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Stars and Clowns and Anemones, Oh My.
"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message ink.net... One is behavior that we were discussing, but also look a the visible difference. A serpent star is smooth, and a brittle star has lot's of appendages, and a "green brittle/serpent" is smooth with *some* appendages, but not nearly as much as a brittle star. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Yes, serpent stars have smooth vertebrae while those of brittle stars are spiney. So what? They are all in the same family, the difference being at the level of genera. They are all still brittle stars. George George wrote on 12/23/2006 4:36 PM: "Wayne Sallee" wrote in message nk.net... There is a difference between the "green brittle", and what we all call a brittle star. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets And that would be? Come on. Out with it, already. :-) George |
Stars and Clowns and Anemones, Oh My.
"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message nk.net... Also a brittle star has a better ability to carry pieces of food to it's mouth with it's arms via conveyor-line like method. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Yes, this and the other differences you mention do distinguish one genera from another. They are still brittle stars. George Wayne Sallee wrote on 12/23/2006 4:43 PM: One is behavior that we were discussing, but also look a the visible difference. A serpent star is smooth, and a brittle star has lot's of appendages, and a "green brittle/serpent" is smooth with *some* appendages, but not nearly as much as a brittle star. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets George wrote on 12/23/2006 4:36 PM: "Wayne Sallee" wrote in message nk.net... There is a difference between the "green brittle", and what we all call a brittle star. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets And that would be? Come on. Out with it, already. :-) George |
Stars and Clowns and Anemones, Oh My.
And why and how do you think things are classified? Were
the creatures created for the classification, or were the classifications created for the creatures? Should we say "It's already been classified, no sense reclassifying it"? Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets George wrote on 12/23/2006 7:48 PM: "Wayne Sallee" wrote in message nk.net... Also a brittle star has a better ability to carry pieces of food to it's mouth with it's arms via conveyor-line like method. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Yes, this and the other differences you mention do distinguish one genera from another. They are still brittle stars. George Wayne Sallee wrote on 12/23/2006 4:43 PM: One is behavior that we were discussing, but also look a the visible difference. A serpent star is smooth, and a brittle star has lot's of appendages, and a "green brittle/serpent" is smooth with *some* appendages, but not nearly as much as a brittle star. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets George wrote on 12/23/2006 4:36 PM: "Wayne Sallee" wrote in message nk.net... There is a difference between the "green brittle", and what we all call a brittle star. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets And that would be? Come on. Out with it, already. :-) George |
Stars and Clowns and Anemones, Oh My.
"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message nk.net... And why and how do you think things are classified? Were the creatures created for the classification, or were the classifications created for the creatures? Should we say "It's already been classified, no sense reclassifying it"? Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets The point, Wayne, is that britte stars are considered to be in the class Ophiuroidea, while starfish are in the class Asteroidea. They are different classes of echinoderms that likely shared a common ancestry in the Ordovician. As such, declaring a brittle star and/or a serpent star to be a type of starfish is like declaring an echinoid to be a sea cucumber, which, of course, is absurd. Even worse, brittle stars and serpent stars are in the exact same class. They are simply different genera (akin to the difference between a chimpanzee and an Orangutan). That said, you are, of course, free to classify them any way you choose. However, good luck getting your new classification past peer review. George |
Stars and Clowns and Anemones, Oh My.
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Stars and Clowns and Anemones, Oh My.
This has been my experience as well. We have two brown/black brittles that
have traversed a couple tank changes with us, and now reside in our 180g reef. I last measured the largest one about 2 years ago, and it was about 15" from the tip of one leg to the tip of the opposite - no exaggeration. We've had them both for +/- 7 years, and they have never displayed any aggression to any tank make, fish, or mobile/sessile invert. Of course, they do get a chunk of raw seafood from time to time. :-) Olive green brittles do have a reputation for being somewhat more aggressive. Note that the term "brittle" and "serpent" star is interchangeable -- they are all 'Ophiroids". Here is a very good site that describes these creatures well: http://home.att.net/~ophiuroid/html/what.html Chocolate chip starfish (Protoreaster nodosus) are not considered reef safe - in that they are opportunistic carnivores - they will eat most anything that can't escape them, including corals,sponges (and probably anenomes). ~T http://home.comcast.net/~76fxe wrote in message ups.com... I've always heard the green serpent stars are NOT reef safe. I have a brown brittle star that has been absolutely fine with my anemones. He is at least 10 inches across. I've had him for at least 6 months. He tends to hide most of the time and comes out at feeding times. After Chip made a play for the anemones he moved on to try to eat the brown star. Its interesting watching the brittle star "run" around the tank. I did a quick search for the match to my brown brittle before the previous post and couldn't find any reference to anything other than the green serpent star. That is why I posted I was going to head for the LFS and get a serpent star. When I make the trip Friday I'm going to try for another brown brittle star. At one time I had about 100 little baby stars crawling in and out of all the cracks in the rocks. They were awesome to watch. Then I brought home a Green Emperor Goby and 3 Yellow Tangs. The stars quickly disappeared. I still find a few hiding in my Fluval canister at cleaning times. BTW - I would post more scientific names if I new them. I really need to figure out all I have and keep track of it so I can accurately describe any issues when they arise. Wayne Sallee wrote: There is a green star fish that is often called a brittle star, and sometimes called a serpent star. It's nature is like half way between the two. In some ways it's not as bad as a serpent star, but it is not as good as a brittle star. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets George wrote on 12/21/2006 5:18 PM: "Wayne Sallee" wrote in message ink.net... Get a brittle, not a serpent. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Brittle stars will eat anemones as well. At least my green one does, especially if they aren't doing too well. George |
Stars and Clowns and Anemones, Oh My.
"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message ink.net... George wrote on 12/24/2006 3:48 AM: However, good luck getting your new classification past peer review. George Peer review would be this newsgroup:-) Peer review? Of a generic reclassification? This newsgroup? Shirley you jest. And scientist are reclassifying stuff all the time :-) Not at that level, not all the time. Not with these critters. They are too well known. It would take an extraordinary paper to do it. And scientists were not the first people to classify :-) Farmer Bob doesn't count. George |
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