Is this good starfish?

[canadianeh]

I got chaeto from LFS and it came with this starfish like creature.

ID?

 

[xtian]

Asterina. Those things chow down on Zs/Ps usually the higher end ones for some reason.

 

[TriggerFinger]

You will get mixed answers on these. Some say they eat coraline or corals. I had one hitchhike and never saw it again...plenty of algae and corals for it to eat

 

[El_Guapo13]

Asterina. Only SOME eat corals. Problem is, it is extremely difficult to tell the good ones apart from the bad ones.

 

[AcroNem]

Formerly in the genus Asterina, they are now Aquilonastra. There's 33-35 species, most of which are harmless. A couple species that are sometimes encountered in the hobby will harm corals and other invertebrates, although that is *sometimes* they're often benign but can be seen as a pest due to how quickly they reproduce.

 

[canadianeh]

Thanks guys! I will not take a chance and kill it. How do I make sure that the chaeto doesn’t come with anything harmful?

how long should I submerge it in tap water? Is tap water enough?

 

[TriggerFinger]

Fresh water dip will kill the chaeto. You can quarantine it in a bucket with flow and light to monitor for other hitchhikers

 

[jeffrey750750]

Since were talking about asterina, all that I have are tan. I cant even count how many there are but in the past week I saw a black one. I plucked him and put him in the sump. Any ideas if the black one are safe?

 

[canadianeh]

Fresh water dip will kill the chaeto. You can quarantine it in a bucket with flow and light to monitor for other hitchhikers

really? There are many people on this forum using FW dip on chaeto apparently

 

[TriggerFinger]

I’m sorry, I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure I read a recent post that a freshwater rinse killed someone’s chaeto. Let me try to find the post.

 

[TriggerFinger]

I can’t find the specific post but @AlgaeBarn doesn’t advise freshwater dips for macro

 

[canadianeh]

I can’t find the specific post but @AlgaeBarn doesn’t advise freshwater dips for macro

apparently there are different experiences on this subject. Some say they have always done it and fine and some say not okay.

I inspected the chaeto bag just now and other than asterina I can see a snail as well. It looks like it comes with pests. I can not not to dip it. I know I will lose the copepods that come with it, but I also have apex pods ready in fridge from reef nutrition.

I think the risk of not dipping it is greater than dipping it. Especially, I am setting up a new tank.

 

[canadianeh]

So I fresh water dipped and spray with kitchen sink spray yesterday and then I dried it up with paper towel and let it sit in my tank saltwater overnight in the fridge like some people did. This is how they look like this morning when I took it out

 

[fishguy242]

good or bad ,remove as many as possible,mutiply really quick