question

[MERCTECH]

i got a live rock from the wild with some brain coral and it has a star fish (brittle) i believe. he has been hiding in the rock for three days now and the bottom of my tank is getting dirty?. how do i get him out to put him to work?!?

 

[Hara]

short of showing him the regulation book that requires he work a minimum of 8 hours a day...I do not think that even taking it out of the rock will "make" it get to work. They work when they are hungry. If the bottom of your tank is getting visibly dirty, it is time for YOU to get to work

 

[MERCTECH]

lol!! i thought i heard that there is a solution you squit for them to get out???

 

[Hara]

when people dip their liverock pieces into fresh water, it is to force unwanted critters out of the rock. I would assume you will want to keep the starfish and they are rather sensitive about things like that and you would most likely kill it in the process. If you really want to see it out of the rock, you may want to put a small piece of fresh/frozen cocktail shrimp close to the rock and it might come out to eat it.

 

[AndyH5512]

Darn fish and their labor unions.....LOL

 

[Jermz79]

Maybe he was just following the NY transit strike and figured hey if they can do it ... Why can't I??? I'm sure he'll be back to work soon!

 

[melosu58]

I agree give him time he will be out.

 

[seaham358]

If your looking for a bottom cleaner the brittle star is not what you need. They will eat scraps for food, but if you have ditrus build up you need other clean up crew.

 

[flamingonhot]

Do you mean you collected the lr yourself? you know that's highly illegal right?

 

[theatrus]

Do you mean you collected the lr yourself? you know that's highly illegal right?

Depends where you live. I believe it is legal in Hawaii in very limited quantities and for personal use only.