Miniature brittle stars from Inland Aquatics
- Thread starter sally1
- Start date
These are excellent critters, and very beneficial for a DSB. Just don't expect to see them much, except maybe an arm or two waving from the sand or from a hole in the rock, and then only at night.
You don't get many individuals in an IA detritavore kit, although you can buy more separately (pricey). They will breed, but it takes a long time -- months or years -- to establish large populations.
Are you the Sally who was waiting for the IPSF 9 for 99 to arrive? How'd that work out?
You don't get many individuals in an IA detritavore kit, although you can buy more separately (pricey). They will breed, but it takes a long time -- months or years -- to establish large populations.
Are you the Sally who was waiting for the IPSF 9 for 99 to arrive? How'd that work out?
Yes, I am the Sally that ordered from IPSF. I got the 9 for $99 and it was ok but you really didn't get much. Everything arrived alive. I want to add more life to my sand bed (a different tank) and am considering getting more baby bristle worms/stars. (you could only get 5 baby bristle worms with the 9 for 99) I just wasn't sure about the mini brittle stars. ( I know how aggressive the bigger brittle ones can be)..Thanks for your help.
FWIW, IPSF has a different variety of similar mini-brittle star, smaller and reportedly white instead of grey/brown stripes like IA's.
I know of the IPSF stars only by reputation, with no first-hand knowledge, but the IPSF type supposedly breeds very rapidly and gets very dense in the sand bed.
The drawback is, IPSF sells them only as a $20 add-on to their 9 for 99 Special package deal, and apparently doesn't offer them seperately.
I know of the IPSF stars only by reputation, with no first-hand knowledge, but the IPSF type supposedly breeds very rapidly and gets very dense in the sand bed.
The drawback is, IPSF sells them only as a $20 add-on to their 9 for 99 Special package deal, and apparently doesn't offer them seperately.
What he said! The "only" 5 IPSF baby bristle worms I added to a new tank back in February must be at least 50 or maybe even 500 by now -- who can count them all? Their birth rate seems to be unlimited, controlled only by available food.
If you want more species, buy. If you just want more individuals of species you already have, just feed the sand with frozen Prime Reef and wait.
To seed a new tank with bristle worms from your old tank, you can use a red flashlight after lights out and some long tongs to catch a few worms from your old tank and just transfer them. Or just transfer a couple of cups of sand.
(Yeah, I know -- I really enjoy buying new stuff, too. Ain't mail-order cool?)
If you want more species, buy. If you just want more individuals of species you already have, just feed the sand with frozen Prime Reef and wait.
To seed a new tank with bristle worms from your old tank, you can use a red flashlight after lights out and some long tongs to catch a few worms from your old tank and just transfer them. Or just transfer a couple of cups of sand.
(Yeah, I know -- I really enjoy buying new stuff, too. Ain't mail-order cool?)
Agreed. My tank has only been up for a month, and I have worms galore in my DSB. I feel that it is better to buy live rock from several different sources (Unless you have a really good single source). In short order, I have amphipods, copepods, bristle worms, and about 10 drawf serpent stars(at least that I can see). I bought my live rock from three different stores, and each store's rock brought a host of new critters.
I also vacuumed my sand bed once(won't do that again).
I also vacuumed my sand bed once(won't do that again).
BreefCase: Ok, ok..I'll be patient
When you mentioned feeding the sandbed with Prime Reef..how exactly do you do that?? This is for an established 55 gallon tank that has snails, a few crabs (and one big rock crab I cannot get out) and 3 small fish. Do you put the food on the sand bed...Won't the others come running to eat it. How exactly do you feed a sand bed?? Thanks for your help!! PS.My strombus snails from IPSF have been laying eggs every day...very cool. I can watch their development right in the egg sac since they are on the glass.
I got mirco brittle stars off of Greg Hiller 12 for 5 dollars. Bristle worms 12 for 5 dollars, and Cerith snails 12 for 5 dollars. So if you spent 20 bucks on micro stars from Greg you could get 48 stars to start. Or 48 bristleworm to seed the sand for the same price. Hard to beat that deal.
Oh yeah one more thing
Gregs a lot easier to deal with then gerald!! No slight on Gerald just statement of my experinces. If you do order from greg make sure you order a M. Cap frag off of him as they are awsome!
Oh yeah one more thing
Gregs a lot easier to deal with then gerald!! No slight on Gerald just statement of my experinces. If you do order from greg make sure you order a M. Cap frag off of him as they are awsome!
Greg Hiller
Just a bum in Boston
- Location
- Wakefield, MA
None...yet!
I don't have enormous quantities of the brittle stars, so anyone out there, please don't order more than 2 dozen at a time. They grow in all my tanks, but I find the easiest way to collect them is in my clownfish growout tank. They live in the hair algae and are easiest to collect there.
- Greg Hiller
I don't have enormous quantities of the brittle stars, so anyone out there, please don't order more than 2 dozen at a time. They grow in all my tanks, but I find the easiest way to collect them is in my clownfish growout tank. They live in the hair algae and are easiest to collect there.
- Greg Hiller
Sally -- Feeding the live sand bed is easy. The idea is to break up the food small enough that the fish can't steal it all on the way down, so it settles to the bottom for the benefit of the sand critters.
I use a plastic syringe with a long piece of rigid airline tubing attached like a needle, secured to the syringe with a short section of telescoping rubber airline tube. It should be long enough to reach the bottom back of your tank.
Then just thaw the Prime Reef or whatever in a small sample cup filled with a few milliliters of tank water. Suck the food up forcefully into your long syringe and spit it out back into the cup a few times until it breaks up into small pieces. Now just squirt it out onto the sand under/behind the reef. When I do this, everything from hermits to Nassarius snails comes running. Even the bristle worms and 'pods will sneak out in daylight to eat.
Just be careful not to overdo it so much you set the tank to cycling again, producing ammonia or nitrites. Start with just a little corner of a cube of Prime Reef and work up slowly feeding every other day or every third day until you see what your sand can handle.
To gauge how much uneaten sand food is left over, about 12 hours after feeding the sand you can use a small spare powerhead to gently blow any uneaten food out from under/behind the rocks. If too much is left over, cut down a bit next time. This is great for your filter feeders, too!
Good luck.
[ July 20, 2001: Message edited by: BReefCase ]
I use a plastic syringe with a long piece of rigid airline tubing attached like a needle, secured to the syringe with a short section of telescoping rubber airline tube. It should be long enough to reach the bottom back of your tank.
Then just thaw the Prime Reef or whatever in a small sample cup filled with a few milliliters of tank water. Suck the food up forcefully into your long syringe and spit it out back into the cup a few times until it breaks up into small pieces. Now just squirt it out onto the sand under/behind the reef. When I do this, everything from hermits to Nassarius snails comes running. Even the bristle worms and 'pods will sneak out in daylight to eat.
Just be careful not to overdo it so much you set the tank to cycling again, producing ammonia or nitrites. Start with just a little corner of a cube of Prime Reef and work up slowly feeding every other day or every third day until you see what your sand can handle.
To gauge how much uneaten sand food is left over, about 12 hours after feeding the sand you can use a small spare powerhead to gently blow any uneaten food out from under/behind the rocks. If too much is left over, cut down a bit next time. This is great for your filter feeders, too!
Good luck.
[ July 20, 2001: Message edited by: BReefCase ]
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
