They are back....

:-[


Can go for months and months with a fairly stable asterina population. Then all of a sudden the population explodes and have them all over tank glass.





They seem to come in waves.

Don't mind a dozen or so working on glass algae, but really looks gross when so many.

Found best way to deal with them is using a vacuum hose to suck up when doing a water change.

Yesterday took out at least 100+ that were on just glass. Lord knows how many still about tank.

Even after those, I can count 30-40 on glass this AM.

After long observation, have determined mine only eat green algae on rocks and glass. They do not seem to eat coraline. So are actually quite benifical so I can live with them in small numbers. Good glass and rock scrubbers.

Literally hundreds upon hundreds in overflows. --- and have recently started tossing captured ones in sump instead of in large planter next to tank whose surface is totally covered with about 1/4 inch of dead ones.

Still, consider myself very lucky that I have the type that are not the more damaging kind.

Expect impossible to ever get rid of all of them, so have just given in to the inevitable and learned to live with them...(at least in relatively low numbers in main display)


Even have a few in Nano that hitchhiked along with LR from main tank.

 

And I was worried about one..... LOL!!!!

 

i have more than i can count, they seem to really like hanging out on overflow but are all over the place and like yours mine only seem interested in film algae

 

As mine are...not entirely a bad thing.

Between them and snails, rocks and glass generally stay completely clean of the stuff...

 

Are they bad because i have one or 2 in my tank..... i had a chance to get rid of one when moving rock to another tank. but i thought he was just a harmless little fella and let him live:-/:-/:-/:-/

 

Never had the pleasure of seeing one in my tank , what exactly are they ?

 

Thanks Mission,

Never seen one' will try to look more carefully , as of yet though NOPE.

 

May be benign or may not.

Many different types.

Expect if you saw one or two in tank, you probably have many more. (or soon will have...:-/)

 

I've got a few in my tank. they are more of a Tannish color. Your closup pick looks to be more yellow. i have not noticed mine doing anything bad aside from eating algea from the glass and such as you say. seem to only come out at night aswell. but i dont have near the numbers you have. i didnt realize that they reproduce in those kinds of numbers. i'll have to keep an eye on them.