Banded Serpent Starfish Care | The Easiest “Starfish”?

Want to add a starfish to your aquarium? Funnily enough, your best option isn’t actually a true starfish (although it’s similar enough). Serpent stars like the banded serpent starfish are much easier to care for than other sea star species and a much better choice for the majority of aquarists.

Below, find everything you need to know about banded serpent starfish care and how to keep these funky inverts in your tank.

Banded serpent starfish description

The banded serpent starfish is a member of the scientific class Ophiuroidea, which explains the genus name of Ophiolepis. There are a few species of serpent stars to be found in the aquarium hobby, but this is one of the most popular. It’s not difficult to see why: it’s just such a funky addition to your tank!

The banded serpent starfish naturally occurs throughout much of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, where it’s found at depths of up to 100 ft. Here, it inhabits reef floors, feeding on whatever detritus it comes across. The species has five long, thin arms marked with circular dark brown to black bands. It’s usually grayish in color, but can also appear cream-colored or even orange.

This sea star grows to a maximum size of around 5″.

Did you know? Members of the Ophiuroidea class can be referred to as serpent stars or brittle stars. Some consider the two common names synonymous, but ‘serpent’ is usually used for those species that have smooth arms, like this one. Some folks call it the banded brittle starfish, but ‘serpent’ seems more appropriate to us.

Banded serpent starfish aquarium

If you’d like to keep a banded serpent starfish, keep their natural habitat in mind. They naturally spend most of their day hidden wedged beneath rocks, hiding away from any predators that might be interested in picking off one of those long arms. Your aquarium should have plenty of nooks and crannies so your sea star can stay sheltered when it wants to.

In terms of water values, these sea stars are pretty hardy and don’t have any special requirements; standard reef parameters work fine. We do recommend an aquarium of at least 20 gallons because of their adult leg span.

Have a desktop reef? Instead of the hefty banded serpent starfish, you could look into getting some micro brittle stars instead.

Did you know? Because banded serpent sea stars like to hide, they can also be hitchhikers that make their way into the aquarium on live rock. If that’s what happened to you and you’re wondering whether your new echinoderm friend can stay, scroll down to the section on compatibility below.

Banded serpent starfish compatibility

Aquarists don’t agree 100% on banded serpent starfish aggression levels. They generally report that it’s the green serpent variety you have to be weary of, but there are some conflicting experiences.

Some swear their banded serpent starfish picked off fish while the lights were off, but it’s always difficult to figure out who is to blame—or if there could have been a different cause of death. If you keep your banded serpent well-fed (possibly by means of target feeding), we think the chances are very low.

Because they’re detritus and carrion eaters that aren’t known for going for live prey (more on that below), these sea stars are reef safe and don’t bother corals.

As for the star itself, keep in mind that plenty of critters wouldn’t mind snacking on one of those long arms. Starfish-eating species like harlequin shrimp are obviously out of the question, as are carnivorous fish like puffers, triggerfish and the like.

Did you know? Although this sea star is supposed to have five arms, it’s not uncommon to find specimens that have four or six. This can happen if something goes wrong when the starfish regenerates lost arms, or can be the result of a mutation.

Banded serpent starfish diet

If you only look at your banded serpent starfish during the day, you might wonder how it doesn’t starve to death. But fear not: these guys are just nocturnal! Have a look at night using a weak flashlight and you may see your sea star, arms flailing and twisting, moving across the substrate in search of tasty morsels to consume.

When the arms come into contact with something edible, the starfish uses its tentacle-like tube feet to transport it to its mouth. As mentioned above, some aquarists accuse their banded serpent starfish of grabbing fish and other livestock in this manner, but the species’ natural diet consists of detritus and whatever it finds that’s already dead.

In the aquarium, you’ll have to supplement your sea star’s diet. Our tanks are just too clean to sustain bottom feeders, especially ones like these that grow pretty large. To prevent the star from starving and keep its central disk looking nice and meaty, you can target feed it some seafood on a daily basis. It doesn’t have to be up and moving about: if you place the food near its hide, it’ll get the memo.

Conclusion

The marine aquarium world is full of wacky creatures, and this is definitely one of the highest-scoring on the “strange scale”! Not surprising so many aquarists are fascinated by them, even if their snake-like arms can be a little creepy.

Want your own fish tank full of strange critters but lack the time? We’ve got you covered! Contact FantaSEA Aquariums with your ideas so we can design, build and maintain your dream aquarium for you.