Yellow Serpant Star, will it eat my Nassarius (wife update too)

[Sylock]

Well I took the wife to one of the LFS. She fell in love with a yellow serpent star and asked me if we could get it. I remembered that many people have them, so I gave the store the money for it and said I wanted to do my research before I picked it up.

I love my Nassarius snails and don't them to be popcorn to the star. By putting the star in there, will I basically be dooming the snails? Plus, I'm not sure if the star will ever really be visable anyway. Is there a better star for my tank? Like a blue linka or something?

I'm supposed to pick it up tonight after work so please give me any and all insights. Thank you.

Wife update: She picked something out for the tank, good sign right? However I think she's trying to negotiate to get kitten. So I'm not sure of her motives.

[Doug1]

Your snails should be OK, just remember to fed it a litle treat every now and then
At least she's showing interest

[Big Dave]

Your snails will be fine with the star. Mine never bothers the 100 or so I have in my tank. About the star though, I would stick with a serpent or brittle star. They are a little more durable. Linkia and Fromia are delicate and probably would fare very good with the unstableness of a nano. If you do try a linkia, I would give it a while until you got it. That will give you time to see how the pH, salinity, etc swings in your tank will be. Great job doing research first!! The only concern I have is the size of you star compared to your tank. My brittle is 15 inches across from tip to tip of its arms!! HTH

-Big Dave

[hooked]

The blue linka should also make a nice addition to your tank. This is one of the few that will come out during the day . Be carefull on your choice and do a little inspecting on it before you buy it. Try and look at the underside for anything that looks strange as they are at high risk for parasites. On this type of star I found that it is hard to find a healthy one. I usually like to look at them over a few weeks if possible. I still do not have one but think my time will be soon.

Can anyone else comment on this

HTH,

[hooked]

Oops, didn't see your tank spec's first time around. Think the linka may get to big for your tank. Anybody comment on that.

[Brooke]

A serpent should be fine in a 10g...though it is a bit small. It will hide most of the time, but usually will come out at feeding time. Acclimate it slowly...for at least an hour. Check the salinity at the store vs. the salinity in the tank. The larger the difference, the longer the acclimation. I really like serpent stars. A linkia would not be a good choice for a 10g because of the salinity changes mentioned above as well as their potential size.

Brooke