Serpent starfish

[rancoo]

I ordered brittle starfish and ended up getting serpent starfish instead. I have small fish and have heard they will eat them. Is this true?

[Boonjob]

I ordered brittle starfish and ended up getting serpent starfish instead. I have small fish and have heard they will eat them. Is this true?

I would be leary, some species have been associated with spiders of the water community. They are uncanny fast at night when they are active and can munch on a fish or two. Not sure if yours will to be honest though. I heard others are great at cleaning up the tank, I think the brittlestars are more the fish eating type and serpent's are more detrivores

[rancoo]

Not sure what I should do with them

[micki]

I have 2 red brittle stars in my 125 and no problems.  I've heard the green ones are the most likely to eat your fish.  You could always put them in your fuge.

[Boonjob]

I think it also really plays in to their size... I have heard the same as micki that the green bristle's have a rep for fish munching, But I also haven't heard of any istances where the star wasnt of a large size(10"+) and I heard most can be pretty bad at catching the fish.

[rancoo]

Both of these are red

[Wall_Tank]

I've never had a problem with the Brown, brownish red stars.   Mine right now is easily 15" if he is all stretched out.

[Boonjob]

I want something to remove more detritrus than what is already being removed in my tank. The narsususs snails I have only really come out when I put food in the tank(during the night or day) and my conch comes out but he usually only hits the same spots and leavs the whole back side of the tank alone.

I was looking at one of these guys or a sand sifting star... any recomendations... Also I started with 10 narsiuss snails and have only been able to see 7 max at a time so I think I lost a few in my sand.

[rancoo]

Well I put the both In so I can let you know boon how they do

[Boonjob]

Well I put the both In so I can let you know boon how they do

How big were they? I only ask as I don't think my tank has the room to hide some much larger than a few inches in length

[mypieceofocean]

I have 2 serpent stars in my tank a red and brown they have never bothered any of my fish.

[rancoo]

About 2 & 4inches

[coral ranch]

Boonjob I would reconsider the sand sifting star. They are such efficient sifters that they can strip a sandbed of all the bennificial infauna turning a live sandbed into a dead one.You may want to try a good sand sifting cucumber like a tiger tail. I know cucumbers have the potential to poison tanks but I have never found tiger tails or the pink and blacks to be much of a problem.

[Boonjob]

I looked at them, I am only hesitant as it says they can release their toxins when they die and I have some large power heads in my tank and I heard they like to find cucumbers? have you found that even though they die they still don't release the toxin? and how much toxin are we talking about here... like total tank shut down or maybe a few fatalities until it disperses in the tank

[micki]

FWIW, I've had 2 tiger tails for I think 4 years and no problems with them.  I don't have any powerheads in the tank, but only rarely do I see them on the glass.

[Todd W.]

I looked at them, I am only hesitant as it says they can release their toxins when they die and I have some large power heads in my tank and I heard they like to find cucumbers? have you found that even though they die they still don't release the toxin? and how much toxin are we talking about here... like total tank shut down or maybe a few fatalities until it disperses in the tank

I unfortunately had one die on me in my tank (along with a brittle star, hermits,  and coral banded shrimp due to an alkalinity spike).  It did not release any toxins that I could attribute to it.  Nothing else in my tank was affected, snails, fish or corals...

[coral ranch]

I had 4 tiger tails come in in real bad shape. All 4 died during the night and nothing in my back 75 seemed bothered.

[Boonjob]

Thanks for the info guys, do they run the risk of starving?