Asterina starfish
- Thread starter LittleBee
- Start date
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Aside from a predator, manual removal is about the only way. I do this with every water change. They siphon out very easily.
Also keeping your feedings on the low side will help keep them in check. The white ones are harmless algae eaters
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Also keeping your feedings on the low side will help keep them in check. The white ones are harmless algae eaters
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OP
OP
LittleBee
Active Member
I do have the white ones with some brown on them. At first they seemed harmless but now I do see them munching my zoas a lot. I will pick them off the zoa and there is a hole where the starfish was.. So idk. I just don't want them in there anymore. I just pulled out at least 20 of them. I'm sure there is more. I'll wait till the lights go off tonight to go hunting for them again, they seem to come out more then.
Bummer 
I've read any but the white will eats corals. Might concider a Harlequin Shrimp.
I've read any but the white will eats corals. Might concider a Harlequin Shrimp.
Double bummer
Well I guess you stuck with manual removal. Keep us posted on how it goes. 
The colored Asterinas will bug your corals. The normal tan looking with a bit of brown are harmless. I'd just leave em alone.
Russ
Community Member
You might still have luck with a harlequin. I had one over a year in with two wrasses that would immediately destroy any other shrimp double its size. I can't say you will have the same experience for sure with the dottyback, but may be worth further investigation.
You'll likely never get them all without a predator, and manual removal gets really old after a while. I don't mind it so much if the problem is just aesthetic, but if the asterinas are harmful you really want to wipe them out completely.
OP
OP
LittleBee
Active Member
I might give the harlequin a go.. Maybe just have to bite the bullet and accept that it might be an expensive snack. And these ones are tan and white and I know they are harmful bc I have caught them in action....
I've got them in my tank, been in my tank for a very long time. Never seen em once eating anything but junk off the Live Rock. If you did see them doing something on a coral, its quite possible it was debre or dead organic matter they were eating. Cleaning it up reather than destroying.
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OP
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LittleBee
Active Member
Yea but when I pick them off the zoas there is always damage done to the zoas. A chunk missing... Maybe mine just went rogue lol
Right on. I hear ya. Kinda sucks knowing youve got that many to remove. Get those long tweezers, should make it a bit more easier.
Ridethewave
New Member
I have 600 plus white ones in my 800 litre tank. seen the odd one on zoas. not sure if they are damaging them or eating mulm etc. now have a harlequin in there for the last week. seen it nearly every day. hope it does the job as 600 would become 1200 etc... just looking too many. and possibly damaging zoas(although like my rock crabs ..not proven yet))
John
John
DaveMorris
MACNA2016 Co-Chair
They will destroy coralline algae. At least they did in my 300g. Until I put a single Harlequin in the tank. In less than a month, I had to start buying chocolate chip stars to feed him. He took care of every one of my asterinas in a very small amount of time. I had several wrasse's and even a dotty back and nobody bothered him.
