Description
Serpent Starfish (Ophioderma spp.) - Colors Vary. Most are brown/black in color.
The Ultimate Reef Scavenger and Master of Stealth
Introduce a touch of serpentine grace to your aquarium with the Serpent Starfish. A fascinating and highly effective member of any clean-up crew, this echinoderm is renowned for its long, flexible arms and its tireless appetite for detritus and leftover food. Watch as it elegantly navigates your rockwork, extending its slender arms from crevices in search of its next meal, helping to keep your tank pristine.
Unlike the slower, more rigid sea stars, the Serpent Starfish moves with surprising speed and agility, resembling a snake as it glides across the sandbed. Its reclusive, nocturnal nature makes every sighting a special event, adding an element of mystery and discovery to your reef tank. Hardy, peaceful, and incredibly beneficial, the Serpent Starfish is an essential addition for any aquarist looking to maintain a healthy, balanced ecosystem.
Why You'll Love the Serpent Starfish:
- Unrivaled Scavenger: An expert at finding and consuming uneaten food, fish waste, and other organic detritus that falls into the rockwork and on the sandbed, preventing the buildup of nitrates and phosphates.
- Reef-Safe & Peaceful: Coexists peacefully with corals, fish, and most invertebrates. It shows no interest in bothering corals and will generally leave its tank mates alone.
- Fascinating Behavior: Its unique, snake-like movement and nocturnal activity provide a captivating display. It's an active, interesting invertebrate that adds a new dimension of life to your tank, especially after the lights go down.
- Hardy & Adaptable: A great choice for both new and experienced hobbyists, the Serpent Starfish is generally hardy and adapts well to established, stable marine aquariums.
Care & Specifications
To ensure your Serpent Starfish thrives, it's important to provide a suitable environment that mimics its natural habitat. They are sensitive to rapid changes in water chemistry, so proper acclimation is key to their long-term success.
Tank Requirements:
- Minimum Tank Size: 20 Gallons or larger.
- Aquascape: Requires ample live rock with plenty of caves, cracks, and crevices to hide in during the day. A mature sandbed is also beneficial.
- Stability: Best introduced into a well-established aquarium that has stable water parameters.
Water Parameters:
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Temperature: 72−78°F (22−25.5°C)
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Specific Gravity: 1.023−1.025
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pH: 8.1−8.4
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Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate: As close to 0 ppm as possible. They are intolerant of high nitrate levels.
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Calcium: 380−450 ppm
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Magnesium: 1250−1350 ppm
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Alkalinity: 8−12 dKH
Feeding & Diet: The Serpent Starfish is primarily a scavenger and will actively seek out uneaten food in the aquarium. However, in very clean systems, supplemental feeding is necessary to ensure its health.
- Diet: Carnivore.
- Recommended Foods: Target feed small pieces of meaty foods like mysis shrimp, krill, chopped fish, or squid a few times per week. Sinking carnivore pellets are also an excellent option.
- Feeding Tip: Use feeding tongs to place food near its central disc or one of its arms, especially after the main lights have gone out, to ensure it gets its share.
Compatibility: The Serpent Starfish is a peaceful resident suitable for most community reef tanks. It will not harm corals or sessile invertebrates. While generally safe with fish, very large, hungry specimens have been known to opportunistically prey on very small, slow-moving, or sleeping fish. This is rare for most common species but is something to be aware of. They should not be housed with predatory fish that may prey on them, such as large Triggers or Puffers.
Acclimation: IMPORTANT: Like all invertebrates, the Serpent Starfish is highly sensitive to changes in salinity and water chemistry. Drip acclimation is essential for their survival. Please allow at least 60 minutes for a slow, steady drip acclimation before introducing it to your aquarium.
