(2) New inhabitants

Discussion in 'ID This!' started by Pastey, Jul 12, 2011.

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  1. Pastey

    Pastey Ritteri Anemone

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    Came home last night and found these 2 guys/gals on my glass. Obviously, starfish but I'm a bit more curious about specifics and if I need to do anything special to keep them happy (for the time being). I realize that if they are going to be large, they'll eventually have to come out. Until then, I'd like to make them at home.

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  3. Coastie Reefer

    Coastie Reefer Millepora

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    Asterina stars, they get to the size of a nickle at most a quarter I think. Most are reef safe as well I believe, but they will eat the coralline off your rock work.
     
  4. Steve34

    Steve34 Feather Star

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    That's a Asterina starfish. There has been mixed opinions on them as being a nuisance. Go to the 3reef search box on the top right and search for them you'll get a ton of good info.
     
  5. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Asteriniid starfish, safe but may eat coraline algae.
     
  6. Va Reef

    Va Reef Giant Squid

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    IMO theres alot of misconception with these guys. Rarely a coral eater will enter a tank, someone posts saying "asterina star eats my coral," and then everyone assumes all are bad. Yours probably eats corailline algae off rocks and glass.
     
  7. Pastey

    Pastey Ritteri Anemone

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    I don't have any L/SPS but I would like for my coraline algae growth to continue. I'll keep an eye on them for the time being. If my algae growth can outpace their eating ability and they aren't spawning at an alarming rate, I'll leave them be for now.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2011
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  9. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    There are many different types of Asternia starfish.

    Most seem harmless and stick to the film algae, and coralline, there are types that eat zoanthids and acropora or other sps.

    I kept some that ate zoanthids for over a year until they finally wiped out my zoanthids.

    I have seen threads on other forums where an experienced hobbyist could not figure out what was going on with their acropora or other sps, only to find numerous asternia stars hiding in close proximity to the corals and dinning on it at night.

    GARF predatory starfish 11/25/01

    I am of the belief that unless you actually see the starfish doing damage ( look at night routinely) than they are an interesting member of the tank. In a tank feed to often though the population can explode.

    ID'ing the type of asternia starfish is extremely difficult, you can not go by number of legs and in most case coloration.

    There is a thread specifically on this forum addressing asternia but I can not find it.
     
  10. Pastey

    Pastey Ritteri Anemone

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    Sneaky bastids. Thanks for the info, everyone. They're helping to keep my glass clean for now so if I leave one side a little dirty, hopefully they'll stay full enough to keep off my coraline. I have a feeling that I'll want them out of there just so I can avoid a potential headache down the road. Until then, I hope they're happy :)
     
  11. cgarner

    cgarner Skunk Shrimp

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    I have the same starfish in my tank. In fact I have numerous. I haven't seen any harm yet. However, my back glass is covered in coralline algae, so I guess they are staying fat and happy.
     
  12. Pastey

    Pastey Ritteri Anemone

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    Good news! Thanks, cgarner.