Resolved Starfish in new live rock!?!?!

i just bought another 20 pounds of live rock from my LFS and there was a starfish in it. I dont know what kind, but its pictured below...the tank hasnt cycled (though the live rock is cured at the store) and the starfish is alive because I moved the rock and he crawled away. Can he be in there if its a reef tank? Can he survive a cycle? I am testing my water now to see whats up, but this is what he is...

 

Nice hitchiker, looks like a maroon brittle star, totally reef safe, gets into hard to reach spots and helps with cleaning. How long has the tank been set up? They are pretty hardy from my experience

 

Where in chicago by the way?

 

He's a brittle star fish, besides that I don't know much about if he can survive the cycle, etc. But I know someone else on here will.

 

I am out in Downers Grove. My water params look alright but I am waiting for the colors to fully develop from the kit. The tank has been set up for 2 days. I had planned on cycling it with the live rock in there and then adding actual live stock sometime in january. The live rock was sitting in a tank in the LFS with fish and stuff in it so it doesnt suprise me i guess that this guy latched on, but it just startled me when I looked behind my tank to make sure the LR wasnt touching the glass and saw this little guy. What do I feed him?

 

Water Params:
Ammonia: .25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
pH: 8.4
Temp: 71
Salinity: 1.023 -1.024 (I need a refractor...)

 

he eats floating particles and mine even eats silversides... be careful though he will most likely wedge himself on some crevice you never knew existed so if he doesnt survive the cycle #1 you may not know it and #2 it may be hard to get him out

 

i can see him right now and I will monitor him as we go along and if I cant see him I will hunt...ha ha... I already see some Aiptasia on some of the rock so I will be getting some peppermint shrimp to eat that so if he dies I guess they will have him to feast on too. I really hope he lives however because he is pretty cool looking and scared the bejezus out of me when I looked at the back wall of the tank...ha ha

 

So should I get some invert food for him?

 

wow! what an awesome hitchhiker!