Found something I have never seen before???

dja3617 · Oct 31, 2015

Can someone please identify this for me I was looking around my tank and found this and have no Idea if it's harmful or not

dja3617 · Oct 31, 2015

What is this

joshkirkland83 · Oct 31, 2015

Looks like an asternia star. They eat coral.

dja3617 · Oct 31, 2015

All types of coral??

melypr1985 · Oct 31, 2015

OK. dont panic. Not all of them eat coral. They are generally harmless, though keep an eye on it just in case. I've had a few in my tank for a year and haven't had any problems with them.

ScottMyers123 · Oct 31, 2015

I have them in my tank and haven't had any problems with them eating my coral.

ScottMyers123 · Oct 31, 2015

They repopulate very quickly, I scoop them out and put them in my sump.

gmastr85 · Oct 31, 2015

Most are harmless.. but there are many varieties. And yes, some can harm corals. I have at least a hundred in my tank. They do repopulate like crazy; so if you don't want it... get rid of it now! Most likely if you found one, you have others!

joshkirkland83 · Oct 31, 2015

dja3617 said:
All types of coral??

Sorry, didnt mean to scare you. I take all of them out i see, because i have ALOT of money in coral. But no, they all dont eat coral, but the ones that do, ive noticed they love zoanthids. Sorry again.

gmastr85 · Oct 31, 2015

Yes I agree some do prefer zoas. Most types don't harm coral though. Mine usually come out on my glass at night and feed.

dja3617 · Oct 31, 2015

If I purchase some shrimp will that help with the stars

melypr1985 · Oct 31, 2015

The only shrimp i can think of right now that eat star fish are Harlequin shrimp. You dont have enough asternia stars to feed one for longer than a day, so i would advise against that rout. You could just pluck them out, no big deal.

Triggreef · Oct 31, 2015

harlequin will eat them, but thats all they eat, and they clean house quick. The coral eating stars look different. That one looks the same as the harmless ones I have. I have a 200g loaded with liverock and my one harlequin does not keep up with the stars. I.ve had the harlequin for about a year and a half. He keeps them in check, but its a very equal balance.

joshkirkland83 · Oct 31, 2015

melypr1985 said:
The only shrimp i can think of right now that eat star fish are Harlequin shrimp. You dont have enough asternia stars to feed one for longer than a day, so i would advise against that rout. You could just pluck them out, no big deal.

Thats what ive done for seven years now.