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romeofoeve

Member
ive noticed in 2 of my LR, there are things coming our of the holes. it has 5 arms/tentacles which look to be segmented and have black and white bars. it is similar to the arms of a miniature brittle star. only the arms come out of the holes and they wave around like tentacles.
 

romeofoeve

Member
i pulled out one of the sponges that had one in it and a small Fancy Banded Serpent Sea Star came out. i have had these rocks for months and never noticed these guys. how fast do they grow?
 

ophiura

Active Member
Yup, mini brittles! :D
There are a couple of species - well, probably a lot more involved but to keep it simple, a couple of species. But all good to have. Handy little scavengers.
The little white one's with five arms are Amphipholis squamata, and they generally do not get much larger than a quarter or so. They reproduce rapidly...they are a self fertilizing hermaphrodite that broods their young. So one can give rise to many!
The banded one's that you generally don't see except for their legs may be an amphiurid or ophiactid brittlestar. Hard to know for sure, but unlikely to grow particularly large. You won't be overrun with them! And if you are, I'll take some :D
 
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