DSparks Posted February 20, 2004 Share Posted February 20, 2004 The LFS sold this to me as a Brittle Star, which is supposed to be a sand sifting star. I've had him/her/it in the tank for a week now, and I don't think he/she/it has been in the sand at all. Every time I look for the star it's somewhere in the rockwork. All the pics of brittle stars that I've seen have been the green, smooth variety, which has made me wonder if this is actually something different. I really like the personality of the star, but I want to make sure that it won't be a danger to my corals or fish when I start adding them in a few weeks. Your thoughts? Link to comment
DSparks Posted February 20, 2004 Author Share Posted February 20, 2004 Also, the LFS sold me "Blue Legged Hermits", but after I got home I realized they had black legs with red antennae. Do I need to go up there and bust some people down? /DSparks pulls out a pair of brass knuckles/ Link to comment
darwin604 Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 As far as I know most brittle stars are not sand sifters, they do eat detritus but they mostly hang out in the rockwork from what I've seen. Your best bet for a sand sifting star is a Sand Sifting Star (no I'm not mocking you, thats their common name) aka astropecten polycanthus. I had a brittle star for a little while when I first set up my nano but I heard to many horror stories of them catching fish / eating expensive stuff so I took him back. BTW, most brittle stars are nocturnal so if you want to catch it 'doing its thing' try checking your tank of after the lights are out for a bit. d. Link to comment
DSparks Posted February 22, 2004 Author Share Posted February 22, 2004 Hmm, I'm beginning to see that my LFS people either don't know much, or are just a bunch of liars. Thanks. Link to comment
enrico Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 Probably both... This is a brittle star. There are a lot of different species of brittle stars. Some are sand shifters, some are not. If you want to be sure of what you buy you must study a lot and don't trust your LFS... Sad to say but _usually_ true... Link to comment
DSparks Posted February 23, 2004 Author Share Posted February 23, 2004 I'm learning this lesson with each trip to the LFS. Link to comment
speedmullen Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 I had a star just like your photo. My LFS gave me the same title. “6 dollar Brittle star good good deal!” (They actually talk that way) The star disappeared shortly after I added my first carpet anemone. I don’t know what happened, but apparently the brittle star and the anemone crossed paths while I was away… I guess aa brittle star seemed like a fitting snack… I realized the brittle star was missing once I saw it’s remains on the sand next to the anemone… Oh well Link to comment
DSparks Posted March 4, 2004 Author Share Posted March 4, 2004 Yeah, I sure liked the star, but it just wasn't a good fit for a 10 gallon Nano. Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 You guys aren't saying that a LFS would make a bad suggestion are you? Link to comment
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