Serpent Stars

[Neogenesis]

Are all serpent stars reef safe?  I've seen the normal brown/gray ones, but the LFS has in orange/red ones in that look kinda cool.  I've never come across them before and am going to pick one up if they are safe.

Thanks,

Scott

[Wall_Tank]

Are all serpent stars reef safe?  I've seen the normal brown/gray ones, but the LFS has in orange/red ones in that look kinda cool.  I've never come across them before and am going to pick one up if they are safe.

They should be reef safe in that they won't eat corals.    But some serpents are known to kill/eat sleeping fish.    Red ones in particular have been reported to do this, but that doesn't mean they all will

[Ashlar]

I haven't heard of serpent stars killing / eating fish, but I have seen a green brittle star trying to trap and catch a small fish.

I've had a red serpent star for five years or so, and he's been a model citizen.

[Wall_Tank]

I haven't heard of serpent stars killing / eating fish, but I have seen a green brittle star trying to trap and catch a small fish.

They are both in a similar family, but I guess the brittle starts are more known for this.

[slandis3]

The will eat dead or dying fish, I have seen them do this but, if a fish is healthy they should be fine. I have 2 huge ( 12"+ tip to tip) gray stars in my tank and they are ok.

[The WuSue]

I had a red serpent star (the kinda that looks like a pincushion with five arms) and he killed an unspecified amount of fish and inverts. We weren't sure what it was he ate because we originally thought it was the flower anenomie that was doing it. What he did was hide in the top of rock work caves and when something he thought he could tackle swam under the rock he sucked em up like an octopus would.

There was a post about that somewhere on here.

[Ashlar]

Interesting.. the other serpent star I have in my tank is a brown / tan colored one, and he's also been a model citizen. We have.. umm.. 4 LARGE brittle stars (3 brown, one black), 2 serpent stars, and a hitchhiker brittle star that's a bit smaller. We've had many docile fish that sleep in the rock work without losing them to this crew.