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Red Brittle Starfish?


Goonter

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So i found this in my aquarium this morning (during lights out period) it seems to move relatively fast. I got it off the sand and put it on the glass so i could get a decent picture. I couldn't get it's back side, but here is the bottom. Is this good or bad? I thought it was a brittle starfish, but it has 6 legs and i thought brittles only have 5?

 

anyone know what this is?

 

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cheryl jordan

It is indeed a brittle star and beautiful one at that. I hope it does not grow into a serpent star. I can not think of any harm it could do, except crawling all over things to find food. Try spot feeding it and see how it reacts. Nice find, you probably could not get one that nice at any LFS or online.

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cheryl jordan
ok so this one is a good one then? how will i know it if turns into a 'serpent' star??

They get huge, and look like the large green brittle stars you see at the LFS. I doubt that will be the case I have just never seen a red larger brittle star as a hitch hiker before. It is so pretty, you will probably not see it often unless it gets into the routine of being fed. They tend to be nocturnal and are a good part of the CUC.

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"serpent star" is just another name for brittle star. I think cheryl is referring to the large (more than a few inches in diameter) brittle star species (i.e. the large green serpent star" Ophiarachna incrassata) that can be predators. Luckily, most hitchhiker brittle star species stay small.

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