Gren brittle star??

[MT79]

I did some general reading on brittles and thought they ALL were reef safe. While at the LFS the other day I decided to buy a green brittle star. After 2.5 hours of acclimating, I released it into the tank and started to do some internet reading only to find out "greens" like to eat fish and decorative shrimp! The guy at the LFS didn't bother to give me any sort of heads up- thanks %$#@#&!! Has anyone had personal experiences with these? I've seen pics in the photo gallery, in one a green was sitting next to a shrimp! I target fed it today some raw shrimp which it attacked the tongs for! Any suggestions/advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. After seeing it eat that shrimp I'm alittle apprehensive about grabbing it to return it to the LFS 8O I do like it though, kind of looks like a monster from the abyss!

 

[jamal-188]

I have a green one that has never eaten anythying other thank food or leftovers in the 6+ months I've had him, however that's not to say yours never will.

 

[riptide]

I keep one in my fuge and have never had an issue even with weaker fish and corals.

 

[Hara]

ditto....mine was the size of a dinnerplate and never bothered anything.

 

[MT79]

That is great to hear!! WHOOO, I was really worried!! I'll keep an eye on it though for safe measure. Thanks all, your all so quick. Not to sound corny, but I'm going to...This is the best forum on the web PERIOD- IMO of course

 

[reefrunner69]

This is the green star that is a predator, there are a couple different green brittle/serpent stars.

 

[HoopsGuru]

If you search here you will find a number of people with missing livestock as well. I would simply take it back and get one that is safe, then there is no cause for concern.

 

[snapcrackler]

This is the green star that is a predator, there are a couple different green brittle/serpent stars.

That's the one I have right there. I sometimes see it arch up and make a "tent" shape in the hopes that something will crawl or swim under him.

I read a forum in tropicalresources.net where a guy said he came home and his green star had his very large CBS pinned against the glass, struggling wildly, as the star ate it alive from the back end.

Here's my question, it was sold to me as a serpent star, I think this is incorrect, but when I do searches for green serpent OR green brittle, I get the same pic!

LFS sold this one to me as a green serpent and they said "it's not a brittle, if it were a brittle, the legs would break right off when you handled it"

(edited) I think the above bold text is INCORRECT


Here's my take on the whole deal, am I right or wrong:

1. The pics that I find on the internet that show the above pictured star titled as a "serpent star are wholly incorrect.
2. Any starfish that looks just like this that has the bristly appendages is a brittle star.
3. Brittle star's legs do NOT break off unless they get a decent bend or tug, something you could not do just by handling it.

I hope someone can debunk this whole deal for me.

 

[HoopsGuru]

Rather than paraphrase:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brittlestars.htm

I have handled by brittle stars, no problem....I think the flag is appropriate.

 

[snapcrackler]

edited

AAACK I can't read or type today.

Someone smack me please.

So would you guys agree that the bristly green starfish we see above is absolutely totally completely 100% not nor ever has been a serpent?

Just to clarify, the next time I walk into LFS up to their tank full of 20 of these little bastognes, and they have the sticker that says serpent stars.... I would like to kindly correct them without fear of being wrong.

Thanks for the link hoops.

 

[HoopsGuru]

Per the link:

The Brittle or Serpent Stars are grouped as the Class Ophiuroidea, characterized by having highly mobile arms that can be used to assist in (relatively) rapid motion.

The green brittle star falls into this description. Both serpents and brittle stars are from the same class (Ophiuroidea) and are distinctly different than the Asteroidea stars. IMO they are labeled correctly.

 

[BillyZ]

Many people use the terms Brittle and Serpent synonymously. The only name you could enforce would be, Ophiarachna incrassata. Typicaly, stars with bristled or hairy legs are refered to as brittle, and those with smooth legs are refered to as serpent... but again, common names often depend on "who your talking to"

 

[jamal-188]

I have one of these little guys for around 6 months or so and don't recall missing anything that he could have eaten. I've never seen him arch up or form a tent but I'm worried now that he may eat one of my fish or shrimp. Should I get rid of him?

 

[snapcrackler]

Well I am keeping my brittle around just for the suspense.. he has a hard enough time fighting off the crabs.. they tend to clip off the end of his legs. They grow back quickly though.

We shall see...

Currently the brittle and the CBS are "sharing" a cave...... the brittle is on the bottom and the CBS clings to the top of the cave...

The plot thickens!

Oh you know what's funny, take a great big piece of shrimp, bigger than the center of your starfish, and give it to your brittle. It will cram it into it's mouth and then run around with an inflated-looking center. Weird.