Asterina plague

[Robert Vacchiano]

I have had them in a 300 gallon reef. When you first turn the lights on is the best time to do something . I nock them off glass with a large net and net as many as you can out.and I have use a razor blade when first turning lights on and knocked them off glass to get out

 

[Thoms_here]

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.

Maybe you can rent a Nordoa for a while…lol. I hate those Asterina's with a passion.

 

[charged]

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

Having the same issue. Crazy how fast they multiply. I was told a Harlequin would not be a good idea w/a serpent star that I have. Has anyone kept a Harlequin w/a similar star?

 

[Marlon2024]

I knew they ate coral I had 1 I introduced to my tank then it multiplied and had a few. I started to see my zoas thin out and then I saw one of these on the zoa. Picked it out and went on a ast hunt. I might still have one or 2 but I'm constantly vigilant. Good luck. The only good asterina is a dry one!!

 

[emelo3]

Wow. Thanks for sharing. I saw one in my tank and wasn't sure if it was good to keep.

I also saw them in my LFS. When I asked if I should be concerned, I was told they were harmless. I guess I was misinformed.

 

[Marlon2024]

Can be harmless when they are a couple but try multiply like crazy will split right in half

 

[prsnlty]

Having the same issue. Crazy how fast they multiply. I was told a Harlequin would not be a good idea w/a serpent star that I have. Has anyone kept a Harlequin w/a similar star?

Had to sump all starfish. Harlequins aren't picky about the type of starfish they'll eat.

 

[Jewels2484]

Obviously I don't know my tank as well as I thought because I didn't know these were pests! Is it possible that cleaner shrimp eat them? Reason I'm asking, my 5 year old cleaner shrimp died a few months ago and then I had an outbreak of these guys.....got a new cleaner shrimp about 3 weeks ago and there's significantly less of them now that I think about it. I didn't think about it until now, unless it's a total coincidence. I've never seen them eating my coral so I guess that's why I didn't realize they're pests

 

[charged]

Obviously I don't know my tank as well as I thought because I didn't know these were pests! Is it possible that cleaner shrimp eat them? Reason I'm asking, my 5 year old cleaner shrimp died a few months ago and then I had an outbreak of these guys.....got a new cleaner shrimp about 3 weeks ago and there's significantly less of them now that I think about it. I didn't think about it until now, unless it's a total coincidence. I've never seen them eating my coral so I guess that's why I didn't realize they're pests

My cleaner doesn't go after them. Best to check in the AM. That is when they seem to be out.

 

[prsnlty]

Wow. Thanks for sharing. I saw one in my tank and wasn't sure if it was good to keep.

I also saw them in my LFS. When I asked if I should be concerned, I was told they were harmless. I guess I was misinformed.

There are different varieties but the white is said to be harmless. That depends on how you look at it. If you don't want coraline then that's true, even "harmless" ones will multiply like mad and eat ALL of your coraline... then there are the grey/white and grey ones [emoji34]

I stripped my old 125 down completely when I was about to move everything into my 180 and until my fingers bled, uneven after that -I scrubbed scraped picked and dipped my rocks then let them air dry overnight so I couldn't find even a speck of 1. Three months later my 180 was overrun with them!!! The ONLY way they came under control and are now nearly gone, was as harlequin food.

 

[Jewels2484]

Yeah I've never seen the dark ones in my tank, only white ones, so I guess that's good at least. When I had the outbreak they were out all times of day

 

[JaimeAdams]

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 bet if you asked to OP real nice she might bring you a bag full to the meeting on the 21st

 

[Bruce Burnett]

I have no idea how many I have in my 300 gallon system. If you have hundreds on the glass then you have lots more on the rock and sand. I figure there is over a thousand maybe two thousand in my tank. They love coralline algae and other algae along with detritus. My digi and setosa both almost died but not blaming it on the stars. They will go after corals and zoas that may already be doing poorly. My digi has recovered and looks better than ever and I think my setosa may recover and this is still with a large population of asterinas. I have thought about adding a Harlequin just because I have so many, it can take months to rid your tank but I only want them controlled to a small population.

 

[saltyhog]

Somebody forgot to tell the gray/darker ones in my tank that they were pests! I've had them for years and they've never bothered anything in the tank. I suspect there are a lot more than two varieties of these guys.

 

[Betty1964]

I love them: they make my starfish and urchins happy diners.

 

[H@rry]

In my experience there are the 6 legged ones and the 5 legged ones. The 5 legged ones are the ones I have seen on the bases of coral. Some say they are only cleaning up dead tissue but I still don't trust them. Now the 6 legged ones I have only seen on the rock, sand, and glass. As a matter of fact, you hardly ever see one with all 6 legs the same size. They split in half and the "splits" have 3 big legs and grow 3 more small legs.

I've got a couple of Harleys in one tank that keep them under control. The other tanks have big wrasses in them and I think Harleys would just be a snack for them.

I've had Harleys clean up a tank so you couldn't find an asterina. Remove the Harley and a couple of months later you start to see one or two. I think they're like roaches; you never completely get rid of them; only keep them under control.

 

[Mark3]

this photo was taken 11 months ago then I got one Harlequin shrimp... 11 months later now I'm looking for little starfish to feed my harlequin he has cleaned the tank

 

[Mark3]

If anybody has some of these little white stars they would like to get rid of, ... I would like to get 200 or so to replenish my harlequin's food supply.

P.S. I will pick up in the Central Florida area (Tampa, Orlando)

 

[Bruce Burnett]

If anybody has some of these little white stars they would like to get rid of, ... I would like to get 200 or so to replenish my harlequin's food supply.

P.S. I will pick up in the Central Florida area (Tampa, Orlando)

Nothing in your sump or over flow? Move a small rock with coralline into your sump and see if you don't find a few in a day or two. I would give you some but I live in Az.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

In my experience there are the 6 legged ones and the 5 legged ones. The 5 legged ones are the ones I have seen on the bases of coral. Some say they are only cleaning up dead tissue but I still don't trust them. Now the 6 legged ones I have only seen on the rock, sand, and glass. As a matter of fact, you hardly ever see one with all 6 legs the same size. They split in half and the "splits" have 3 big legs and grow 3 more small legs.

I've got a couple of Harleys in one tank that keep them under control. The other tanks have big wrasses in them and I think Harleys would just be a snack for them.

I've had Harleys clean up a tank so you couldn't find an asterina. Remove the Harley and a couple of months later you start to see one or two. I think they're like roaches; you never completely get rid of them; only keep them under control.

I have seen them just drop one leg and pretty soon it has 2 or more legs.