10 day Asterina harvest

This is crop of Asterina's harvested yesterday siphoned off glass during water change. This is result after removing about same amount about 10 days ago.





Other then multiplying like crazy and being a bit unsightly when there is allot of them (to me anyway) they do not appear harmful at all.

Actually are quite good about clearing up slime algae on glass (and likely elsewhere in tank)

I don't really have any other nuisance algae in tank, so don't have any idea what else they may chow down on. :-/





Anyone wanting some of these...make an offer...any offer. :

 

I have some like that spread out through glass, but I thought they branched off from my sand sifting stars. Are they suppose to be bad?

 

Not "...supposed to be bad?..."

May or may not be. Come in different flavors.

See: Asterina Outbreak


Long ago determined mine to be the benign kind and have pretty well learned to live with them over time, sweeping up what I can during water changes...Seem to come in waves...weeks/months with just a few about...then tank experiences a population explosion of the little buggers. :-/

 

are they just a kind of starfish?

 

does the harlequin shrimp not eat those or do i not know what i'm on about lol?

 

Nope, my harlequins would not touch them. Even when I gave the shrimp "showers" of the darn things.

:-/

 

Man that's a ton....

 

thats alot of those little stars

 

Amen.

Already see couple dozen on glass, just day or so after cleaning out this bunch.

Guess that is where they head for algae food.

Never see on clean front panel.

Scary to think what the inside of my overflows look like.

 

Like I mentioned to you when this started last yr or so I have never actually seen them harm anything. I think many see them on the base of a coral and assume it was them that killed it but I think its the coral dieing and they are just cleaning up the dead flesh. Every coral I ever saw them on I'd remove dip and separate in a different tank and I'd save the coral remove and not dip the coral most times died with in a few weeks or so.

I still say they harm nothing and are great cleaners , And I have never known a Harlequin to live off of them as a food source. I have never seen one shrimp to even to grab or eat one. Someone panicked and Jumped the gun on that article I have had them in systems by the thousands and never a thing was ever harmed..