Green Brittle Star Question

[shnabbles]

I need to get some peppermint shrimp because im having a aiptasia out break.
Iv bought them before and they seem to dissapear in a day or two..
I suspect the Green Brittle Star....
Here is my question if it is the brittle star can i hand feed the star fish so he doesnt get hungry and go after the peppermint shrimps?
Or is hand feeding a brittle star silver sides not a smart practise?

 

[alyssia]

I handfeed my brittle silverlslides. He is a brown one though. Green brittle stars are known predators. Spot feeding them may, or may not, stop them from being predators.

 

[rykna]

Definately a predator. Oneof my reef books refers to them as "the green goblin". I hadone a while back Beautiful critters. But they have a varacious apities and will fill their tummies with anything they find. Especially when they get big. Their bodies get to a 3 inch diameter aboutthe size of the bottomof a coffee cup and their legs span can reach over the edges of a dinner plate. If I ere ever to have one again I put it in it's own tank.

As for the aptasia get some joe's juice.

 

[alyssia]

I have also heard them called "green death" on here.

 

[rykna]

yeah me to brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[shnabbles]

I call mine the monster... well hopefully a silver side every other day or so will be enough to keep him full lol.

 

[blb9]

I have a green brittle star with a leg span of over a foot, and it has not eaten any of my snails, my crab, my fish, or my coral.

 

[ophiura]

It is highly variable from individual to individual. You can and should spot feed, absolutely - can be done with shrimp pellets or anything meaty, but it may not stop them. However, note that IMO they are also accused of a lot that they may not be responsible for.

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by BLB9
I have a green brittle star with a leg span of over a foot, and it has not eaten any of my snails, my crab, my fish, or my coral.
WOW!! Do you have a pic of the star. They are beautiful.

 

[blb9]

Kind of low quality, but you get the picture

 

[gatorwpb]

Here's a pic of mine. He just got moved to the fuge

Like Ophiura said, I cant be sure but I do suspect him of eating a couple snails (not the ones in the pic) and maybe a queen conch.

 

[alyssia]

Wow, those are pretty. My brown brittle is all hairy and spidery looking. I'm scared to death of him.

 

[speg]

Originally Posted by alyssia
Wow, those are pretty. My brown brittle is all hairy and spidery looking. I'm scared to death of him.

When I first got a saltwater tank(and knew nothing about them) and I put some live rock in there.... guess what jumped out of a rock... and guess what nearly made me pee my pants?

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by Speg
When I first got a saltwater tank(and knew nothing about them) and I put some live rock in there.... guess what jumped out of a rock... and guess what nearly made me pee my pants?

:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: