Fluvial 13.5 Brittle/Serpent Star?

[chasingcorals17]

Hi all, long time lurker here. I've got a fluval evo 13.5 with an ocellaris clown pair (they're only an inch, dont kill me) and a yellow watchman goby. Everything is going well in the tank. Does anyone have experience or opinions on brittle stars or serpent stars? I've heard they're okay in nano reefs because they only reach about 6inches in diameter. I think they're awesome so I'd love to get one but not too sure. Also CUC of 2 astraeas, 12 dearth ceriths, 6 nassarius, 4 Florida cerith, 3 nerite (all snails) and 4 hermit crabs custom picked by the guys at ReefCleaners based on my tank. Any opinions are welcome. I want to create the best tank possible but as ethical as possible too. 

[DaJMasta]

I would go serpent over brittle, they seem less likely to be able to catch stuff if they get big, but in either case if you get one small you should be able to have it for a while before any potential issues.  I don't know if they're that well delineated, but some species of either than get to be big - some of the red serpent stars can get to 8 inches around and some of the green bristle stars can get to be a full foot around.  Other species top out smaller, like the harlequin serpent star, but as the descriptions are usually just coloration, it can be difficult to say exactly which will get how large.  They can also be very longlived, so at the very least, if you start small and aren't feeding too heavy, you have some time before it gets to be big.

[WV Reefer]

13 hours ago, chasingcorals17 said:

Hi all, long time lurker here. I've got a fluval evo 13.5 with an ocellaris clown pair (they're only an inch, dont kill me) and a yellow watchman goby. Everything is going well in the tank. Does anyone have experience or opinions on brittle stars or serpent stars? I've heard they're okay in nano reefs because they only reach about 6inches in diameter. I think they're awesome so I'd love to get one but not too sure. Also CUC of 2 astraeas, 12 dearth ceriths, 6 nassarius, 4 Florida cerith, 3 nerite (all snails) and 4 hermit crabs custom picked by the guys at ReefCleaners based on my tank. Any opinions are welcome. I want to create the best tank possible but as ethical as possible too. 

I would stick to brittles in a tank that size. Most serpent stars get very large and can trap/kill anything it can catch. You will see a few people have them with no issues but make no mistake they are predators. 
 

I have a few type of brittles that like to make babies at the drop of a hat. Some of these guys are a little bigger than a 50¢ piece. 
 

https://instagram.com/p/CEaflJzp7wB/

 

https://instagram.com/p/CAJkld1JlVE/

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, WV Reefer said:

I would stick to brittles in a tank that size. Most serpent stars get very large and can trap/kill anything it can catch. You will see a few people have them with no issues but make no mistake they are predators. 
 

I have a few type of brittles that like to make babies at the drop of a hat. Some of these guys are a little bigger than a 50¢ piece. 
 

https://instagram.com/p/CEaflJzp7wB/

 

https://instagram.com/p/CAJkld1JlVE/

This 100%.^

 

No serpent in a nano, it'll likely starve to death.