Min. Tank Size for Brittle Star?

[yacobito]

Does anyone know what the min. tank size is for a brittle star? Ophiura are you around?
I have a FOLR 29G Tall tank, that has been up and running for about 9 months now. I have:
~55 lbs of live rock
two percs
a wheeler goby
a bi-color blenny
a pistol shrimp
a cleaner shrimp
a peppermint shrimp
~20 blue legg hermits
a feather duster
an asortment of snails
an emrald crab
I was thinking about getting a brittle star, but wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be too cramped. It would be another month before I got one if I did, but I just thought I would ask. Thanks in advance

 

[sinner's girl]

I had mine in a 55gl, then in 75gl, he got pretty big, ~6inch legs. I take that back, the brittle may have started in my 20 long, but he was tiny when we got him...we had an invert only tank for a while...But the brittle didn't move around as much as the serpent did.
How long and wide is your tank?

 

[monalisa]

Originally Posted by Yacobito
Does anyone know what the min. tank size is for a brittle star? Ophiura are you around?
I have a FOLR 29G Tall tank, that has been up and running for about 9 months now. I have:
~55 lbs of live rock
two percs
a wheeler goby
a bi-color blenny
a pistol shrimp
a cleaner shrimp
a peppermint shrimp
~20 blue legg hermits
a feather duster
an asortment of snails
an emrald crab
I was thinking about getting a brittle star, but wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be too cramped. It would be another month before I got one if I did, but I just thought I would ask. Thanks in advance

I've actually had 2 brittles in my 37gal tank since my cleaning crew went in. They get spot fed 1-2 x/week, and seem to be very healthy and happy, hiding during the day and sometimes out an about at night. They don't seem to be out and about at night as much since I started spot feeding them though. I guess that's a good thing (for them). In any case, I'm not sure that there is a minimum size tank for brittles as long as they are taken care of properly. Although I wouldn't want to see a bunch of them crammed into a 5-10 gal tank.

Lisa :happyfish

 

[ophiura]

I had several in an 8g and 15g tank. In the wild they commonly live in high densities - several under a good rock for example, and I have 9 in a 45g now. But I almost keep the tank for brittlestars specifically. I'm not necessarily recommending it.
Anyway, I don't see an issue with smaller tanks so long as water quality is stable. If you aren't good with keeping your salinity stable then don't try them. Specific gravity should, BTW, be around 1.025-1.026 with low nitrates, and everything else in normal good range. So having a brittlestar in a 55g is not a problem so long as water quality is good, you don't have predators, and you feed it

Also, my standard line of "avoid the green, a known predator" and the large bright red one here that is like $24 requires an especially careful acclimation.

 

[yacobito]

I do a good job keeping the specific gravity around 1.024-1025, and nitrates are never really a problem for my tank. I would try and increase that .001, based on your message. I will practice the next couple of months before introducing one to the tank. Thanks so much for the help everyone!

 

[sw65galma]

Originally Posted by ophiura
the large bright red one here that is like $24 requires an especially careful acclimation.
What do you recommend for the red one...that's on my list of things to get...After i research it more of course..

 

[ophiura]

The red one, though hardy once established and in a pristine tank, yadda yadda yadda, has acclimation problems. They tend to be much more delicate than say green brittlestars so acclimation should, IMO, be like that for Linckia stars. And I would avoid any animals from an LFS that keeps salinity low, even in invert systems (many will still keep it around 1.021-1.023). In this case definitely don't buy one unless its been there several weeks. They will begin to fall apart much like Linckia. It would be rare, however, to find one completely intact so don't worry about arms that are regrowing. I got one here that came through acclimation with flying colors but I imagine it was because their specific gravity is nice and high and not such a change from my tank...but I see several at local LFS in dire conditions.

As an aside, mine, at least, is quite an active and aggressive serpentstar, on par with the activity and "aggression" of green brittlestars. So I would imagine that they may not be the best choice for tanks with lots of small and valuable critters - though again I have never had issues myself.