Brittle Sea Star

Hi,

Tonight I noticed two brittle sea stars (I think) in my tank. They are a brown color with striping and long skinny legs with thorn looking things on them. The legs move kind of like tentacles. Are they okay to have in my tank? I looked online and there seemed to be some debate about them...

Any ideas?! Thanks!!

 

Hi Kc

get a picture up for definite ID , but they do sound like brittle stars and if thats the case they are harmless and normally remain in managable numbers in the reef tank

Steve

 

KEEP THEM!!! i have one and he keeps my tank spit spot. i also have two clownfish and he doesnt bother them at all. i think everyone should have one cause they keep your tank so darn clean. anyways congrats

 

I feel differently...my brittles got BIG fast..and turned into hungry predators...took out my entire shrimp population (2 cleaners, coral banded, and 3 peppermints)...and i know it was them because I caught them in the action...and the shrimp WERE NOT dead already...my advice is go with serpent stars instead...thats just my opinion

 

How big are they? If they're about the size of a quarter or smaller, they're dwarf brittles and are great to have in the tank. If they are kind of big, then they are regular brittle stars and they are generally too hungry to keep in a smallish tank... they will eventually turn live sand into dead sand.

 

One is/was about the size of a dime. I say "was" because my crab was eating him earlier in the evening. I moved the crab off, but I'm pretty sure a crab ate him during the night. The other one I couldn't see completely. It was inside the live rock and had two legs sticking out of the rock and moving around like tentacles, looking for food, I guess?! Anyway, from what I saw he looked pretty dang big. The part of the legs I could see looked about 2 inches long.

If I want to get rid of him because he's too big, how would I do that?

Thanks!

 

Also, the one that hides in the live rock with the long legs, I'm pretty sure is eating my sponges. Does this sound like a brittle star, or do I truly have something creepy on my hands?!