KILLER brittle star, Please answer

djpom1

Member
Today, I got a big order from Salt Water.Com. Everything looked great. I was putting things in my tank, when all of a sudden, out came both my brittle stars. They each grabed a camel back shimp and dashed back into my live rock. I tried my best to save them, but the stars were not about to give up. Both I and the shrimp lost. I never knew brittle stars will eat live shrimp, and I mean big camel back shrimp. I wonder why they did this. Any answers??
Thanks, Dennis
:confused:
 

killafins

Active Member
my guess is that they were pretty darn hungry... brittle stars, as u can tell, is quick and will eat anything they can get. unless u feel u r ready to keep starfish, i would give them up asap...
 

cb

Member
A friend of mine use to have a brittle star only hers would eat her turbo snails they just kept disappearing then when she found the star hiding place she found all the snail shells. So I guess different ones have different tastes. Sorry for your loss:(
 

krishj39

Active Member
Any time I add ANYTHING to my tank, all my scavengers come out to see what's going on. I think that if you could separate your shrimp while they are stressed out during acclimation that your stars will leave them alone once they are healthy. Basically, your stars, like most scavengers, are opportunistic feeders. Your shrimp were stressed and unable to fend off an attack by the stars, and so the stars were able to grab them. Yes, stars show different temperments and some will attack more than others, but I think this is just an example of stars taking advantage of some stunned shrimp.
 
D

daniel411

Guest
Brittle stars are even able to attack fish such as gobies and mandirin. Some species of brittle stars are more prone to attacking prey than others. I believe the green ones are most infamous for doing that.
 

jugger

Member
mine went back to the LST aswell after eating my shrimp.... here the pic of the shrimp inside the star
 

katara

Member
AHA!!Now I know what happened to my peppermints & my baby gold banded shrimp.Good thing my brittle is going to anew home this Sunday.No wonder he outgrew my tank w/in 1 year:eek:
 

crazy4reefs

Member
i did love my brittle star but he also had to go back to the lfs. he would eat my fish when ever he got a chance even though i spot fed him whenever i saw him, wasnt enough i guess.. also my fish were healthy. until they got eaten that is!!
 

leboeuf

Member
Mine grew from 5 in diameter to 10 in in about 6 months. I lost 3 or 4 fish and countless snails to him before I figured out what was going on. IMO they are not reef safe regardless what ANYONE says!
 

leigh

Active Member
I have 3 serpents in my 50 and never had a problem. I spot feed them every time I see them and the only times I've seen them with fish is when the fish were already dead (or very ill)... I think regular spotfeeding is really crucial. Perhaps Susan will pipe in on this discussion...
 
N

newreefers

Guest
I spot feed mine a big piece of meat 2-3 times a week and he never bothers anything in the tank. You really have to keep these guys fed well.
 

melissa v.

Member
i had one that ate 2 clowns and a lawnmower blenny, i agree that they are not reef safe, those of you that have not had any bad experiences, count yourself fortunate, FOR NOW!
Melissa V.
 

ophiura

Active Member
Sigh.
The green brittlestar is a KNOWN PREDATOR in the wild. It is not doing ANYTHING UNUSUAL.
Most other animals have the potential to eat if they can catch something and are hungry. The goal in nature is to grow large and reproduce, and it is not the fault of any of these animals they were captured and thrown into a tank with a bounty of food and loads of competitors (clean up crew).
The are not doing ANYTHING unusual.
Perhaps some of us are in the wrong hobby?
Other brittlestars are not known predators, but are potential predators because they are opportunistic. Here, krishj39 gave the spot on answer. Care must be taken when introducing animals into a tank, as they are stressed, and everything can smell this. There is no distinction here between the nice smelly food you add, and your expensive shrimp.
Please take the brittlestars back to the LFS.
 
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