brittle star
- Thread starter debbie
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debbie
Active Member
Thanks for the replies. What is the main difference between the brittle and the serpent??
The reason I like the brittle is they look fuzzy, sounds strange but the serpent scare me a tad with their colors and markings reminds me of a snake which I am scared to death of. Crazy I know.....
The reason I like the brittle is they look fuzzy, sounds strange but the serpent scare me a tad with their colors and markings reminds me of a snake which I am scared to death of. Crazy I know.....
ophiura
Active Member
There is NO biological difference between them whatsoever. The distinction is made in the hobby only. In theory " brittlestars" have spines perpedicular to the arms and serpenstars have them parallel.
I would be concerned in a small tank with any fluctuations in salinity or other parameters, and I am also not particularly fond of coral banded shrimp.
I would be concerned in a small tank with any fluctuations in salinity or other parameters, and I am also not particularly fond of coral banded shrimp.
coral keeper
Active Member
Don't they get very big? Or are there dwarf brittles and serpents?
coral keeper
Active Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
There are over 2200 species of brittlestars from very small to quite large. There are plenty that are suitable for smaller tanks in general.
What are the small kind of brittles called? Can i put one in a 8 gall bio cube? Its 5 1/2 months old. Or is the bio cube to yung for a brittle? If its to yung how old dos the tank have to be to get one brittle star?
There are over 2200 species of brittlestars from very small to quite large. There are plenty that are suitable for smaller tanks in general.
What are the small kind of brittles called? Can i put one in a 8 gall bio cube? Its 5 1/2 months old. Or is the bio cube to yung for a brittle? If its to yung how old dos the tank have to be to get one brittle star?
ophiura
Active Member
Well, this is an open question. There are loads of hitchhiker brittlestars you probably already have, but don't see much of.
I personally do not recommend "larger" brittlestars in such small tanks because of the difficulty in keeping the tank parameters constant. Fluctuations are very stressful for these animals.
As a general rule, I recommend at least 6 months maturity in a tank system before adding.
I personally do not recommend "larger" brittlestars in such small tanks because of the difficulty in keeping the tank parameters constant. Fluctuations are very stressful for these animals.
As a general rule, I recommend at least 6 months maturity in a tank system before adding.
coral keeper
Active Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
Well, this is an open question. There are loads of hitchhiker brittlestars you probably already have, but don't see much of.
I personally do not recommend "larger" brittlestars in such small tanks because of the difficulty in keeping the tank parameters constant. Fluctuations are very stressful for these animals.
As a general rule, I recommend at least 6 months maturity in a tank system before adding.
I only have about 9.6 LB of live rock, and iv NEVER seen a serpent or a brittle star befor, i look at my tank at night to see whats in there i found out that i have copepods, amphipods, and i think mysis shrimp and a lot of other cool worms. Can you list any kind of the dwarf brittles?
Well, this is an open question. There are loads of hitchhiker brittlestars you probably already have, but don't see much of.
I personally do not recommend "larger" brittlestars in such small tanks because of the difficulty in keeping the tank parameters constant. Fluctuations are very stressful for these animals.
As a general rule, I recommend at least 6 months maturity in a tank system before adding.
I only have about 9.6 LB of live rock, and iv NEVER seen a serpent or a brittle star befor, i look at my tank at night to see whats in there i found out that i have copepods, amphipods, and i think mysis shrimp and a lot of other cool worms. Can you list any kind of the dwarf brittles?
ophiura
Active Member
But unfortunately it wouldn't matter listing them. No one goes by scientific name, and they are tough to see. Plus I do not call them dwarf - that is kinda not accurate really. The really small one's are just arms sticking out of rocks really.
But people in general do not accurately name brittlestars, so I really can't just name them. They come up with super generic names like "black brittlestar" which probably describes dozens of species. So, it is kinda hard to narrow down to one suitable for a really small tank. I definitely do not recommend them for such a small tank...other than the standard hitch hikers (Ophiactis sp, Ophiocomella sp, Amphipholis sp.) which are very hardy. But you do not "see" them necessarily.
In fact few healthy brittlestars are particularly evident in a tank. You usually only see an arm here and there.
Smaller species include the harlequin brittlestar Ophioderm appressum which is shown on this site...I think they just call it a serpentstar.
But people in general do not accurately name brittlestars, so I really can't just name them. They come up with super generic names like "black brittlestar" which probably describes dozens of species. So, it is kinda hard to narrow down to one suitable for a really small tank. I definitely do not recommend them for such a small tank...other than the standard hitch hikers (Ophiactis sp, Ophiocomella sp, Amphipholis sp.) which are very hardy. But you do not "see" them necessarily.
In fact few healthy brittlestars are particularly evident in a tank. You usually only see an arm here and there.
Smaller species include the harlequin brittlestar Ophioderm appressum which is shown on this site...I think they just call it a serpentstar.
coral keeper
Active Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
But unfortunately it wouldn't matter listing them. No one goes by scientific name, and they are tough to see. Plus I do not call them dwarf - that is kinda not accurate really. The really small one's are just arms sticking out of rocks really.
But people in general do not accurately name brittlestars, so I really can't just name them. They come up with super generic names like "black brittlestar" which probably describes dozens of species. So, it is kinda hard to narrow down to one suitable for a really small tank. I definitely do not recommend them for such a small tank...other than the standard hitch hikers (Ophiactis sp, Ophiocomella sp, Amphipholis sp.) which are very hardy. But you do not "see" them necessarily.
In fact few healthy brittlestars are particularly evident in a tank. You usually only see an arm here and there.
Smaller species include the harlequin brittlestar Ophioderm appressum which is shown on this site...I think they just call it a serpentstar.
Ok, thanks for the info!! Is there any way to find out if there is a serpent or brittle star in the tank?
But unfortunately it wouldn't matter listing them. No one goes by scientific name, and they are tough to see. Plus I do not call them dwarf - that is kinda not accurate really. The really small one's are just arms sticking out of rocks really.
But people in general do not accurately name brittlestars, so I really can't just name them. They come up with super generic names like "black brittlestar" which probably describes dozens of species. So, it is kinda hard to narrow down to one suitable for a really small tank. I definitely do not recommend them for such a small tank...other than the standard hitch hikers (Ophiactis sp, Ophiocomella sp, Amphipholis sp.) which are very hardy. But you do not "see" them necessarily.
In fact few healthy brittlestars are particularly evident in a tank. You usually only see an arm here and there.
Smaller species include the harlequin brittlestar Ophioderm appressum which is shown on this site...I think they just call it a serpentstar.
Ok, thanks for the info!! Is there any way to find out if there is a serpent or brittle star in the tank?
J
jamparty
Guest
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
Ok, thanks for the info!! Is there any way to find out if there is a serpent or brittle star in the tank?
if you hang signs up on your tank that say "free food for brittles", I hear they come right up to the glass and say hello.
Ok, thanks for the info!! Is there any way to find out if there is a serpent or brittle star in the tank?
if you hang signs up on your tank that say "free food for brittles", I hear they come right up to the glass and say hello.