phoenix91 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hi, my tank is less than 12 hours old and i'm a little worried about this guy: I had a bit of a look around the net and i think it is a brittle star, am i right? If so will it survive in my new tank? If not i'd rather get him out of there sooner than later. If it will survive a cycle then what will it eat and how can i help? Tanks stats: 5 G hex roughly 4+ lbs of LR filter w/ activated carbon, filter rated up to 20g. I have sand but i didn't go for live sand, i figured during the cycle the LR would help to seed the sand and make it live. I don't have any readings yet as i haven't bought a test kit yet, i have a freshwater master test kit but i'm not sure if they use the same chemicals as the saltwater one. I didn't expect a starfish in my LR to be honest. Link to comment
Dakarta Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I just recently started my own tank. It has been up for just over a week now. I found 3 starfish after the first day. Everyone of them is alive along with several other things that have made their way out of the rock. I can't say for sure, and perhaps someone more experienced may stop by to comment, but I think it will be ok. Link to comment
phoenix91 Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 I hope so, it's a funny little thing i lifted the rock up to move it and it waved it's arms at me; then when i put the rock back near it it grabbed hold and went for the ride. Link to comment
Scubaro Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Looks like a brittle star to me. Thier a good memeber of the CUC. Link to comment
sublunary Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Haha, I came in here ready to be pissed at yet another person freaking out over asterinas. I was pleasantly surprised! It's definitely a brittle star. Should scavenge from your rocks. For some reason, I don't see them as much as I see serpent stars, so I'm not sure if brittles are more difficult or sensitive. There's also a chance that the picture makes it look much larger than it is. If it's tiny, it's a mini-brittle star, which are fantastic little cleaners and will hopefully multiply as your tank matures. Link to comment
phoenix91 Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 I don't even know what an asterina is, i'll have to look it up. Edit: just looked up asterina stars and they are incredibly cute. If i did have one i probably wouldn't freak out as i don't have any coral yet for them to eat The star is pretty small, i'd say smaller than a quarter. I'll keep an eye on it ( if i can find it again) and if my levels change too much i'll take it over to my lfs for safe keeping. I wasn't ready for cuc yet but i'll take what i've got. No other signs of life just yet. No doubt if they come out i'll be back for more i'ds. Thanks everyone. Link to comment
ZandEDad Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 You'll be surprised at the life that survives the cycle - I've got dozens of brittle stars that came with my live rock and they're all grown up now and even spawning on occasion. There are probably more in the rock - I wouldn't worry about it. Link to comment
BLoCkCliMbeR Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 nice bonus. thats what makes SW better than FW. all the hidden bonuses you can find. remember kiddies, ID before you exterminate. Link to comment
phoenix91 Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 I'm very glad, it's funny to watch and i'd hate for it to die due to my ignorance. While i have this thread going i'd love opinions on what these might be (not the green stuff), sorry the photo quality is bad. When i was looking for the star i noticed these two tubey type things, they appear to be closed and are very tiny. Any clues? Blockclimber, i have no intention of killing anything until it's been i.d-ed and is proven to be harmful. Killing anything kind of makes me sad so i don't like to do it. It's an awesome bonus considering i looked for less lively pieces of rock. This is my first SW so and so far it's very exciting. Link to comment
sublunary Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Tubey-things look like polyps of some sort. Possibly zoanthids, more likely palythoas. if they made it this far, they are almost guarunteed to live through the cycle. They are photosynthetic, so no need to feed them. Palys will usually take food, while zoas won't, but either way you don't need to worry about it. And don't worry if it takes them a while to open - it might take them anywhere from hours to weeks to adjust to the new water. Link to comment
phoenix91 Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Awesome thanks, here's hoping for zoas as this will be a zoa garden tank. I don't have a light yet but that will come soon hopefully. I did see one other tubey type thing with like purple fingers sticking out wafting in the breeze but i can't get a photo of it for the life of me. This LR is great! I have feather dusters too, maybe 4 or 5 of them. I had to move the rock which they're on because they were getting blown about too much in the flow. Link to comment
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