Serpent Sea Star Opinions

Discussion in 'Invertebrates' started by jarjor, May 25, 2017.

  1. jarjor

    jarjor Copepod

    Hi reefers,

    I was wondering your impressions of the "reef safe" & "fish safe" serpent sea star (Ophioderma sp.) from actual owners. I have read good and bad things (small fish, snails, shrimp eaters) but wanted to get your opinion. Are they worth the risk in a 40 cube? I know they get big but seem to hide in a cave most of the time and good for eating detritus and decaying food. As you can imagine he won't have a heck of a lot of room to roam and don't want him sneaking up on my clown pair nestled in the sand and eating one of them. ;)

    Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

    Jarrett
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2017
  2. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    There's nothing they do beneficial that a brittle star doesn't do and without the fear of them being predatory. My brittle star is probably a foot across and has not been a problem. Never see all of him just multiple arms hanging out. :D

    I'll post a pic of him tonight when I get home.
     
    jarjor likes this.
  3. jarjor

    jarjor Copepod

  4. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    The only bad one that I know of is the Green Brittle Star. To the best of my knowledge all others are fine
     
    jarjor likes this.
  5. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Never seen a green brittle star. I know the green serpents get blamed for a lot of things.

    Here's mine, harmless detrivore. This is one I have to disagree with LA on......well not the only one. LOL

    [​IMG]
     
    jarjor likes this.
  6. jarjor

    jarjor Copepod

    Thanks, doc!

    Cheers,

    Jarrett
     
  7. I love my sea serpent. I have 1 teeny tiny emperor shrimp and 3 pom pom crabs, and he never bothers any of them. They're all in a 29 gallon nano cube. I'm sure each has a slightly different temperament. I feed mine with little chunks of fish or sea scallop and he's a happy camper.
     
    jarjor likes this.
  8. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    jarjor likes this.
  9. jarjor

    jarjor Copepod

    New sea serpent getting used to the new digs:



    It's a red banded one. Sorry vid kinda sucks.
     
    NatalieMadison, LJC6780 and huntindoc like this.
  10. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    I love the music but I couldn't have one so big I don't think. So snakey! lol I saw one at the fish tank the other day that looked just like a snake coiled up under the rocks.
     
  11. jarjor

    jarjor Copepod

    Yea it's actually pretty small. Half-sized or less than doc's.
    Acclimation took 3.5 hrs. And still thought he was dead when I put him in the tank. But then just about the time the lights were dimming, I saw the tentacles . Pretty neat to me and it doesn't have a brain! That's apparently why acclimation takes a while since they cannot easily adapt to their new environment.
     
  12. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    My Red Serpent is pretty big. The disc is about the size of a .50 cent piece, with legs it is 10-12" across.
     
    huntindoc likes this.
  13. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Yeah, it's weird to legs coming out of two sides of a large rock at the same time! :D
     
  14. Kim

    Kim Secretary Staff Member

    Hiya,

    LOVE the music. Neat critter to have.
     
  15. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    So is this a serpent sea star? I found it tonight when I was checking out the tank with my phone light not too long after lights out. It's currently living in my big ball of blasto! It's TINY! I'd say probably about the size of a half dollar end to end. Maybe a tad bit bigger. And after watching my video again, I think there may be 2 of them!

    IMG_1881.JPG
    Yep. There are two. Couldn't get a great pic but here is the zoomed out version of the one above. Can't believe I missed it before.
    IMG_1882.JPG
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2017
  16. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    It looks like a Brittle star to me.
     
  17. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    I guess technically Brittle Stars and Serpent stars are the same thing but I see them separately, that is how I learned them. To me, spikey looking skin is a Brittle Star, smoother looking skin is a Serpent Star. They both have the spikey skin but Brittle Stars are really spikey. If you go to Live Aquaria you will see the distinct difference.
     
    LJC6780 and NatalieMadison like this.
  18. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    I thought that is where I looked up the serpent.. it said it would get over a foot I think.. will this one or is it a miniature variety? I was thinking the brittle stars they had listed were black and not striped.
     
  19. jarjor

    jarjor Copepod

    Well, I guess I was worried for nothing. My blue legged hermits ripped the banded sea star apart one leg at a time. Evil little devils. I think I have too many anyway. They also killed 3 of my scarlet reef hermits in a few days and stole their shells. Ugh! And I thought I was having a bad day.
     
    LJC6780 likes this.
  20. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    How big are these hermit crabs? I have never seen a reef safe hermit crab tear up a healthy star
     
    LJC6780 likes this.

Share This Page