Baby Brittle Stars!!

[WildPraire]

Okay, I know this is old hat to most of you, but I'm so excited about all the life popping up in the tank.

I have pods of some sort skating around the rock, and also skating just under the surface of the water when I feed and have the pumps off. No idea what kind, but very lively little creatures!

The spaghetti worms are so kewl, I can spend a very long time watching them searching out food with those long arms.

Last night I found 5 baby brittle stars! All tiny, gray, the largest at about .5 inches across. Do brittles ever change color as they get older, or do they stay the same? I also saw legs of a bit larger brittle a week ago, dark green but still pretty small.

The peppermint shrimp are taking care of the aiptasia bit by bit, it's a slow process but they've made a big difference.

Still no fish!!

Sue

[Soltaker]

It is amazing that something as simple as a pod can keep me entertained As for the baby brittles, I have had a few here and there in my main tank, but my fuge has a ton of them! Also I have been adding live baby brine shrimp to my tank for a few weeks now. Again, my fuge is full of them! Once they reach the fuge, there isn't anything to eat them. I have a couple that are quite big

[MERCEDES]

I feel the same way Wildprairie &Soltaker, Tracy makes fun of me for trying to save as many pods as I can before I rinse out the filters and sponges. It is really cool checking out all of the little creatures growing in our tanks. Kind of amazing and creepy at the same time since some of them aren't very good looking. Reminds you of the show That's Incredible when they showed bedbugs and how taking a shower makes them multiply more. Is your skin crawling yet?

[WildPraire]

Ack!!

BEDBUGS!! I read an article a few months ago that these things were making a comeback. Apparently they almost went away in this country at least... but they were found in some hotels and homes, especially in the east I think. Okay now I'm plenty creeped out Sheryl (it is Sheryl correct). Please don't tell me that washing the sheetsb makes them multiply.
Sue

[tricksterpup]

No, it just makes them hungrier and meaner.

jim

[MERCEDES]

If I remember correctly, hot water makes them multiply that's why when they showed the person showering the host gleefully told you they were only making it worse. eeewwww! Thank you for spelling my name right it is Sheryl.

[manderson0805]

Are you sure they're brittle stars?? I'm still harvesting at least 50 a week out of my tank. Little grey and off white ones, with 6 legs. If your's have 6, I'd start pulling them out now. I bet I've pulled over 300 out of my 46, and I can still sit down and see 20 or 30 of the **** things.

[MERCEDES]

Manderson,
You should sell them as snacks for people with aggressive fish You must always think of ways to make money so you can spend even more.

[Soltaker]

Originally posted by MERCEDES
Manderson,
You should sell them as snacks for people with aggressive fish You must always think of ways to make money so you can spend even more.

Sounds like perfect logic to me

[manderson0805]

I give the things away...., you can pick a few dozen up from me sometime......if people are really interested, let me know..I'll be happy to save them for you

[Graham]

Baby brittle stars are one of the best detritivores you could ever have in a reef tank. Are you sure you aren't talking about the "micro" starfish - they are reputed to munch coral tissue and I usually remove them. The mini brittle stars, however, are not predatory on anything significant except detritus. If you are throwing them away, everyone should get some before they're gone! They're great - pretty rare, too. IPSF only has them in seasonally and they rarely come in on live rock to my knowledge...

[manderson0805]

These are just little ones, maybe 1/2 to 5/8" across. Six legs, and they split all the time. I started off with maybe, maybe 15 in my tank 1 year ago. I think I stopped keeping track of how many I've harvested, and that was 2 months ago. It got sick when I'd look at the front of my tank and I'd see 30 or 40 of the things on 3' of glass. I've seen the things on top of my Zoo's so I'm always pulling them off and throwing them in the sump. If anyone wants some, I'd be happy to give them away.

[trodder]

Well Sheryl & Sue,

You have officialy freaked me out considering I am in the car right now on my way to Rapid City, SD. I will be staying in a hotel for 2 nights. Anywway, Mike waht you may have is micro stars that are known to be destructive sometimes, but mini-brittle stars are like Graham says good... from my experiemce the micro stars have not hurt anything but others have indicated that they have been VERY DESTRUCTIVE...

[manderson0805]

Well, anyone have any use for feeding these too?? What would eat these stars? Triggers? Just shoot me a PM if you want some. I do have quite a bit in my sump...figured they could clean that up for me.

[MERCEDES]

hehehehe!