Pics of my montipora getting mowed by asterina starfish

Well this is not the first time I've seen my asterina starfish on my montipora but I did notice the trail behind it this time. I am about to declare them guilty of slowing munching my Montiporas...

but first, I submit pics to the court of 3reef. What say you? :Looking:

 

lol i dont know u need a movement detector for ur camera and catch him red handed!

 

guilty

 

I have a curious question,....I read somewhere (I think it was WWM,) that the asterinas with 6 legs are safe, while the ones with 7 legs are predatorial...

How many legs does yours have? I would say remove the suckah! ;D

 

Thanks guys (and gal ) ... that's interesting Sue.. I think going by that pic, that mine have 7 legs?

I just looked in my tank at that montipora in the pic and the trail he left is still bone white, but polyps around it are extended.. hmm...

 

When in doubt, GET IT OUT! Why risk your coral?

 

Good point Mickey. I'll start doing that and see I can find any monti eating nudis in there too.

 

Hi Matt,

Did these guys multiply on you? - If so, did you discover any way to get rid of them? They definetly like to chew on polyps and soft corals.

The best I can do is remove them when they get on glass.

Got a sixline in hope it might develope taste for little ones. Only thought I have.

Scott

​

 

I have yet to ever see one of these stars to harm anything .. What I do find is when you see them on a coral its feeding on the base where the detritus and maybe some sloughed off dead flesh is.
But I have myself never witnessed them feeding up on any LPS or SPS coral above the corals base, Now on some leathers I have seen them up on the cloral to be what I think was eating off dead flesh nothing was ever harmed.

But even on a soft they still tend to settle out around the base of these even. Not saying they won't Harm anything ? But to date I have yet talked to a single person who'd I consider knowing what they where talking about to ever say they had seen these mutant stars doing any harm first hand themselves.

A few site where all up in arms with them a few yrs ago and even touted the use of Harlequin shrimps to control them But again I have never seen a Harlequin to ever touch one of them ..I had them all over the tanks and I had the Harlequins also

 

Well the "version" I have in my tank, likes to eat sarcophyton - have watched one eating a edge and putting holes in one of mine.

Also my yellow zoanthids have been slowly disappearing ever since these little buggers started showing up in my tank.

I WANT THEM GONE!!!: ​

Scott


OmarD
Silverdale, WA