The Monster

natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
Here's some pics of my green brittle star coming out for a meal. My nephew has dubbed it "The Monster" and loves to come over and feed him. Sorry Pics are a little blurry it was kind of a rush to grab the camera and snap some pics before he retreated to his den. He doesn't come out and stand on the ends of his legs like this very often so I wanted some pics.


 
wfd1008

wfd1008

Member
holy crap!!!!
i think you could send a pic of that to Japan and they'll come out with "Godzilla-The Next Generation"
 
grabbitt

grabbitt

Active Member
That thing must be a genetic freak. Have you ever had any problems with it trying to snatch your fish?
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
Originally Posted by GRabbitt
http:///forum/post/2564674
That thing must be a genetic freak. Have you ever had any problems with it trying to snatch your fish?
I ordered this star from SWF about a year and a half ago I had researched brittle starts and wanted to add one to my CUC they had a few choices and when I saw they had a green one I thought that ones cool I'll get that one, but they fail to mention in their description that the Green brittle stars often eat fish
. Anyway so far so good I haven't had any issues that I know of but I have only pulled one dead fish out of my tank out of the 5 that I have lost in the last couple of years or so. Lost 3 chromis, 1 diamond goby and 1 golden head goby only one I found was the last goby not sure if the star killed them or if they perished and my cleanup crew took care of business. Also I'm not sure what SWF means when they say this star is 3-4 inches, my wife about fainted when I pulled this star out of the bag and it was about 18" from tip to tip
now it is probably close to 24" the disk is 2-2.5" across and each leg is about 11-12"
 
grabbitt

grabbitt

Active Member
If the star had killed those fish, you more than likely would not have found the bodies. So, I think you're safe as far as the treacherous 'green brittle' killers go.
And again, that thing is huge.
*Edit: I neglected to take note that you only recovered 1 of the bodies. So, uh... in retrospect, I would suggest keeping an eye out on the star, and be sure to keep it well fed to be safe.
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
Edit: I neglected to take note that you only recovered 1 of the bodies. So, uh... in retrospect, I would suggest keeping an eye out on the star, and be sure to keep it well fed to be safe.
I am and I have had all but two of the fish in my tank for over a year and more than six months on those two. I can't attribute it to the star yet because it is just the new fish that disapear but if I ever catch him in the act he will become a sump resident.
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
Originally Posted by tito3054
http:///forum/post/2564730
Nice How Bigs Your Tank And What Do You Feed It?
Its a 55g and I feed it krill, sand eels, and then he helps himself to most anything else that hits the bottom of the tank (flake food, brine shrimp, algea wafers, shrimp pellets ect....)
 
A

alexmir

Guest
That this is definitely a monster!!! Does he knock off coral and rock when it moves?
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
Doesn't really mess with the corals but he has no problem walking across them to get to food and now that I have all of my corals epoxied down he doesn't knock them off the worst offenders are the Mexican bulldozers, I have to be carefull with new corals though since I have to light acclimate them I put them down on the sandbed and he must go on the prowl at night because I will get up to toppled and buried corals and he is the only inhabitant big enough to move some of them.
I highly recomend a brittle star they are great at cleaning up the tank but be warned about the green brittle star and small fish, I haven't seen any other varieties with this reputation so as long as you steer clear of the green brittle star you should be okay.
 
jaymz

jaymz

Member
That is a Monster for sure!!!!
I would assume when SFW says it is 3-4 inches that is the average size they send them out at.
 
reefforbrains

reefforbrains

Active Member
I am sure you can vouche for how quick they are when motivated.
We had one we called the creature from the deep because of how it would sense something and just come blazing out of its hiding spot and devour it like something from a national geographic special.
Tigershrimp were a treat for him and he would grab and tear them apart in seconds flat. But when no food present he would just sit invisible under the backside of the rockwork.
Scares the heck out of folks that have never seen one or dont know its in the tank the first time they see it.
Its a beauty for sure. Nice work
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
I saw one that was even bigger at my LFS, they were holding it for another customer whos tank sprung a leak. They had it in a tank that only had one rock in it and the star would use its arms almost like wheels to move across the tank for food it was very cool looking.
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
Originally Posted by Angler man
http:///forum/post/2564760
I can't stop looking at it........must resist temptation to own one......
He is a fun creature to own my kids and just about everyone that comes over enjoys watching "The Monster"
just be careful if you get one I wouldn't house them with any prized fish.
Originally Posted by Jaymz;
I would assume when SFW says it is 3-4 inches that is the average size they send them out at.
It would be nice to know that you might get one that is 18" before you order one though, 3-4" is a huge difference from 18"
 
K

kikithemermaid

Guest
Whoa that thing is huge! So cool. I had no idea they eat fish! What do you feed the monster?
 
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