serpent star ID & opinion on regenerative abilities

[jadran]

I have question regarding Serpent Star ID and regenerative abilities.. I got two new stars, one I bought other took for free when realized that shop owner is about to trow it away.. Felt sorry for poor animal, so I brought it home in hope for it to regrow its disk.
here goes the pic.

as you can see central disk is badly eaten away, but shop owner claims to have it for months.. (I got it for free so i don't see why would he lie) Star moves slowly but not much and fast..migt be starving? Way I understand it Ophiuroids have amazing regenerative powers ans in some cases entire organs can be regrown.. Would that apply here and what to expect? ID would be also helpful so I can try feeding it.

thx.

Mario

 

[jadran]

Ophiolepsis superba?

 

[FragMaster]

It should recover fully into a couple NEW stars.
The one onthe left is a plane Jane green serpant star, and the one on the right is a banded serpant star,both comonly found in the caribbean.
Both are definately part of the Ophiolepsis species but thatas far as I can go with it. LOL!
They WILL rearang loose rock in your tank to make a hiding place too when they get larger ( AND THEY DO GET BIGGER There arms can get 1 foot EACH in length).

 

[amy66]

Hi, I am new here and hope you don't mind me jumping in and asking a question regarding these stars.

Can you tell me if these stars are easy to keep and feed?
Do they need to be spot fed or will they grab stuff from around the tank?

The reason I ask is that I have lost my chocolate chip star fish and don't want another one of those. It never bothered my mushrooms but the spot feeding which I did ever second day was not easy. I am looking for some inverts that are good cleaners but I do have a Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish that I have to keep in mind too. I also have a purple pincushion urchin whom is just great. Love these guys.

amy....

 

[FragMaster]

serpemt stars are quite easy to care for Amy I think you will be happy with them as long as your rock work is secure.
Personaly I think it is a good idea to toss somthing in the tank for the starfish every 2-3 days anyways. Nothing large just a few pieces of somthing. That way they dont starve if there isnt much to eat in the tank to begin with.
You have to post a pic of your fuzzy dwarf lion Amy!!!
I LOVE THEM!!!! Is it a fuman-chu type or straight up fuzzy?
Duane

 

[Anonymous]

Amy the only time I have ever spot fed brittle/serpent start was if there were no fish in the tank that would normally be getting food.

Some people spot feed the huge green ones, to prevent them from looking to tankmates for a meal. Those green ones can get pretty big! I have kept the harlequin colored brittle stars and they stayed small and were good tankmates.

 

[amy66]

I guess I should not write off my CC star so fast. It is still moving about this morning and I am spot feeding it on the rock now instead of the sand where those dam bristle worms are. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it makes it. I have had it since last June and quite like my star, but if it dies I will not get another one.

I will post some pics of my buddy, it is a Fuzzy Dwarf not a FuMan Chu. I just took some more pics this morning.

We just got a new computer and I don't have have my software for it yet. So hopefully today I will then I will send a picture of my lionfish. This is a very interesting fish like they all say. I was very lucky to be able to get a great LFS that makes sure the lions are on frozen foods before they come to the store. It made my job alot easier and the very next day my little lion was at the front of the tank waiting breakfast.... :lol:

So many people struggle with the lions trying to switch them from live to frozen. So I am extremely lucky.

Amy

 

[dragonladylea]

Please dont give up hope yet I have a red spot linka? that suddenly lost two legs had no idea why and since the star seemed fine just kinda forgot about it until yesterday. Talk about regenerative abilities. This is one of the legs that seems to be very happy and crawling all over the tank.

 

[jadran]

My serpent star is dead.. Story got even more bizarre when I found unidentified snail munching on its leg. At first I thought its just a innocent snail which was quick to spot decaying starfish

Starfish was still alive so I moved it into overflow where is plenty detritus for it to feed on, and it was safe place from that small time predator.. which was later on IDd as baby Triton's trumpet, Charonia tritonis .

that species is well known starfish predator , its protected by law in some areas cause its predatory control of Crown of Thorns starfish that plague some reefs.
Funny, I have that snail long time and never saw it bothering anything so I assumed its reef safe. Dunno what to do with that guy, feel sorry to discard it..hmm..

 

[Anonymous]

I think I would leave the starfish and watch it, for a couple days maybe. I know it's a tough call, you don't want it to start to rot and poison the tank, but as has been said they can regenerate from nothing but leg parts sometimes.

On the feeding question, I used to keep a tilapia filet in the freezer, and throw in a chunk once a week or so just for my bristle star. Always amazed me how he knew when it was time. He'd be out waiting for it, and as soon as it hit the water he'd be walking around looking for it. I started doing that after he ate my peppermint shrimp.