Asterina starfish eating zoas!

[SashimiTurtle]

Lol, and I've been putting asterinas in my display from the nano. Never seen them on any zoas and they clean the detritus up... yes, I still have coraline growth.

Maybe I've created a ticking time bomb, or added to my biodiversity and cuc... who knows?

 

[1979fishgeek]

Ive had a population of asterina in my reef for over two years that came in on the live rock and up until a few months ago would of agreed they were harmless even useful. But I seem to have a species now that decimate my zoa, as I pick them off the zoa actually come off with the stars firmly attached. I have no doubt they are zoa eaters.

 

[DSC reef]

For the first time I officially pulled an asterina star off the stalk of an utter chaos zoa and it has visually eaten a chunk out of the stalk. There's no way for me to get a clear pic but I've only noticed them eating from the top down so this is a first.

 

[Paul B]

I don't think mine damage anything, I put one under my microscope and I can't see how the kind I have could harm anything, I think they are eating the bacterial film on the glass because thats where they like to be. I made a starfish, sucky thing that removes them from the glass and I removed about 200 of them so far. Every few hours they climb up on the glass especially if I don't clean it.

 

[1979fishgeek]

Gah! I hate them! Can’t risk a harlequin with my fish selection, unless it’s a full size adult. But look what I have to deal with daily. They wrap themselves over the head of the zoa and eat it.

 

[Paul B]

This is how many I took off my glass every day for 3 days.

 

[1979fishgeek]

This is how many I took off my glass every day for 3 days.

Yep, I been doing the same for over 2 weeks, they just keep coming. But it’s over 1000l system been running over 2 years. I’m soooooooo annoyed with the things, feels like for every one i pull out two take its place.

 

[Paul B]

I find them interesting and If I look very close, Cute

 

[Stylo328]

I am fairly certain that they have started eating zoanthids in my 405. I have had them for years, but recently their population has exploded. They are too numerous to count. I have been siphoning them out with water changes but I am up into the thousands, I would assume. I will be bringing home three harlequin shrimp on Friday hopefully they will be eradicated before I lose all my zoanthids.

 

[rosshamsandwich]

they melted them.....they suck the juices .....burn every last one of them..... baptise them in fire

 

[rkpetersen]

This is how many I took off my glass every day for 3 days.

Those are some crazy-looking asterinas. All I've ever seen are the basic light grey ones, they seem to be harmless unless you count eating tiny amounts of coralline algae harmful. These things, though, just look a lot more... evil? I don't think I'd trust them!

The ones in 1979fishgeek's post also have odd markings, that alone would give me concern, even if they weren't obviously sucking the life out of his zoas.

 

[rosshamsandwich]

it's not a blue ring octopus dude

Those are some crazy-looking asterinas. All I've ever seen are the basic light grey ones, they seem to be harmless unless you count eating tiny amounts of coralline algae harmful. These things, though, just look a lot more... evil? I don't think I'd trust them!

The ones in 1979fishgeek's post also have odd markings, that alone would give me concern, even if they weren't obviously sucking the life out of his zoas.