Black brittle star - Is it too big for my tank?

[EvolvedMonkey]

I just ordered black brittle starfish from Dr. Reef..

I thought they were small animals, but boy was I mistaken.. One arrived about 10 inches across and the other about 8 inches.

Am I making a mistake putting these in my 165 gallon tank? Are they going to eat my cardinal fish at some point? Should I just put them in the sump?

 

[fishguy242]

Definitely a opportunist predator...

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Just like fishguy said! If you keep the tank well fed, you should be ok, I used to have one that got quite large. but...they are indeed opportunistic, so if hungry, and a sleeping/lazy fish is near by...

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

Just like fishguy said! If you keep the tank well fed, you should be ok, I used to have one that got quite large. but...they are indeed opportunistic, so if hungry, and a sleeping/lazy fish is near by...

Hate to take that risk, maybe I should just stick them in the sump.

I've got a tiny tailspot, yellow watchman goby, and little blue eyed cardinals.. I may be asking for it.

 

[fishguy242]

More like arch their bodies ,sit and wait for fish to swim under...

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Hate to take that risk, maybe I should just stick them in the sump.

I've got a tiny tailspot, yellow watchman goby, and little blue eyed cardinals.. I may be asking for it.

Yeah, with bottom fish, you could be trouble in no time. Take them to a LFS and trade them in. I now have micro brittle stars in my tank. THey are very cool, do the same work as a full size brittle star, but only get to be about an inch in diameter.

 

[dadnjesse]

I have a large one I finally put him in my sump. Been living down there for a few years.

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

Yeah, with bottom fish, you could be trouble in no time. Take them to a LFS and trade them in. I now have micro brittle stars in my tank. THey are very cool, do the same work as a full size brittle star, but only get to be about an inch in diameter.

That's what I thought I was getting

Sounds like a plan, I'll trade them out for microbrittle stars.

For now they're living happily with the Chaeto

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

I have a large one I finally put him in my sump. Been living down there for a few years.

Can you handle them with no problem, or do you have to worry about being spiked/stung?

 

[dadnjesse]

I pick mine up when I clean the sump maybe every couple months. They are harmless to people in my experience.

 

[BeanAnimal]

They will not harm you. But be careful not to harm them, they are a bit more delicate than you would expect and get really stiff when distressed so you can pull an arm off or break one if you try to force them to let go of something or into a container they don't want to go into.

The BLACK ones are typically not predatory (no guarantees) but the GREEN ones are unquestionably killers.

If you put them in the sump, be sure to guard pump intakes VERY well. They are very curious creatures and can slip their tentacles into about anything and will (without question) enter an unguarded pump or slither an arm through a guard and into an impeller.

They are amazing though. Feed them with your hands or long tweezers. They love fresh fish, shrimp, etc. They move FAST when the smell food.

I had to huge black brittles in my 75 and they were model citizens. In fact, I never saw them in the day and at night they would come clean detritus or scare the crap out of me being sprawled out on the front glass.

 

[EvolvedMonkey]

They will not harm you. But be careful not to harm them, they are a bit more delicate than you would expect and get really stiff when distressed so you can pull an arm off or break one if you try to force them to let go of something or into a container they don't want to go into.

The BLACK ones are typically not predatory (no guarantees) but the GREEN ones are unquestionably killers.

If you put them in the sump, be sure to guard pump intakes VERY well. They are very curious creatures and can slip their tentacles into about anything and will (without question) enter an unguarded pump or slither an arm through a guard and into an impeller.

They are amazing though. Feed them with your hands or long tweezers. They love fresh fish, shrimp, etc. They move FAST when the smell food.

I had to huge black brittles in my 75 and they were model citizens. In fact, I never saw them in the day and at night they would come clean detritus or scare the crap out of me being sprawled out on the front glass.

Good stuff. Thanks for all the insight.

So if you were me, you'd be willing to throw two 8-10 inch black brittles in a tank with several small fish, without too much concern?

 

[BeanAnimal]

There are never guarantees. There are likely more than one species of "black" brittle starfish, but in general most are thought to be detrivores.