Asterina plague

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Big E said:
Nordoa Starfish will eat them and the asternia can't escape. The Nordoa is faster at eradicating them but you will still run into the same problem like harlequin shrimp.............they will starve without a steady diet of the stars.

nordoa_zps9fbsdze0.jpg
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I've thought about adding a nardoa, but they seem to like to chew on corals as well. Seems like fixing a problem with a bigger problem.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
When I had them, I would let the glass get cloudy. They would be all over the glass in the morning before the lights came on. I would then siphon them out by just touching them with edge of the hose. I had the other end the hose in a filter sock in my sump. Clean out the filter sock, repeat. Hope this helps you get some out so the shrimp can do the rest.
 
Wow that is crazy. I've never seen more than 2 or 3 out and about in my tank ever. Sucks they are eating your corals. Kinda cool though that they can support your harlequin shrimp. I'd love to have one of those, just not up to dealing with feeding them.
 
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Wow! That is a bunch of asterina! I had them pretty bad but they never bothered any of my corals. I did not have a setosa or digitata at that time though. I have a bunch of zoas though and they never bothered them.

Interesting aside and not really a help for you but my blue Linckia Starfish ate them.
linckia-asterina_zpszthrubsm.jpg
 
Wow, Wow, that's a lot of sea stars. I had them too, but not as good as you. The Harlequin shrimp or two will catch them. I was buying sea stars to feed the shrimp afterwards.
 
Ecoscape Reef Rock
I think it also depends on the size of the Harlequins. I had 2 in a 110 because my tank looked similar just stars everywhere and I just had to give a friend one because the stars where like gone in about a month. One was about 1.25 inches and the other 1.5 inches, just eating machines. Its too bad as they kept together all the time, they are so neat to watch. Now I have to pull 1 or 2 from my sump when I see them and put into display. Its amazing how they can pick up their sent right away, its like Sharks and Blood. I would not get anymore just give it some more time, once they do start they are Barbarians and will **** and pillage. Someone wrote an article on they, he studied them for some time. He said when food was short, they would capture the Stars and taken them to their hide out and eat them but not kill them, and then eat a little more as they needed but always kept the food source alive. He went on to say that the Harlequin is one of the most ferocious and barbaric things he ever studied and not to let the beauty fool you.
 
I have actually read that article. Vicious little beauty's. mine are beasts. But they just can't seem to keep up with these guys. Maybe I'll try a nardoa. Worth a shot.
 
Are the harlequins safe with Yellow tang and Flame angelfish?
What about sixline wrasse?
 
BRS
I have those I had to pick them out every morning & night with tweezers until the infestation was under control. I still see them in my tank but nowhere near the numbers I had before I declared war on them. Thank god they don't mess with my LPS
 
On the flip side, my lfs charges me two dollars per asterina when I buy them to put in my pico, not a joke. Looks like eight hundred bucks worth in that bucket lol

One persons trash=another persons echinoderm
 
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Sorry to hi-jack this thread but its a perfect opportunity for a good cause. A local fish store near me is breeding harlequin shrimp and they have succeeded, I believe they are over a month old and have hundreds. This has been a few year project and have dumped tens of thousands in cash into the project but they are running out of food. They need asterina starfish to feed them. Their goal is to ultimately get them on other foods so we can all enjoy them. If anyone has a massive amount of these guys and are willing to ship get a hold of me.

You can look up aquatic technology on facebook out of columbia station, Ohio. Its obvious they are not into the internet because they dont update often on facebook and they have a thread about it on that other forum.
 
I have an especially nasty sixline wrasse that enjoys eating them. I still pull a couple larger (like a pea) asternia out every month or so but he does a good job. I used to have dozens on the glass every morning. I might just be lucky with him though, he's truly evil :) Best of luck, I hope you can get it under control.
 
I also heard that if u get one and squish it near a return or high flow area, they will all come out of hiding and into the glass. Then u can collect them from the glass.
 
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saltyhog said:
Wow! That is a bunch of asterina! I had them pretty bad but they never bothered any of my corals. I did not have a setosa or digitata at that time though. I have a bunch of zoas though and they never bothered them.

Interesting aside and not really a help for you but my blue Linckia Starfish ate them.
linckia-asterina_zpszthrubsm.jpg
Click to expand...
Love blue linckia stars but didn't have any luck with the one I got from bluezoo several years back (I think I didn't have enough food for him as he was huge!). Is your blue linckia still alive, how long you had it for? I'd love to get a blue and orange linckia stars but don't want them to die. I have plenty of these astrea star pests for a blue linckia to munch on, any other supplemental foods to feed one other than the regular algae/detritus? Any advice on keeping them? Thanks for any help
 
Mine is alive and seems to be doing well. I've had him about a year and a half. I don't think asterina's are a mainstay in their diet and may even mean they aren't getting everything they need. I don't really know what to attribute my short term success with him other than a fairly large, mature tank before I got him.
 
saltyhog said:
Mine is alive and seems to be doing well. I've had him about a year and a half. I don't think asterina's are a mainstay in their diet and may even mean they aren't getting everything they need. I don't really know what to attribute my short term success with him other than a fairly large, mature tank before I got him.
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Do you have sponge? They love sponge. I've lost both blues and reds after the sponges were gone :( For that reason I won't get another.
 
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Pola0502ds said:
Sorry to hi-jack this thread but its a perfect opportunity for a good cause. A local fish store near me is breeding harlequin shrimp and they have succeeded, I believe they are over a month old and have hundreds. This has been a few year project and have dumped tens of thousands in cash into the project but they are running out of food. They need asterina starfish to feed them. Their goal is to ultimately get them on other foods so we can all enjoy them. If anyone has a massive amount of these guys and are willing to ship get a hold of me.

You can look up aquatic technology on facebook out of columbia station, Ohio. Its obvious they are not into the internet because they dont update often on facebook and they have a thread about it on that other forum.
Click to expand...
This is cool!

But they will eat any starfish they don't have to be asterina. Unless they get eaten asterina never die, I have done it all lol. So if someone was to ship a bunch to your lfs they could send them the cheapest way (little cooler box with heat pack - priority) and they will arrive alive lol
 
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