Banded serpent starfish

[littlefoxx]

Hey all, Ive been looking at a serpent star for a while now. I have a 70 gallon tank. Stocking list will include watchmen goby, shrimps, firefish, small clowns and crabs and some other larger fish. I am more worried about my crabs, snails, shrimp and small fish being eaten at night as Ive read its nocturnal. Ive seen about half and half on this. Some people says these are aggressive and eat fish and stuff at night, others say the banded one is fine its the green or red brittle serpent to avoid. I was wondering if anyone who has these or had these in the past could comment on this?

 

[Slocke]

Hey all, Ive been looking at a serpent star for a while now. I have a 70 gallon tank. Stocking list will include watchmen goby, shrimps, firefish, small clowns and crabs and some other larger fish. I am more worried about my crabs, snails, shrimp and small fish being eaten at night as Ive read its nocturnal. Ive seen about half and half on this. Some people says these are aggressive and eat fish and stuff at night, others say the banded one is fine its the green or red brittle serpent to avoid. I was wondering if anyone who has these or had these in the past could comment on this?

They are scavengers. I have several from small to large including the banded you want and they have never harmed anything. They get blamed for killing fish and inverts because they are often caught eating the carcass but its almost always already dead.

 

[littlefoxx]

They are scavengers. I have several from small to large including the banded you want and they have never harmed anything. They get blamed for killing fish and inverts because they are often caught eating the carcass but its almost always already dead.

ah okay that makes me feel better. Do they have any specific needs as far as food/algae or do they just eat whatever is leftover in the tank from fish feedings?

 

[Slocke]

I target feed mine bits of shrimp or fish. they probably don't need it but if you notice the central disk is getting very skinny then you may need to.
It is also very fun to feed them in my opinion!

 

[collins.jason.k]

ah okay that makes me feel better. Do they have any specific needs as far as food/algae or do they just eat whatever is leftover in the tank from fish feedings?

They will eat whatever leftovers they find. They like to hide during the day, but when you feed the tank you'll start to see their arms moving out from their hiding places trying to snatch whatever floats by.

 

[littlefoxx]

ah okay that makes me feel better. Do they have any specific needs as far as food/algae or do they just eat whatever is leftover in the tank from fish feedings?

Also will it be safe from my hermits? I have halloweens mostly and they wacked a pistol shrimp in the 12 hours after I put him in the tank. To be honest I think the pistol tried something with the halloween as they dont mess with my other shrimp.

 

[Slocke]

Yeah. With the exception of some giant wrasse nothing eats them. They are tough and not very nutritious.

 

[littlefoxx]

Yeah. With the exception of some giant wrasse nothing eats them. They are tough and not very nutritious.

Ah thats good. How big do they get? I have a 70 gallon at the moment.

 

[Slocke]

Ah thats good. How big do they get? I have a 70 gallon at the moment.

Several inches, maybe 10 but they don’t grow that fast and they don’t move much so you don’t need a bigger tank.

 

[mrpontiac80]

My serpents are 100% ok with all my inverts and fish. I like them!

 

[littlefoxx]

My serpents are 100% ok with all my inverts and fish. I like them!

Do they need a mature tank? Mines been up for 4 months

 

[Slocke]

Do they need a mature tank? Mines been up for 4 months

That is fine as they'll eat what your fish eat.

 

[mrpontiac80]

Do they need a mature tank? Mines been up for 4 months

I think it would be fine. Serpents will eat leftover foods and waste

 

[vtecintegra]

IMO, I think they should be target feed at least once a week. I feed a piece of shrimp. It's pain, though. It stays hidden in a spot that's hard to reach.

 

[littlefoxx]

IMO, I think they should be target feed at least once a week. I feed a piece of shrimp. It's pain, though. It stays hidden in a spot that's hard to reach.

Cool! I think Im going to pull the trigger and get one!

 

[Bucs20fan]

I would, I have a pretty large I guess generic one, its like a purplish-red color, its about 5 inches across. Never leaves his spot under a rock during the day, But at night Ill catch him rustling through my gsp or looking for morsels that the crabs missed.

 

[littlefoxx]

I would, I have a pretty large I guess generic one, its like a purplish-red color, its about 5 inches across. Never leaves his spot under a rock during the day, But at night Ill catch him rustling through my gsp or looking for morsels that the crabs missed.

He wont hurt the corals or the inverts at night either?

 

[Bucs20fan]

Not a serpent, they’re pretty reef safe

 

[littlefoxx]

Not a serpent, they’re pretty reef safe

Ah okay. Do harlequin shrimp eat serpent stars??? I dont have one I was just curious

 

[Bucs20fan]

Ah okay. Do harlequin shrimp eat serpent stars??? I dont have one I was just curious

Harlequin shrimp will happily eat any starfish they can find. Serpents are included.