Asternia starfish and chitons in sump. Bad idea?

[Mariette]

I’ve got a 45 g observation/qt tank that I’d like to tear down once I’m done getting fish. However, I’ve got a bunch of asternia starfish and chitons in there that I’ve grown fond of. Would these guys do well in the sump of my DT? There’s no light in there. Any chance they can infest my DT if I put em in my sump? I love these little guys and will keep the 45g running for them if I can’t rehome them lol

 

[Orko]

OH THEY will get in your display tank if you do not have them I would not put them in your sump at all!

 

[Phil D.]

I had an infestation of Asterina, (the good algae eating kind, but got to be too many), and got a Harlequin Shrimp. She's been munching away! And the good thing is, not all of the Asterina will be eaten and breed more for her!

 

[Tamberav]

I’ve got a 45 g observation/qt tank that I’d like to tear down once I’m done getting fish. However, I’ve got a bunch of asternia starfish and chitons in there that I’ve grown fond of. Would these guys do well in the sump of my DT? There’s no light in there. Any chance they can infest my DT if I put em in my sump? I love these little guys and will keep the 45g running for them if I can’t rehome them lol

I mean... I have them in my display on purpose. They would probably get into your DT from the sump so depends how paranoid you are.

The chitons would probably die without light but the starfish don't need light. I had them in my live rock bin with no light for a year and they were fine. They were just eating bacterial film and such I am sure.

 

[Mariette]

OH THEY will get in your display tank if you do not have them I would not put them in your sump at all!

Thanks!

 

[Mariette]

I had an infestation of Asterina, (the good algae eating kind, but got to be too many), and got a Harlequin Shrimp. She's been munching away! And the good thing is, not all of the Asterina will be eaten and breed more for her!

I’m attached to these little guys and don’t want them eaten but thanks lol

 

[Mariette]

I mean... I have them in my display on purpose. They would probably get into your DT from the sump so depends how paranoid you are.

The chitons would probably die without light but the starfish don't need light. I had them in my live rock bin with no light for a year and they were fine. They were just eating bacterial film and such I am sure.

Very paranoid. Thanks

 

[Tired]

Chitons are harmless. Good cleaners. They may eat some coraline, but an established tank with lots of coraline will keep up with them fine. They tend to keep one patch of rock very clean and ignore the rest, so aren't the best all-purpose cleaners, but they won't hurt corals.

Real asterinas are harmless. There's another type with a longer name that eats corals, and people mistake it for asterinas. Either species, in your sump, will probably find its way into your aquarium. But if they aren't a coral-eating species, that's fine. If you don't want them in the tank, could always set them up a little vase with a pump in it and keep a few in there. They're hardy enough.

 

[Tamberav]

Very paranoid. Thanks

Not me.. they great CUC... here is a pic just now of 3 of them on my back wall behind a zoa garden that grew from small frags.

Had these stars over 10 years and they just like to eat algae and look cute. There are many different types of stars. The ocean is big but people lump them all into one.

 

[Zoa_Fanatic]

Be careful with the asterina. There’s another type that is in the same genus (all of them I’ve seen have color on their backs, while the good ones are pure white) that eat zoa and softies. It’s taken me years to rid my DT of those bad ones.