Brittle Stars?

[Crustyshellback]

Hello. I'm a freshwater enthusiast who just made the plunge into saltwater so to speak. I just set up a 29 gallon Biocube, and found out that my live rock is housing a bunch of tube worms, a couple of small sponges, and at least 3 brittle stars. Is there any chance they will survive the cycling process? Is there anything I can do? Do I want the sponges and brittle stars to survive? I've read that some brittle stars can be aggressive. I have no idea about the sponges. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[bribo12]

I'm sure most of it will either survive or come back after the cycle. The stars you see in the tank are nowhere near big enough to hurt anything

 

[Crustyshellback]

That's good to hear. My intention is to have a few small fish (clown, cardinal, goby) and a couple of shrimp. Do you think the shrimp would be safe with the brittle stars?

 

[bribo12]

Yep they'll be fine. The only reason it might go for something is if that animal is already dying

 

[Crustyshellback]

Thanks. That's a relief.

 

[bribo12]

Yeah I have a 4 year old serpent star whose huge and he hasn't touched any of the other animals in my tank.

 

[Crustyshellback]

Will they get too big for my little 29 gallon cube?

 

[54seaweed]

think your meaning these little guys (Asternia star) there harmless and will die off in time , if you have lots of these it's a good indicator of over feeding , bad part is some can get a taste for zoas ,

 

[54seaweed]

this is one of my serpent stars reaching out for food he is king of the tank 12 inch in diameter

I have about a dozen of these in multiple colors and sizes all are harmless , except the green guys they can be nasty ,

brittle stars are similar to serpents just hairier looking

these are also harmless

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[Crustyshellback]

No. they are definitely brittle stars. I'm a diver from way back and I have seen them many times. Long thin bristled arms, move way faster than any other starfish. Your picture looks a lot like what I've got only these are probably less than 3 inches across.

 

[54seaweed]

ok now I know the ones your talking about , they probably hitched in on the rock you put in your tank . they most likely will survive your cycle depending if theirs any type of food source , a easy way of catching them is a tall glass laying on its side raised up about a inch on open side bait with small chunk shrimp , this is the best time since your cycling anyway the shrimp will help with ammonia source ,

place it close to rocks , they come out at night to feed so that's the best time to catch them , yes these guys are fast if you don't catch them they will die off overtime if you only feed your tank what the fish will eat up fast