changes in salinity and temp.

[newguy1983]

edit - mods delete

[algonquin]

My brittlestar ate my xenia, and also went after a feather duster. I came home from work and saw him just finishing off my xenia, and my wife had to rescue the featherduster from him because he grabbed it and pulled it under a rock. I waited till he was under a rock then lifted it and grabbed and just kept the pressure on him till he let go.
Andy

[pennrj430]

Ok, thanks greenbean36191, I guess I'll stick with my cuke. I'm glad I posted, I want to get rid of this star.. Thanks for everyone's help.

[phil519]

Is it possible liveaquaria mis-id'd your star and instead of Ophiocomidae, they sent you Ophiarachna incrassata?

Dr. Ron:
"This species of brittle star is, without a doubt, one of the most voracious predators that may be put into a reef tank. Ophiarachna incrassata have been documented to eat several species of aquarium fish, including firefish, various and sundry damsel fishes, mandarin fish, blennies, small gobies, and cleaner wrasses. Additionally, they have been observed tearing other brittle stars apart to eat their gut's contents, and they may have the same habit with sea anemones and corals. And, if that weren't enough, they have also been observed to eat cleaner shrimp and other crustaceans."

Full article here by Dr. Ron on sea stars:

Echinoderms by Dr. Ron (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rs/index.htm)

[mitchiemitch1]

i saw mine try to eat a pep shrimp and i just got a mandarin.. now im worried. any sure fire way to thell the 2 apart .

[pennrj430]

Hi phil519, I did a google search on both of them to look at a bunch of pictures. I'm 99.9% sure it's the Ophiocoma scolopendrina that I have, and not the Ophiarachna incrassata.

[phil519]

Originally posted by pennrj430
Thanks greenbean36191, So, is it better to stay starfish free? Is my cuke enough to keep my whole tank detritus free? Or are there other type of stars that would be ok?

As an aside - bristle worms are excellent detritus feeders. Snails may also be helpful for stirring the sand bed - cerith snails or nass snails...with cerith being less the carnivore and more the algae feeder.

more reading in case you missed these helpful articles:
The Grazing Snails, Part III: Conchs, Ceriths, Cowries, and Columbellids (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/rs/index.htm)

Good to hear it's not the green star of death. Good luck anyways though!

[pennrj430]

Thank you

[PITSTOP]

ARRRGGHHH!!! I always suspected the lil bastard! I've got the blackest hairiest uglist damned brittle star ever! It looks like an experiment gone horribly awry....all fast moving, hairy...well you get it....

I has snacked on at least 5 fish, cleaner shrimps, and who knows what else has gone missing!

I finally took out all my rock, grabbed it, and threw it into my sump...now what to do to it...wonder how it would enjoy my 14" Oscar?

[pennrj430]

I'm with you PITSTOP, mine killed 5 fish too, including my beloved cleaner shrimp (he even had a name :( ) . I'm hunting mine tonight. Lights are off, I'm checking every few min with my flashlight. I don't have an Oscar to give it too, but I'm sure he'll enjoy my toilet.

[adam0086]

how big a brittle star are we talking about here? i got one which hitchhiked on my LR, it must be about 5" when fully opened but its central disc is only about 8-10mm in diameter... not to mention its arms look all thin and scrawny.. i can hardly imagine it eating a fish! but then again im am a n00b...

do you think with a moonlight fish would be safe from them?

[jgln]

I have a brown one about 6" (spread out) that looks like your picture. He's in with 2 small clownfish, a 2" hawkfish and been there for about 2 months and hasn't harmed anything. Fish don't seem alarmed. Just put in a peppermint shrimp and he's been fine for 2 weeks now. I feed him small clam pieces every other day or so. He eats slowly. I like him.
On the other hand, we brought a green brittle star just a bit bigger. Decided to put him in the refugium after he grabbed several large clam pieces (while still in the bag) and shoved them into his mouth in about 1 second. His body grew 3-4 times it's size almost immediately. I'm sure my fish would have been gone in a day or two if I put him in the display. Defiantly no green ones.

[bayarea510]

Are all types of brittle stars predatorial??

[greenbean36191]

Not all, but most of the bigger ones are.

[reverai]

My Serpent star just moves to slowly to catch anything that isn't standing still. I've my pepperment shirmp walk over the legs and even take food away from the star. Mostly my star hangs around in the live rock and eats what food makes it down into the rocks. He's perhaps 6 inches all spread out.

Steve

[pennrj430]

My brittle star is about 10 inches or so, about the size of my 2 hands. I still haven't been able to catch him yet. So, are you guys saying a serpent star is safe? As in still do a good job cleaning up my crushed coral, and not eat any fish or coral?

[pennrj430]

adam0086, are yo usure what you have is a brittle star? My brittle star has spike type things all over it's body. Looks like this.. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2079