How to get asterina starfish.

Kapachuka3 · Jan 21, 2023

I have heard that people have had asterina starfish randomly spawn in tanks. Is there anything i can do to promote them spawning in the tank.

i cant think · Jan 21, 2023

Kapachuka3 said:
I have heard that people have had asterina starfish randomly spawn in tanks. Is there anything i can do to promote them spawning in the tank.

Just feed… they’ll spawn on their own but don’t wish for that nightmare please!
Aquilonastra species are harmless to the reef but they will happily go into 100s if not 1000s within a few weeks of spawning.

Saltyreef · Jan 21, 2023

Harmless except for when you see them smothering zoas.
Ive witnessed them completely closed around polyps and stuck to colonies for days. Sadly the stars usually always win the battle.

Kapachuka3 · Jan 21, 2023

i cant think said:
Just feed… they’ll spawn on their own but don’t wish for that nightmare please!
Aquilonastra species are harmless to the reef but they will happily go into 100s if not 1000s within a few weeks of spawning.

Gotcha, I think that would be really cool to have though haha. I like starfish but not 10000 of them.

i cant think · Jan 21, 2023

Saltyreef said:
Harmless except for when you see them smothering zoas.
Ive witnessed them completely closed around polyps and stuck to colonies for days. Sadly the stars usually always win the battle.

Aquilonastra are the starfish we usually get and call Asterina, Asterina is a separate genus and can be more predatory but is also larger.

Saltyreef · Jan 21, 2023

i cant think said:
Aquilonastra are the starfish we usually get and call Asterina, Asterina is a separate genus and can be more predatory but is also larger.

Yessir. I am aware of the differences between the two. My tank is full of the small aquilonastras and they love to smother and munch on zoas.
I have photos of them doing so.

Granted it could be from them feeding on microfauna covering the polyps

Garf · Jan 21, 2023

Saltyreef said:
Yessir. I am aware of the differences between the two. My tank is full of the small aquilonastras and they love to smother and munch on zoas.
I have photos of them doing so.

Granted it could be from them feeding on microfauna covering the polyps

Tokinreefdose · Feb 23, 2023

I personally think they aren't the best clean up crew an have an extra strong mouth for how small they are so if you have corals they can quickly dominate crevices where detritus deposits. I personally reccomened the micro mini Florida brittle star species since they are the smallest starfish I've yet to come across and most visually appealing! "Floridapets" has great deals on them. I'm sure your local reef store or fellow reefer would give you some asterina or for cheap since their mouths so strong they can eat zoas.

Timfish · Feb 23, 2023

Aquilonastra does appear to be able to reproduce sexually but thier preffered mode of reproduction is fissiparous which makes them unusual in the world of starfish. From what I've seen I'd estimate splits occur about 2-3 months apart but we are dealing with an exponentila growth curve so at some point it you will have a population explosion. What I do is just siphon some out when I do water changes if they get too numorous for my eashthetics.

Here's a good expanation for exponentila growth for those not familair with it.