Hitchhiker Starfish ID?

LgTas · Sep 26, 2021

This guy has been in our DT since it hitch hiked in on day one 8 months ago.

It's put some size on and I suspect it may have snacked on a blasto frag that admittedly wasn't doing so well. It's now on the side of my hammer which is a bit concerning. Any idea if it's a Coral eating starfish? It's my wife's favourite so I'm loath to remove it.

Danroo · Sep 26, 2021

It does resembles a healthy looking Asterina ( which eat corals ), but I’m no expert.

LgTas · Sep 26, 2021

Peeled him off and I'm pretty sure he was externally digesting the side of the hammer.

He's been banished to the nem tank.

Would still like to know what species it is.

Isopod80 · Sep 26, 2021

At first I thought Asterina but the colors threw me off. I believe you have a juvenile cushion star. (Culcita novaeguineae) The colors can vary considerably and change with age. I tried to find an individual as close to yours as possible. The species is known to exist in Australian waters. Neat starfish if not for the coral munching. They grow large and very dome shaped as they age. Almost looking inflated.

LgTas · Sep 26, 2021

Isopod80 said:
At first I thought Asterina but the colors threw me off. I believe you have a juvenile cushion star. (Culcita novaeguineae) The colors can vary considerably and change with age. I tried to find an individual as close to yours as possible. The species is known to exist in Australian waters. Neat starfish if not for the coral munching. They grow large and very dome shaped as they age. Almost looking inflated.

This is what I thought when I first had a look around Google.

Any ideas if my nems are safe?

Isopod80 · Sep 26, 2021

In my opinion it's one of those cool finds that's almost worth its own smaller tank. If you can keep it going to adult size it would be pretty impressive. .....and besides your wife likes it.

Isopod80 · Sep 26, 2021

I can't say for certain about the nems but it's less likely to eat them than coral I would think. I'd feed it some shrimp/silversides etc. to keep it happy.

LgTas · Sep 26, 2021

Isopod80 said:
In my opinion it's one of those cool finds that's almost worth its own smaller tank. If you can keep it going to adult size it would be pretty impressive. .....and besides your wife likes it.

Haha it's that or book a ticket to Queensland to release it. I'll monitor it and try feed it some small fish offcuts that I regularly have. Thanks for the advice!

Isopod80 · Sep 26, 2021

Yeah, keep an eye on the nems for now. You should notice any trouble pretty easily/quickly. If you keep it fed it should be fine.

Zoa_Fanatic · Oct 4, 2021

It’s not an asterina. I’ve killed thousands of them in all colors. Pretty neat dude. If you feed the coral eaters fish chunks they’ll leave your corals alone mostly.

LgTas · Oct 4, 2021

I've since moved him to our sump which is more like a macroalgae/xenia refugium. He seems happy and is enjoying the treats. He can go to town on the xenia too as it's purely there for nutrient export.

Will try remember to post pic updates as he grows.

Reefing102 · Oct 4, 2021

That’s honestly pretty cool. Would be neat to see him get bigger

Foodfish · Dec 1, 2021

this guy still around?

LgTas · Dec 2, 2021

He is and he's putting on some weight!

I'll try grab a pic of him when I see him next. I've just set up a 60gal soft coral sea horse tank. Once that's more mature I may move him in there as he hasn't touched the xenia.

Pic of his current home/my sump.

AcroNem · Dec 2, 2021

Honestly I love hitchhikers, that's a cool cushion star. Glad you found a place for it so you can enjoy it!

Zoa_Fanatic · Dec 2, 2021

LgTas said:
He is and he's putting on some weight!

I'll try grab a pic of him when I see him next. I've just set up a 60gal soft coral sea horse tank. Once that's more mature I may move him in there as he hasn't touched the xenia.

Pic of his current home/my sump.

That’s a great idea. Keeps the Xenia cut down and you don’t have to worry about expensive corals.

LgTas · Jan 4, 2022

Finally got a decent pic of him. Seems to enjoy large pellets but also appears to eat limpets as they're everywhere except in his section of the sump.