They may be alien-like, and they may look freaky. However, serpent starfish are overlooked organisms that can make a unique addition to most home aquariums. Serpent starfish can come in many different colors and variations. Today, we will look at some examples of the beautiful and incredibly interesting serpent starfish, their care requirements, and what you can do to give them the home they deserve.
First, many people may get the heebie-jeebies when they first see these creatures. However, as some may look a bit ugly, some species and varieties carry striking colorations and patterns. Each serpent starfish has a distinctive pattern or color difference within the same species. In my few years in the hobby and the thousands of serpent starfish I have seen, no single one has been the same. Their uniqueness makes them fascinating creatures!
I am intrigued by the wide variety of serpent stars hitting the market recently so I have started collecting the many different varieties. Shockingly, a good bit of them are making their way into the hobby from the Caribbean! I have also had some cool experiences in the Florida Keys where I have spotted some unique serpent stars in their natural habitat. Their habitat usually consists of a hard bottom reef habitat with sand and limestone.
Just about every time I have ever spotted these starfish, they were under rocks tucked away from the light. This indicates that they are nocturnal, they do not enjoy light and I have observed this in my aquariums as well. So don’t be alarmed if you add one to your reef and rarely see it out in the open. In my experience, they only come out in the daytime when food has been added to the aquarium.
This was an acquired trait though as it usually takes a week or so to realize it’s safe to come out during the day to feed when I am feeding the other organisms in the aquarium. Therefore, when planning on adding one to your aquarium, be sure you have ample hiding areas and plenty of rock work for them to hide and maneuver in. This will help them adapt to aquarium life faster and thrive in your tank.
Feeding serpent starfish is the easiest aspect of keeping them. They will eat pretty much any food or waste they can get their little arms on. That being said, I have heard some people saying that serpent starfish can eat fish but this has not been the case for me. I have about fifteen specimens in my seventy-five gallon alone and have not had any issues to date. From what I have read and seen, this seems to only be a factor if a fish is sick or slow-moving. With that in mind, it may be best to avoid adding serpent starfish to a system with a slower-moving fish that may fall victim to them.
I feed my serpent starfish on a variety of foods including Reef Nutrition Betta Brine and Arcti Pods. You can feed regular frozen or prepared foods and they also enjoy pellets, such as TDO Chromaboost. These little creatures will enjoy a bit of everything.
Sourcing these little guys can be tricky sometimes, but your best bet is to always look for a local fish store that has sources or look online. Even then, it may be hard to find what you’re after. In my personal experience, Alyssa Gabriel over at Alyssa’s Seahorse Savvy somehow manages to bring in some insane specimens like the Harlequin Serpents, Giraffe Serpents, and much more. There are other places I may occasionally see elsewhere, but Seahorse Savvy seems to be very consistent in her offerings of unique and odd serpent starfish.
With me working in the wholesale world and having connections with collectors, I have also had my fair share of super unique serpent starfish that I have acquired. Some of these specimens include a beautiful pink-centered serpent starfish as well as the Caribbean red serpent starfish; both of which come from deeper waters. The red ones are more common by far than the pink-centered specimens and out of many hundred red ones I’ve seen pass through the doors at my work, only a few have been the unique pink-centered serpents.
Caring for these unique little creatures is quite easy once they have acclimated to your system. The deepwater serpent starfish, giraffe varieties, and the harlequin serpent stars tend to be the most finicky when it comes to being added to a new tank. So I recommend slowly drip acclimating these to your system instead of just tossing them in. It is critical to slowly drip them though as dripping too fast may stress them out to the point of them dying off.
For some reason, this seems to be the case with most of the “soft-bodied” specimens. Don’t let this scare you though! Once acclimated these will be one of the hardiest clean-up-crew in your system! Just be sure to do your part and try your best to mimic their natural environment to the best of your ability to give them the best chance of flourishing in your tank.
With all that said, if you’re interested or think a serpent starfish may be a cool addition to your tank, take a close look and read back through this article to make sure serpent starfish are for you! These can be some of the most unique and rewarding purchases for many home aquariums, and I hope these little creatures get the popularity they deserve!
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