green serpent

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Anonymous

Guest
hi all
- for any newbees thinking about putting a serpent in their tank
this ties into that thread on sand sifters (although this of course isn't a sifter) - last night my serpent came out to eat (and when he comes out to eat - I feed him, you don't want a hungry serpent in your tank) and I thought I would post this pic even though the qualility is bad it speaks for itself . This one is about 4 -5 years old (he was about 3" when I got him) he got thrown in here 2 years ago cuz I didn't know what else to do with him. He hasn't hurt anything that I know of but he will be returning to my school tank in the fall when I go back. I like to keep wierd stuff in there cuz the kids like it - who am I kidding, so do I :)
 

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incysor

New Member
I took mine back to the LFS after it ate 3 fish. All small gobies. I was told it was reef safe, however reef safe doesn't mean fish-safe, it means it won't eat corals and inverts. Once I saw it pounce on the 3rd fish, (the others just disappeared), I did more research online and found that lots of folks had similar experiences. Since then I've had two friends that put them in their tanks even though I warned them against them, just to have to remove them a bit later when they started killing stuff.

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djconn

djconn

New Member
Yup, same with me. Mine ate three fish and ended up back at the LFS for store credit.

Those things are monsters! :shock:
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Yep, I'm definitly not suggesting anyone do what I did - before my deployment he was in a tank with things he couldn't hurt (in general). I just didn't have the heart to give him up after having him so long and he is one of the kids favorites too. I just thought showing how big they can really get would also help people decide not to put them in their tanks. They are kinda cool and have a place, but its not a small reef tank or any tank for that matter with small fish.
 
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mikeguerrero

Active Member
I inherited 2 baby brittle stars when I first set up my nano. It's almost been 1 year with them in both tanks with zero casualities...

Does this mean they are safe? No, what works for some doesn't for others... Maybe he hasn't gotten the chance to bounce on my two little gobies...

But they are extremely shy and don't like to come out and feed at all, when I do feed flakes or mysis they will stick out a tentacle to feed and then retract...

My tanks are really small only 12 gallons and I have fish that are smaller and larger than them...

I will keep on eye on him for growth, I also inherited a baby sea urchin that has grown very little and has spread purple coraline everywhere since he eats it and spreads it, I guess he's a messy eatier...

Mike
 
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dragon79

New Member
yeah and according to sugar, they wont grow any bigger mikey. I believe what you have are those mini brittle stars. shouldn't be a problem :)
 
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Anonymous

Guest
hi mike
most brittle starts are relatively safe (everything is relative though you know? on the reef everybody eats somebody) even the common "hairy" looking black one is considered to be non predatory. Its mainly the green serpent thats the problem and that is why I posted that pic so people could avoid it. That being said, most stars will eat dead fish should they encounter one and are often incorrectly blaimed for killing them. And yea there are brittle stars that stay small - only time will tell about yours - actually they are a good cleanup crew.
 
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