You ever target feed your micro brittle stars...

myinvalidname · Sep 25, 2019

After turning down the flow to target feed some corals this morning, I noticed as usual all the little white arms hanging out from the rocks. I decided to try to feed them, so I would get one little piece of Mysis shrimp in my target feeder and hover it arm their arms making the shrimp move ever so slightly to entice them to grab it. I did this for a good 10 minutes to eight different starfish. All of them are except one, which I scared.

Just wondering how many others have been suckered by those little waving arms.

Bret Brinkmann · Sep 28, 2019

I never gave them solid food but I did turn off the pumps so they could get the phyto better.

SandJ · Sep 28, 2019

Yes, in a picotank each arm gets a squirt of frozen food from the syringe lol
In bigger tanks I squirt the smaller size particles of food over the rocks. I wait until they sense food and their arms come out waving, then feed them.

Auquanut · Sep 28, 2019

As an awesome component of the CUC, I don't target feed the micro brittles. Seems kind of counterproductive. It is kind of cool to see them waving their little arms at dinner time though.

Bret Brinkmann · Sep 28, 2019

Do brittlestars need more than filter feeding?

Auquanut · Sep 28, 2019

Bret Brinkmann said:
Do brittlestars need more than filter feeding?

From what I understand, their diet consists mainly of detritus and uneaten fish food. Since they live primarily in the nooks and crannies where other CUC can't get they help keep the hidden portions of the tank cleaner.