Alas! Fare thee well o blue legged one!

Aragorn · 09-08-2001, 05:13 PM

GEEZ!
Just witnessed a little "war" in our 135g last night. You see, we have "Electric Blue" legged hermits in our tank. Well, for some reason one of them crawled outta his/her shell. Immediately our Peppermint Shrimp descended upon it! But then, our Brittlestar "caught wind" of the skirmish and immediately arrived and YANKED the hermit out of the shrimps' grasp, coiled it up and proceeded to head toward a hole under the rock where it devoured it! This happened so fast! We didn't even have time to intervene! It's a brutal world out there folks.

**scubadude** · 09-08-2001, 09:00 PM

Also Ironic....cuz i witnessed a brittle eat a hermit out of his shell too....at a buddy of mines house....I guess w/out them shells they are pretty defenseless.....Well this just goes to show you a balance.....cuz we all have witnessed hermits devastating other animals in our tanks....maybe a brittle star is a good idea to keep your hermits in check?

David · 09-09-2001, 12:57 AM

Scubadude - you got it wrong.....it's:
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and you can sell him tackle for a lifetime - Neptune Fishing Supplies, St. Thomas, USVI.

organicreefer · 09-09-2001, 12:18 PM

what kind of stars are we talking here?curious

i HAD a green brittle star but that thing went nuts when i put food in the tank and would eat anything he could grab and stuff in his mouths

small hermits and snails mainly.hes outa there ,and now i have a burgandy serpent star that is a model citizen

eses · 09-09-2001, 12:55 PM

Have any of you had your green (or any) brittle star actively hunt your small hermits? I just aquired two, and I also have about 30 hermit crabs...I would hate to think I just bought something to clean up the crabs.

So far there haven't been any problems and they have putzed along without even noticing the crabs.

Though, I wouldn't be too heart broken to loose the crabs. They haven't done much really in ways of keeping the tank cleaner, the snails have done all the work.

organicreefer · 09-09-2001, 12:59 PM

imo the green brittle is not reef or community safe.the will eat anything they can catch.i have heard the same from others.they look cool,but they get huge and nasty.

organicreefer · 09-09-2001, 01:01 PM

as a matter of fact,one time the green brittle tried to eat my burgandy serpent star,luckily the burgandy got away

Aragorn · 09-09-2001, 01:50 PM

This fella is a green brittlestar. I've never had a problem with him. He was originally in our 72g and behaved well. Now he's in our 135g. We have 2 cleaner shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 mandarin dragonet, and alot of crabs and snails. This is the first aggressive act I've seen. I feed the fella nightly w/ silversides or raw shrimp.

organicreefer · 09-09-2001, 01:58 PM

aragorn,
you feed him nightly,that no doubt has kept his agressive tendencies at bay...how big is he?if i even stick my hand in the tank and gently tickle the tip of one of my green brittle star he will latch on and try TO EAT ME!

.

09-08-2001, 05:13 PM	#1
Aragorn Governor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pine Grove, CA USA Posts: 2,064	Alas! Fare thee well o blue legged one! GEEZ! Just witnessed a little "war" in our 135g last night. You see, we have "Electric Blue" legged hermits in our tank. Well, for some reason one of them crawled outta his/her shell. Immediately our Peppermint Shrimp descended upon it! But then, our Brittlestar "caught wind" of the skirmish and immediately arrived and YANKED the hermit out of the shrimps' grasp, coiled it up and proceeded to head toward a hole under the rock where it devoured it! This happened so fast! We didn't even have time to intervene! It's a brutal world out there folks. __________________ "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

09-08-2001, 09:00 PM	#2
scubadude Moderator Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Wichita, Kansas Posts: 5,315	Thats funny...but sad Also Ironic....cuz i witnessed a brittle eat a hermit out of his shell too....at a buddy of mines house....I guess w/out them shells they are pretty defenseless.....Well this just goes to show you a balance.....cuz we all have witnessed hermits devastating other animals in our tanks....maybe a brittle star is a good idea to keep your hermits in check? __________________ Rocky

09-09-2001, 01:50 PM	#8
Aragorn Governor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pine Grove, CA USA Posts: 2,064	This fella is a green brittlestar. I've never had a problem with him. He was originally in our 72g and behaved well. Now he's in our 135g. We have 2 cleaner shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 mandarin dragonet, and alot of crabs and snails. This is the first aggressive act I've seen. I feed the fella nightly w/ silversides or raw shrimp. __________________ "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

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09-09-2001, 12:57 AM	#3
David Citizen Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: San Diego Posts: 210	Scubadude - you got it wrong.....it's: Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and you can sell him tackle for a lifetime - Neptune Fishing Supplies, St. Thomas, USVI.

09-09-2001, 12:18 PM	#4
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	what kind of stars are we talking here?curious i HAD a green brittle star but that thing went nuts when i put food in the tank and would eat anything he could grab and stuff in his mouths small hermits and snails mainly.hes outa there ,and now i have a burgandy serpent star that is a model citizen

09-09-2001, 12:55 PM	#5
eses Council Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Seattle Posts: 270	Have any of you had your green (or any) brittle star actively hunt your small hermits? I just aquired two, and I also have about 30 hermit crabs...I would hate to think I just bought something to clean up the crabs. So far there haven't been any problems and they have putzed along without even noticing the crabs. Though, I wouldn't be too heart broken to loose the crabs. They haven't done much really in ways of keeping the tank cleaner, the snails have done all the work.

09-09-2001, 12:59 PM	#6
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	imo the green brittle is not reef or community safe.the will eat anything they can catch.i have heard the same from others.they look cool,but they get huge and nasty.

09-09-2001, 01:01 PM	#7
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	as a matter of fact,one time the green brittle tried to eat my burgandy serpent star,luckily the burgandy got away

09-09-2001, 01:58 PM	#9
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	aragorn, you feed him nightly,that no doubt has kept his agressive tendencies at bay...how big is he?if i even stick my hand in the tank and gently tickle the tip of one of my green brittle star he will latch on and try TO EAT ME! .

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