Serpent starfish safe for refugium?

ILOVEYOUHALFISH

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I picked up this guy today at my LFS, I added him to my refugium in my Fiji cube 24 sump, I don’t think there’s anyway it could migrate to my display tank… but I’m curious, will these guys eat fish, or snails? I recently had a bunch of baby trochus snails spawn in my tank and now I feel kind bad if they’ll just get eaten

Pictures of the starfish below: thanks in advance :)

It’s more a of brownish/purplish color all around
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Reefing addict Clay

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I’d be worried about it climbing over to another chamber and getting sucked up by my skimmer pump or return and then getting torn up and it putting all that nastiness in my tank
 
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ILOVEYOUHALFISH

ILOVEYOUHALFISH

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I’d be worried about it climbing over to another chamber and getting sucked up by my skimmer pump or return and then getting torn up and it putting all that nastiness in my tank
*face palm* didn’t even think of that lolll

I’ll admit it was sort of an impulse purchase, my thought process was to keep the refugium clean of detritus and un eaten food


I took a little break from the hobby and I guess I wasn’t really thinking straight


Hmmm…
 

Reefing addict Clay

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I’d be worried about it climbing over to another chamber and getting sucked up by my skimmer pump or return and then getting torn up and it putting all that nastiness in my tank
*face palm* didn’t even think of that lolll

I’ll admit it was sort of an impulse purchase, my thought process was to keep the refugium clean of detritus and un eaten food


I took a little break from the hobby and I guess I wasn’t really thinking straight


Hmmm…
As far as it eating fish it’d have to be really small and died or dying on the sand bed for it to even try. Snails I’m not sure about I don’t think they can eat the shell and cant scoop out the flesh of snail. I owned one for a while in display and just spot fed it PE mysis when I fed and it was happy had alot of hermits and nassarius snails an never touched them at least that I saw
 
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ILOVEYOUHALFISH

ILOVEYOUHALFISH

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I’d be worried about it climbing over to another chamber and getting sucked up by my skimmer pump or return and then getting torn up and it putting all that nastiness in my tank
I may try using something like aqua mesh just to create a more secure area in the refugium
 

Reefing addict Clay

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I’d be worried about it climbing over to another chamber and getting sucked up by my skimmer pump or return and then getting torn up and it putting all that nastiness in my tank
I may try using something like aqua mesh just to create a more secure area in the refugium
Yea or even egg crate would be an easy top
 
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ILOVEYOUHALFISH

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Stomatopods17

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likely safe to just put in the display.

Serpents aren't known to be predators, just scavengers.

You have to worry more about some of the regular starfish than the brittles/serpents, green brittles are the exception cause they get so large they catch anything that's laying down fish sized.

if you're breeding snails though; I'd lean better safe than sorry.
 
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ILOVEYOUHALFISH

ILOVEYOUHALFISH

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likely safe to just put in the display.

Serpents aren't known to be predators, just scavengers.

You have to worry more about some of the regular starfish than the brittles/serpents, green brittles are the exception cause they get so large they catch anything that's laying down fish sized.

if you're breeding snails though; I'd lean better safe than sorry.
Okay, I really wanted to keep it in the refugium just because I really enjoy looking at all the “bugs” during dark hours lol, another user recommended I move it just in case it chooses to migrate into the skimmer/ and or return pump section which is totally a valid worry… now I’m at a crossroads haha

I was thinking about maybe ordering some aqua mesh to secure the refugium section but then again it just seems like I that would be adding to my maintenance schedule…
 
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ILOVEYOUHALFISH

ILOVEYOUHALFISH

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likely safe to just put in the display.

Serpents aren't known to be predators, just scavengers.

You have to worry more about some of the regular starfish than the brittles/serpents, green brittles are the exception cause they get so large they catch anything that's laying down fish sized.

if you're breeding snails though; I'd lean better safe than sorry.
20260308_085922_7AAA3419-28FB-4E63-9BF3-05EB11C6A1E5.png

20260308_085922_FE2A25E9-3B5A-4636-94D8-293F491CD2A2.png

20260308_085922_470D192A-3E4D-4B16-9EF1-76FCA48CC9C8.png
I’d like to think I have enough rubble in there to keep it happy in that chamber but I understand that it can choose it move at any point / plus I do plan on occasionally feeding that section … idk lol
 
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ILOVEYOUHALFISH

ILOVEYOUHALFISH

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