Possible starfish?

[Lewis1]

Hello I woke up this morning and found why looks to be two legs of a starfish crawling around my tank not sure where it came from due to the fact that nothing new has been added in over a month. The picture is not good but it was the best my phone could do while trying to focus on it through the glass I’m wondering if it is bad to have in tank or if I need to remove him

 

[Zer0]

It’s an asterina. Some people hate them, some people like them.

 

[tbrown]

Hello I woke up this morning and found why looks to be two legs of a starfish crawling around my tank not sure where it came from due to the fact that nothing new has been added in over a month. The picture is not good but it was the best my phone could do while trying to focus on it through the glass I’m wondering if it is bad to have in tank or if I need to remove him

+1 asterina star. They can spread like crazy if you have dirty water b they're a good hitchhiker until they get out of hand, but that's also a good indicator of your water quality. Each leg they lose can/will become a new star. You'll start finding lots of 1-6 leg stars running around.

 

[Uncle99]

Pest, not required.

 

[Timfish]

It's an Aquilonastra sp. starfish, frequently miss identified as Asterina. Beneficial, they feed off algae films and biofilms (this latter is more important than you'd think since biofilms age). Here's some of my other posts regarding them.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Can you verify this species? Not the typical Asterina you see that is known to multiply quickly....

 

[Ocean’s Piece]

I would recommend not worrying too much about removing them for now

 

[TnFishwater98]

I would recommend not worrying too much about removing them for now

I have a observing tank I throw all things in. It hasn’t heavily multiplied in months. So I’m not worried about it just wonder if you could verify the species.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I agree pest.
U nees to add to your cuc to help compete. Hths
D

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Need*

 

[TnFishwater98]

I agree pest.
U nees to add to your cuc to help compete. Hths
D

What are you agreeing to?

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

That they are or will become a pest
D

 

[tehmadreefer]

Pest and are known coral eaters as well, depending in the species. So it may or may not and is a gamble!

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Mine sat on top of zoas and ate them. Lol.
They turn green from the algae they consume in our tanks. Or mine did.
Half green and half white. Lol.
Usually the green was a splatter pattern on the top center where the mouth and disc is.
-d

 

[TnFishwater98]

Mine sat on top of zoas and ate them. Lol.
They turn green from the algae they consume in our tanks. Or mine did.
Half green and half white. Lol.
Usually the green was a splatter pattern on the top center where the mouth and disc is.
-d

I understand that some/most Asteria Stars can be pest. That’s why I always have a tank I use to observe things I question in the DT. I’ve had the common pest asteria before but was wonder about this specific species. I’ve been watching it for months and only has reproduced twice. Haven’t observed it eating zoas because I don’t have zoas in that tank. I got a lot of my live rock from the Gulf so wonder if I could figure out this species

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Im not keeping any zoas or palys this go around. Lol
D