serpent star fish

[chris m]

i've had a serpent in my tank for 3 months,i recently got one from my uncles tank
is it okay to have two
they wrap each other up & now one is missing part of a leg are they {edit - "reproducing"} or fighting?

 

[badoleross]

I have a yellow brittle star and a tiger striped in the same tank and I am not sure they have even met yet. Asfar as your fighting/{edit - "reproducing"} question....beats me!

 

[granny]

Same here, two brittles and a serpent. The brittles pile up together. The serpent ignores them both-no injuries to any of them. Do you have any 'nippers' in the tank. Many fish bite at the tips of the brittles legs. They really should only go in with smaller peaceful fish unless you have a huge reef with plenty of places to hide their entire bodies!!

 

[ophiura]

It is fine to have two. Are they the same type? I have lots, and it is normal in the wild for several different species to be found under the same rock. Most are broadcast spawners and reproduction in large brittlestars is very very very unlikely in tanks.
They can lose arms for a variety of reasons, including predation or stress. It should grow back if water conditions are good and it gets enough food. Do you feed them?