Brittle starfish?

[kevgib67]

The hitchhikers are micro? They aren't going to get any bigger?

Max size about a quarter. If your interested I’ll let you know where I got mine from a member on this forum.

 

[Jeeperz]

If you can’t find someone local with them, I know a lot of people have bought them from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms (IPSF). Apparently some people have been having trouble getting a hold of the company lately though.

: : : : Indo-Pacific Sea Farms : : : :

Indo-Pacific Sea Farms produces captive-bred marine life for healthier reef aquariums: invertebrates, detritivores, live sand, snail grazers, amphipods, beneficial worms, macro algae, plankton, corals, coral food and beneficial bacteria.

www.ipsf.com

I talked with a fish store in Hawaii that used to carry aquaculture Hawaii rock and they said most all of the aquaculture places in Hawaii got shut down during "covid" and not sure if any that did close will reopen

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I talked with a fish store in Hawaii that used to carry aquaculture Hawaii rock and they said most all of the aquaculture places in Hawaii got shut down during "covid" and not sure if any that did close will reopen

Yeah, these guys have been open though - I’ve even seen a post as recent as last month talking about adding new stuff from IPSF to their tank (they were adding stuff around the time they were posting). It’s just been a couple of posts I’ve seen in the past couple of weeks mentioning that they haven’t been able to get in contact with them (might just be bad luck or the holiday season causing the problem though).

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I'm so sad now. I accidentally squished my little baby brittle star - after I let my daughter name him (she's 23 and married, lives on her own, but was crazy excited about him)
As excited as I am about all of my new corals, I want to find another tiny baby brittle star. That isn't something I ever see for sale.
Anyone in North Carolina with an extra? I'm going to buy a little tank for this one.

You probably have more in your tank...

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

The hitchhikers are micro? They aren't going to get any bigger?

Yep

 

[whybenormal]

Max size about a quarter. If your interested I’ll let you know where I got mine from a member on this forum.

I'd love to. As this tank is fairly new I doubt I have any others in there yet.

 

[kevgib67]

The ministars sold by IPSF are a species of “micro” brittle starfish, so they’ll stay small forever. If your hitchhikers have been in your tank for a few months and are still “micro-sized,” I’d guess they’ll stay small too (which would mean they’re micro brittle stars as well).

Depending on the species, it may be possible for them to be babies from your larger brittle stars (but it’s rather unlikely). Most likely, your little stars that don’t have the “spikes” on the arms are just a different micro brittle star species.

As a note for anyone interested here, some people use the presence or absence of the “spikes” - called spines, but spikes is close enough for me - to differentiate between “brittle stars” (with spines) and “serpent stars” (without spines). Most of these “serpent stars” are good CUC/reef-safe, but the large, green “brittle star” (sometimes called the “serpent star”), Ophiarachna incrassata, has been known to hunt and eat sleeping fish.

I'd love to. As this tank is fairly new I doubt I have any others in there yet.

Here is the gentleman’s tag and a picture of the ones I received. All alive and healthy. Good luck.

 

[whybenormal]

Here is the gentleman’s tag and a picture of the ones I received. All alive and healthy. Good luck.

Those look exactly like the little guy I had!
Thank you! I can picture one creeping around a little micro reef <3

 

[Lavey29]

Those look exactly like the little guy I had!
Thank you! I can picture one creeping around a little micro reef <3

So I'm curious, will you tell your daughter about the unfortunate mishap with the little star or get a replacement and play it off like it's the original? I went through a dilemma like this many years ago when Woo Woo my kids stuffed animal got left on the beach at the river. He wound up with another family in San Diego who were supposed to mail him back but never did. I drove to like 100 stores before I found another WooWoo and gave him to my daughter as the original but my 3 year old quickly determined that he was not the real Woo Woo.