ID Please: Tiny Yellow Brittle Starfish?

[yearofthenick]

I just set up my 10g tank a few days ago and just now noticed a tiny yellow brittle-starfish. It was probably 1/4" from end to end. I'm sorry I don't have a pic, but I'll be posting one soon. It definitely looked like a brittle starfish... not an asterina star.
What kind of starfish is this? I didn't know brittle stars could even be that small. Is it a dwarf version? Any info would be much appreciated.

 

[meowzer]

HMMMM....Sounds to me like a tiny yellow brittle-starfish

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3036293
HMMMM....Sounds to me like a tiny yellow brittle-starfish

Silly butt. LOL
All critters start out as babies...I had a tiny wee brittle or serpent star, how could you tell the color? My eyes are bad but I can see a color. Mine was so small it just looked like hair till it moved, it was dark "hair" branching out with a tiny spot in the center.
Yellw sounds really pretty.

 

[yosemite sam]

Mini-brittles can be common hitchhikers. I have several that are the size you describe, and they don't get any bigger. I don't know if yellow ones are different from the other mini-brittles.

 

[cranberry]

There is one variety (or group) that tends to be yellow/pale and are often found in the substrate. But there are SO many different varieties of this "mini-brittles".

 

[yearofthenick]

I know it's a mini brittle, but when I ask what it is, I'm asking for info... is it dangerous? Will it grow? Is it a variant of the green death brittle that will eventually grow and sting/kill everything else in my tank? What does it eat? Will it survive the cycle?

 

[cranberry]

Well, if it is indeed a "mini brittle", which if difficult to tell without a photo, but if it is....
No.
Probably not.
I don't think it's a baby "green death" brittle (which don't sting anyways)
Eats diatoms and such... a detritivore... also filter feeders if their legs are sticking out of a hole.
I've had them survive a cycle many times.... Just don't let your ammonia get out of control.
A mini brittle is about as exact as one can get for ID purposes.

 

[ophiura]

It is very very unlikely to be an offspring of a larger species of brittlestar. I agree with the posters above - most likely a mini-brittle species, in which case considered to be quite beneficial.