Baby brittle stars from coral.

[Marc118]

I got a few new corals today and 2 tiny tiny bby brittles hopped out of my starburst polyps, whats the likelyhood they will grow to mature adults?

 

[Civicman86]

I have a ton of them in my tank that came from the rocks/corals. They seem to be doing very well. None are of considerable size though.

 

[ntswift]

I've got a ton in my tank also. I dont know how long it takes them to mature though. I know they are excellent algea eaters from what I've heard!

 

[AMANIQU77]

I see their legs. It almost covers a rock.

(a) do they ever get out or are they trapped in there?

(b) Are they bad for corals?

(c) Are there inverts that eat them? They're kinda ugly looking. Makes my rock look covered with short brittle star legs.

 

[jasno999]

Most brittle stars are ok with corals. From what I know there are many different kinds. Some remain small and some grow large. One I have that is large is definitly a eater of garbage but I woudl say it likes meat more than algae. It comes alive when I drop a piece of raw shrimp in the tank. But the one I have jsut sits under the rocks and never bothers the corals or fish much. Problem is he is big - too big for my 10 gallon tank but so far so good (knock on wood) I will jsut keep him fed and see how he does. He has been in the tank for several months.

 

[Hara]

do you have baby brittle stars or micro stars? the micros stay about the size of a dime, legs included.

 

[Marc118]

Maybe they are micros? They are a grey color. Although I have not seen them since.