Banded Serpent Starfish
Banded arms that sweep the rockwork for leftovers — the tank's night janitor.
A hardy brittle star with strikingly banded arms and a neat, five-pointed central disc. Mostly nocturnal, it slinks through the rockwork and under the sand scavenging leftover food and detritus, helping keep the substrate clean. Extremely resilient and one of the easiest stars to keep long term.
What it needs to thrive
- Lighting
- Any standard reef lighting — no special requirements.
- Flow
- Moderate reef flow with calm resting zones.
- Feeding
- Scavenger — meaty frozen foods, pellets, and leftovers placed near its hideout.
- Temperament
- Peaceful and reef safe; avoids predatory triggers, puffers, and large wrasses.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Ideal Tank Size
- 20 gallons and up with established rockwork.
- Water Parameters
- 76–80°F · salinity 1.024–1.026 SG · pH 8.1–8.4 · 0 ammonia / 0 nitrite · nitrate under 10 ppm
Live rock with crevices and a sand bed it can hide in during the day. Fully reef safe.
Peaceful and reef safe. Will not bother corals, fish, or other inverts.
Quarantine, dip, and acclimation
Quarantine
Hold all new fish in a bare-bottom 10–20 gallon QT for a minimum of 4 weeks. Observe for flashing, clamped fins, white spots, or breathing changes. Treat preventatively with copper (1.75–2.5 ppm chelated) or tank-transfer method for ich, plus a praziquantel course for flukes. Invertebrates and corals skip QT but go through dip and observation instead.
Recommended coral dip
For every new coral: a 5–10 minute bath in your reef-safe dip of choice (Bayer Complete, CoralRx, or Reef Primer) following label dosage, followed by two clean saltwater rinses. Inspect plugs and bases for flatworms, pyramid snails, and eggs — remove or refrag onto clean plugs before placing in display.
Acclimation
Float sealed bags in your QT or display for 15 minutes to match temperature. Then drip acclimate at 2–4 drops per second for 45–60 minutes until volume has tripled. Net livestock into the tank — never pour shipping water in. Dim the lights for the first 24 hours to reduce stress.