Small Stars. Good or bad?

Brandon Hammen · Dec 5, 2014

I have just noticed a small starfish roaming my tank and i don't know if it is good or bad. Will it eat my corals or not? Does it repopulate on it's own? I think i got it from my trumpet coral a week ago because i have never seen it before. What should I do?

It has a white belly and a grayish top.

zesty · Dec 5, 2014

mixed bag... some eat zoas, some do not.

I would pluck the ones you can see. But that's just me. lots of people just leave them lay.

Wiz · Dec 5, 2014

I've seen a few in my tank. But they had equal sized legs. Unlike this one that is half and half. They have never bothered anything.

kevantheman35 · Dec 5, 2014

These guys get a mixed review. I probably have 50-100 of them and I leave them be.

swk · Dec 6, 2014

harlequin shrimp will handle them if they drive you nuts

mike007 · Dec 6, 2014

Asterina Starfish Some say the lighter colored ones are okay but the darker ones may cause issues. I personally don't care for them as they multiply rapidly.

EW_Fish · Dec 6, 2014

Bad. Just get rid of them. Some eat sps also if they can't find any alega to eat

WindeyD · Dec 6, 2014

Leaving them in your system: possible chance they become a problem
Getting rid of them: no chance they become a problem
I would elect a search and destroy policy

afamousjohnson · Dec 6, 2014

The reason it is 1/2 n 1/2 looking is due to a split. They split off their legs and regrow as the split off leg also grows into a new one. I have seen tanks running hundreds of these and by that time they were not liked anymore but a much bigger hassle to deal with. They can take out zoas showing issues or not and i have a pic of one working on a monti. Have seen a good 4-5 diff types in my system imo dont like any of them.

Mr. E Wrasse · Dec 6, 2014

Kill them all. I had one in my tank for awhile then out of the blue one day it ate my favorite staghorn

EW_Fish · Dec 6, 2014

afamousjohnson said:
The reason it is 1/2 n 1/2 looking is due to a split. They split off their legs and regrow as the split off leg also grows into a new one. I have seen tanks running hundreds of these and by that time they were not liked anymore but a much bigger hassle to deal with. They can take out zoas showing issues or not and i have a pic of one working on a monti. Have seen a good 4-5 diff types in my system imo dont like any of them.

Never seen one on a monti But I would not put it past these little suckers. I have a bunch myself and working to get them out. I have two different types I think there is 5 total (that I have read)

spspirate · Dec 6, 2014

I like them! They turn over detritus pretty good clean-up crew. Knock on wood I have never had any eat any SPS. I never new they would. Some say they eat zoas but Im not a big zoa keeper. Ive never had an issue with these little guys.

Dalmatia · Dec 7, 2014

Toothpick through them and into the toilet

JMSKI333 · Dec 7, 2014

I had a bunch of these at one point and they seemed harmless. Eventually they all disappeared. Maybe my Wrasse ate them?

Just keep an eye on them. When in doubt, pluck them out.

Eckolancer · Dec 7, 2014

swk said:
harlequin shrimp will handle them if they drive you nuts

+1

I have hundreds and always have in my tank for last 10 years.

hatfielj · Dec 9, 2014

I've noticed that they cause coraline algae die off. Not sure if they are eating it or what, but I try to keep them out of my tanks.

jamesm · Dec 9, 2014

Get rid of them when you have a chance. When I see one on the glass I get rid of it.

derekport78 · Dec 9, 2014

They seem to have eaten my coraline algae. Been fighting these suckers for months. My favorite way to get them is sucking them out with a cleaning hose. I attach a filter bag to the end of a cleaning hose which catches them and then return the water to the tank when finished (if it isn't water change time). Ive done this same thing with red flatworms.

PostShawn · Dec 9, 2014

I have some zoas and mushrooms and have these starfish and never had any problems. If they are in an easy spot to get to while I'm doing my take maintenance then I take them out just as a precaution. If I can't easily get to them I don't worry about it. I usually have about 5 on my tank at any time and another 10-15 that I can spot on rocks and such if I look hard enough at any time. I've actually seen one over time move to the base of my zoas and keep moving with no harm done to the zoa. So maybe the lighter ones are ok. I'll still remove them when I can but will not go crazy over it.

scardall · Dec 9, 2014

You hear mixed bag of opinions because for me and most others it is hard to tell which starfish is good and bad as they look very simular to each other. I have had 2 variety's of these guys in the past. Just remove all to be safe. If a friend has one of these (a harlequin shrimp) offer him these starfish. To bad these guys can be pests as they are kind of cute. :bigsmile: