Need Help! Acro eating starfish

[FishLipz]

Ok, here's the deal. After doing some research online I think I've determined that I have an outbreak of coral polyp eating starfish. They are all less than 1/4", greenish-grey in color and seem to reproduce by fission due to the many "half" starfish I've been finding. My acropora colonies are suffering horribly and I'm trying to remove them manually. I've heard about using Harlequin Shrimp but I'm afraid that that there may not be enough stars to keep them alive long and I'd feel really bad losing such a beautiful creature to starvation. Any other suggestions?

 

[Eternal]

I know that revive dips kill asterina star fish. Maybe it will do the same for the star fish you have

 

[FishLipz]

Unfortunately they don't stay on the corals. They are all over the tank. It seems to be a big debate if these stars are bad or not. I'm at a loss as to what else it could be. My LPS, zoos, and xenia seem fine. It's just my acros.

 

[dakotasreef]

From what I understand is that it is hard to determine the difference. You could always go the harlequin shrimp route and pass it on to a fellow reefer when done. Depending on your livestock some wrasse may eat them.

But with acros it could be anything. Water, lighting, tank stability or there could be some other parasites. Have you visibly noticed them attackint the sps? I believe that the ones that are harmful to acros, only attack the base. But I could be wrong.

I would try manual removal the best you can and maybe try a lunar wrasse if it will work with your livestock.

 

[Troylee]

i highly doubt it's the star fish... they normally munch on corraline... i would be looking aefw "acro eating flat worms" or red bugs myself.... take one out and inspect it with a magnifying glass....

 

[FishLipz]

I checked for AEFW and red bugs with no luck. Or maybe I should say luckily I didn't find any. This is why I moved on to the starfish. Hopefully the manual removal will keep the numbers down and I'll see some improvement. If not, I'll be changing my tank over to LPS and giving some sponsors here alot more of my money. :wink: