Tiny Brittle Stars - Can you have too many?

[Sculpin]

I recently switched to bare bottom tank and while changing the water today, I found my siphon hose kept getting clogged up with brittle stars. They were feasting on the areas where waste was collecting. By the time I was done cleaning I probably had removed a ball of brittle stars larger than a golf ball. Is this a good thing to have? When I had sand in the tank, I only ever saw them poking out of the rocks, or in the filter sock. I'm holding the ones I syphoned out in a bucket, and was wondering if I should throw them back into the tank?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[sullest]

Brittle star are always good. Great detrivore! BTW your leather is doing awesome in my tank.

 

[ac7av]

They will only grow to the food source you have for them. The down really pose a problem but like all things if you have a ton of them and they start irritating corals because of the mere quantity of them, that could be a problem.