Today I went to DPA and got a few items. While I was drip acclimating my feather duster conjoined twins and rock of little zoas, I noticed a little dot in the bucket. The little dot looked like it had 5 arms on it. Then the little dot was moving! Looked to me like a little tiny baby brittle star or some kind of spider??
Regardless I dropped him into the tank, guarded him from the damsels that wanted to eat him as he floated down and the nass. snail that immediately tried to pounce (kinda…) on him. He scurried for a bit and I guess dug into the sand.
well it sounds like you got an extra bonas with purchase. but i do think we would need a picture to know what ya got. but ya sounds like a star fish. i have a single marroon sea serpant star and it gave birth. i was moving rocks one day and seen a dime sized copy of my sea serpant.
i saw the same thing the other night while moving soom rock work around mine was grey in color about the size of a quater but really skinny and moved rather quickly and disapeared also had 5 legs like a starfish
Always fun to get a bonus. There is probably a 99% chance you guys don’t have “baby” brittle stars. Well they may be young, but they will never get much bigger then a quarter. There is many species of small star fish which come in as hitchikers and if you are lucky to get 2-3 of them you will likely end up with hundreds unless you’re other animals them.
The two pictured are different species then the two we typically have at the store. The ones at the store were seeded by Ken and I. They are either very thin legged and all white or a thick bristle legs with alternating black and white on their legs. In one of my tanks if you pick up even a little plug and look at the bottom of it there will be 4-5 of these guys. The survive and reproduce with no direct feeding at all.
Lol, no problem. I know some other shops where you’re likely to get even more hitchhikers. Aiptasia, bubble algae, flat worms… lol There is a place not to far from where I live that just seems to be farming Aiptasia and then selling people copper banded butterflies to take care of them.
Be glad you got a good guy and consider how easy it was for him to slip into your tank. Think about setting up a qt tank. Not everyone agrees with me about using them, but I highly suggest it.
[quote=“IanH, post:7, topic:819”]
Well I did purposefully pour him in tank, but he could have just as easily slipped in. Esp if he hitchhiked on some rocks.[/quote]
Did you add the water from DPA? You should try to limit water from stores if possible. More likely to get something bad especially in the case of a fish purchase as most stores treat their fish with copper. Copper + inverts/corals = Death
The little star fish are perfectly fine to pick up with your hands btw. I do it all the time and hold them up to my gf to scare her, lol. Difficulty may be picking them up with out squishing them.
[quote=“IanH, post:11, topic:819”]
Don’t girls always think smaller things are cute? lol…You know after I wrote that and read it again, it just didn’t come out right…[/quote]
:-)lol lOl
Seriously, women are very odd at what is gross and what is cute. I had a lady the other day, kneel down in front of a “wolf eel” and baby talk to it. Many girls think snowflake eels are gross and scary, but this thing was green and brown and had an uglier face in my opinion. I know Andy’s little girl asks him to save little tiny star fish, but the mini snails(~1cm) are gross. Many women ask their husbands to add pretty star fish to the tank, while others squirm at the site of them. Some girls love hermits, others hate them. After all these years I should know not to try to understand the female mind.
[quote=“Gordonious, post:13, topic:819”]
After all these years I should know not to try to understand the female mind. [/quote]
I had to explain this to my 13 yr. old son. He tells me one day “Dad, I don’t understand girls”
10 minutes later when I picked myself up off the floor and changed my pants I explained that he never would and it’s best to stop trying as it will only end up causing headaches, stomache ulcers, and the need for mood altering medications.
Haha, wow this thread got off topic quick! But in a funny, sad but true way. lOl
Ian, I have tons of those baby brittle stars as well. I have a huge one, but the others are just micros, won’t get any bigger. Great to have in the tank. My brother has a bunch of solid white ones. When the lights come on in the morning, they scatter.
Jon, a store is farming aiptasia and selling people copperbands to fix the problem? Just fish? I find it amazing their still in business.
Just Fish is a dirty name I would never call a store Just Fish… I mean I would never call a particular store out for doing something like this. I mean, oh nm I’m just going to shut up. You said it not me. lol
There is probably a 99% chance you guys don’t have “baby” brittle stars. Well they may be young, but they will never get much bigger then a quarter. There is many species of small star fish which come in as hitchikers and if you are lucky to get 2-3 of them you will likely end up with hundreds unless you’re other animals them.