ID Stars

[TFMANIAC]

I was out fishing last night and pulled up some reeds towards the end. They were covered in these little spiny starfishes. Currently, I have them in my sump in a small container. Are they safe to just dump in?

[cdckjn]

They are brittle stars - some like a starfish - a sand bed cleaner - honestly they don't survive very long in my tank - normally about a day - so I normally don't bother to take them back - only to realise that I will kill them later. I will release them back to the sea.

[bugattilambo]

They are brittle stars - some like a starfish - a sand bed cleaner - honestly they don't survive very long in my tank - normally about a day - so I normally don't bother to take them back - only to realise that I will kill them later. I will release them back to the sea.

some lfs have them not sure can survive long not

but if u have small fishes they will eat ur small fishes up

[yikai]

some lfs have them not sure can survive long not

but if u have small fishes they will eat ur small fishes up

this is not true.

brittle stars are excellent detrivours and are a great addition to any tank. they will eat uneaten food, and dead fishes.

with one exception. the green brittle star have been known to attack and eat small sleeping fishes. all other brittle stars should be okay.

brittlestars share the same fate as bristleworms, as being misunderstood and labelled as "mean fish eaters" in fact, they make good scavengers. go ahead and add them in if you wish. i have 2 big brittle stars for about 1 year now, and so far no livestock have been lost to them.

[TFMANIAC]

thanks for all the info guys.... it's been 2 days and they are still alive.. all are really tiny though.. the main body is smaller than 5 cent coins.

Even if I do add them to the tank, they'll live in the sump.

Right now, they are in a small covered beancurd container with numerous pin holes in it, submerged in my sump's water.

[yikai]

thanks for all the info guys.... it's been 2 days and they are still alive.. all are really tiny though.. the main body is smaller than 5 cent coins.

Even if I do add them to the tank, they'll live in the sump.

Right now, they are in a small covered beancurd container with numerous pin holes in it, submerged in my sump's water.

i have tons of them living in my live rock

if you think yours are small, mine are all smaller than 1cm. the body itself is only 0.2mm. regardless of where you keep them, they will provide good services to your tank.

they might eat all those uneaten food and detrises that end up in your sump!

[TFMANIAC]

Cool.. I'll probably do that once the main tank is completely filled up with water