Green Brittle\serpent Star, opinions?

[Stence]

I need your opinions! My wife picked out a green brittle/serpent star for my mini reef, . Is it safe? Do/ did you have any experience with these, or factual stories? Thanks.

Tank, 50gallons tall, 50ish pounds of live rock, 3 inches live sand

Live stock: all juvenile
2 scooter dragonets/blennies
1 false percula
1 skunk clown
1 yellow tail blue damsel
6 peppermint shrimp
3 small hermit crabs (blue legged)
2 odd snails

[Stence]

Oh, and 3 small Xenia colonies, 3 hairy mushrooms, about 30 small mixed polyps, green star polyp? coral frag, 2 finger sponges

[Kgoarmy17]

I haven't had any problems myself, but have heard stories of very large specimens attacking/eating fish while they are sleeping. Smaller ones shouldnt be a problem. Usually brittle stars are quite safe.

[delsol650]

I have 2 of them in my 100 gal.. I feed them shrimp...

but they are nicknamed " GREEN DEATH " for some reason.

[Kgoarmy17]

Hehe.

I've actually watched one get a damsel in the middle of the night before. With a red lense on a flashlight.

The star used his arms to prop himself up over the damsel, positioned his legs all around the fish and then lowered his body on top fo the fish. It was neat to watch, and a lesson well learned.

[delsol650]

I heard of them " CAVE HUNTING " some video... but couldnt find it on the net

[ophiuroid]

They are a known predator in the wild.

This may not mean that you have any problems, but there is certainly potential there, and spot feeding may not prevent problems.

They also get very very large.

IMO they are no real threat to your corals, excpet possibly knocking them over. But small fish and shrimp are fair game.

[Stence]

So now I am hoping for the best and hoping for survival of my livestock, keeping a close eye on it, thanks folks I really appreciated the help

[delsol650]

I just noticed a couple of weeks after putting the stars.. I have lost a cleaner wrasse already.

[dc]

http://images16.fotki.com/v3/photos/2/28482/68928/brittle_eating_shrimp-vi.jpg

Here's mine with the cleaner shrimp.:lol:

[ophiuroid]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8225982#post8225982 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by delsol650
I just noticed a couple of weeks after putting the stars.. I have lost a cleaner wrasse already.


Well here is the issue:

We are inclined to believe, naturally, that our livestock is perfectly healthy and that it was captured and eaten...not that it died. The survival rate of cleaner wrasse is definitely not good, so it is entirely possible, IMO, that the wrasse died, and the clean up crew did what it is put in to do (eat dead things).

So I think we always have to keep that in mind whenever we accuse these animals of something. They may capture something healthy, yes, but we also must be open to the other alternative.

[Stence]

DC, is what is the "tent" on your star? is that the shrimp inside? or under it?

ophiuroid,
"So I think we always have to keep that in mind whenever we accuse these animals of something. They may capture something healthy, yes, but we also must be open to the other alternative."

that is more inline with my thinking, and hopes. Survival of the healthiest / fittest. (within compatible guidelines).

[ophiuroid]

That is the shrimp inside :)

This often leads to major issues for the brittlestar. Eating a meal so large (and actually quite sharp) can cause it to poke a hole right through the animal. This is what I believe happens when we see a major disk injury to a brittlestar, but no issues with the arms falling off (which would be characteristic of osmotic shock). They can in fact recover from such things quite well, and quite rapidly.

http://home.att.net/~ophiuroid/assets/images/mastix_regen2.jpg