Debut to the world: ID Please Ophiura?

sheracr123

sheracr123

Member
Well, after 2 or 3 years of just seeing his legs, I was bound to see him while transferring my tank. He is really cool! I swear there is a star pattern on his disk (which is about the size of a dime). I would think it was a serpent of some sort, but I wonder because the "things" on his arms look nothing like my other serpent. Unless he is something bad for my tank, I love him!!!:jumping:
:jumping:
:cheer:
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Here....I'm on board so I'll follow....may not have access to the computer until tomorrow though. But waiting! :D
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Do you have Florida rock or Pacific. Looks like Ophionereis reticulata. Google that. First article to come up (from the Smithsonian Marine Station) has good pictures.
Common Caribbean brittlestar if that is the right one. A cool one!! :D
 
sheracr123

sheracr123

Member
Thanks Ophiura!! I have no idea where my rock came from, but thats it exactly! I thought it was a brittle. I guess that answers the question about my serpent being a mom.
I am going to look it up now. :jumping:
 
sheracr123

sheracr123

Member
Oh Yeah, I forgot to ask... Can stars "dig"? I mean, he had been under the same rock for probably 6 months. Could he have gotten out on his own, or was he possibly stuck? I just can't believe all I ever saw was the tips of his arms.
Thanks again!
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
There is no biological distinction between brittle/serpentstars. It is a distinction made in this hobby only. I have no idea if they would call this a brittle or serpentstar. I would call it Ophionereis reticulata :)
As for the "being a Mom" thing, do you see other little brittlestars in there? There are many very common small hitch hiker brittlestar that do not get large. It is rare for a large brittle to reproduce in our tanks.
They can dig, and they are extremely flexible. It was not stuck. Brittlestars rarely come out during the day, and if they have a good safe place to hang out, they may not leave. They are at risk of being eaten if they do, so you will commonly only see arms if anything.
 
sheracr123

sheracr123

Member
Ophiura,
I am sure my other star is a serpent, and this is a brittle. The Ophionereis reticulata's arms look spiney, while the serpent looks smooth.
Here is a pic of my other. (sorry... was having camera problems at the time) I am sure they are not related...:D
If there is no biological difference between a brittle and a serpent, does that mean they are related like a lab and a german sheppard? :confused:
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
In this hobby, people call "brittlestars" things with spines, and "serpentstars" things without spines. But this is not true. In fact, they both have spines, it is just that "brittlestars" have spines perpendicular to the arm, and "serpentstars" have them parallel to the arm.
Here is a "brittlestar"
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
...but to me, or any scientist or zoologist, this distinction doesn't mean anything. They are both common names for the same type of animal. It doesn't tell me about how they are related or anything. And it doesn't always work from person to person.
It is similar to the lab and german sheperd, kind of, except those are both dogs and called, in latin, Canis domesticus. The star above is Ophionereis reticulata, the second is a bit tougher to see :D Either an Ophiomyxa or Ophioderma. They are both types of "Ophiuroidea" which is where brittlestars are classified. Unlike the dogs however, these brittlestars are not related enough to interbreed and produce babies :)
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
I've got one of those common carribean brittlestars that lives in a rock full of zoanthids I got from the LFS. The rock has been in my tank for a couple months and the star never leaves, he just waggles his arms out of the holes in the rock at night. I believe I read that they are filter feeders? At any rate I wish mine would come out so I can see him all at once! His arms are about 5 inches long (at least the part that sticks out of the rock is.)
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Some brittlestars are filter feeders, but most, I would say, are deposit feeders, eating a lot of bits of food on the substrate. This is why they are good cleaners. They also will scavenge quite a lot.
You should be happy :D In general, healthy brittlestars wouldn't come out of hiding like that. They hang arms out to feed - but if the arms are eaten at least they can be regrown. If the come out, and the disk is damaged, well that might be the end of him. You might see it sometime when the lights are out (middle of the night?) but otherwise I am afraid you may not see much more :)
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
Ah, so his arms are picking up tiny stuff of the rock he is living in I guess. At any rate he give my wife something to look at with the flashlight in the middle of the night.
 
sheracr123

sheracr123

Member
Wax,
Like I said in my first post- I had been seeing this one's legs for 2 years. The only reason I saw him and got a pic is because I was transferring tanks. If I hadn't been doing that, it would have probably been another 2 years before I saw him!
 
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