Hitchhiker starfish

[Lowlandreef]

I just found this tiny starfish on a coralfrag I bought.
Does anyone know what kind it is and if it's safe to put in my tank?

It doesn't look like an asterina, so I assume it's safe...
But better safe than sorry, so I'm asking to be sure

 

[SlugSnorter]

I just found this tiny starfish on a coralfrag I bought.
Does anyone know what kind it is and if it's safe to put in my tank?

It doesn't look like an asterina, so I assume it's safe...
But better safe than sorry, so I'm asking to be sure

not sure, quite a few starfish can eat corals and such, so be careful

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like a sand sifting starfish

 

[SlugSnorter]

aren't they primarily beige? this has alot of reddish black on it. Also pattern is a bit off

Looks like a sand sifting starfish

 

[Reefing Madness]

Pattern is not the same on the Sand Sifters, thats what it looks like to me also.

 

[vetteguy53081]

aren't they primarily beige? this has alot of reddish black on it. Also pattern is a bit off

They come in many shades especially at juvenile stage

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

To me it looks like Luidia alternata (my best guess), but it's really difficult to tell for sure. It could be a sand sifter with unique coloration, or it could be any number of different species - starfish are very easy to misidentify.

If it is Luidia alternata, it eats echinoderms (starfish, urchins, etc.) and molluscs (clams, snails, etc.).

 

[Lowlandreef]

Looks like a sand sifting starfish

I thought that too, but it's a bit reddish. But like you said, it might just be a different shade.

To me it looks like Luidia alternata (my best guess), but it's really difficult to tell for sure. It could be a sand sifter with unique coloration, or it could be any number of different species - starfish are very easy to misidentify.

If it is Luidia alternata, it eats echinoderms (starfish, urchins, etc.) and molluscs (clams, snails, etc.).

This could be it too, coloration seems to match.

So what do you guys think? Should I risk putting it in the tank or not?

 

[Lowlandreef]

I put the starfish in my QT for now. He's very active, so I think it's fine for now.
I'll keep him there until I figure out what to do with him...

Maybe this is the wrong place to ask, but what should I feed it?

 

[sfin52]

Very cool what is it eating

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I put the starfish in my QT for now. He's very active, so I think it's fine for now.
I'll keep him there until I figure out what to do with him...

Maybe this is the wrong place to ask, but what should I feed it?

Depends on the species, but I’d try offering it a little buffet of clam on half shell, a piece of shrimp, a piece of a sheet of nori, some urchin, some snail or conch meat, and a good quality frozen omnivore/carnivore fish food. Most starfish will swallow their prey whole, so it will most likely be pretty obvious when it eats something.

If it doesn’t go for any of those, I’d make sure you’re sump is large and has a lot of sand/rock, as it would likely be a microorganism eater (i.e. if it rejects all of the above, it most likely eats pods and/or biofilms, so it’ll probably slowly starve to death in your tank). There’s a small chance the preferred food may be other starfish, so if you have any Asterinas (Aquilonastras) or a small sand sifter or something you can add one to the buffet, but odds are pretty good that if it is a carnivore it’ll accept one of the other options.

Hope this helps - keep us updated on what it eats!

 

[Lowlandreef]

Starfish update:
I tried feeding it, but without succes. I then couldn't find the starfish for a while and it didn't seem to be doing well. So I took the gamble and put it in my DT to give him a fair chance of survival on it's own.
I kinda thought he died but surprise, yesterday I saw him after a month!

He grew 4 more legs!
Does anyone know what kinda starfish this 8 legged little guy is?
@ISpeakForTheSeas @vetteguy53081

 

[vetteguy53081]

Starfish update:
I tried feeding it, but without succes. I then couldn't find the starfish for a while and it didn't seem to be doing well. So I took the gamble and put it in my DT to give him a fair chance of survival on it's own.
I kinda thought he died but surprise, yesterday I saw him after a month!

He grew 4 more legs!
Does anyone know what kinda starfish this 8 legged little guy is?
@ISpeakForTheSeas @vetteguy53081

There is a known Florida species known as Luidia senegalensis,

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I'm glad to see it's alive and doing well!

I'll do a bit more digging on this to see if I can get a definitive ID (no guarantees), but eight legs and those 'spines' on the side are some relatively distinctive features. If you can get a clear picture in white lights of the top of the star now that the legs are growing in, that might help too.

Currently, though, I'd guess Coscinasterias spp. - possibly Coscinasterias tenuispina. They've been known to reproduce fissiparously by essentially dividing their body in half, and they're known for having anywhere from 6-14 legs, depending on species. So, yours having eight legs wouldn't be too unusual.

I'd suggest offering it some mussels, as pretty well all of the species in the Coscinasterias genus should eat mussels. If it takes the mussels, that would support my current guess. If not, then I'm back to the drawing board.