Starfish Id

knap_123 · May 28, 2017

Recently ifound this guy in my tank. Not added any new rock oranything in awhile.
Is it a chocolate chip?

domination2580 · May 28, 2017

Possibly asterina star

divetoday · May 28, 2017

My vote is for asterina also. You'll know soon cause you'll end up with a gazillion of them. [emoji56]

Mikedawg · May 28, 2017

Unfortunately nothing as nice as a chocolate chip; probably just an asterina: http://www.reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/45-reefkeeping-101-

Maritimer · May 28, 2017

Agreed (though technically Aquilonastra, Asterina is the common hobby name...). These guys often have six arms, but are sometimes seen with five. They don't get a whole lot bigger than the one you've got, but instead rip themselves in half to create clones. For the most part, they feed on coralline algae and detritus, but some have implicated them in the deaths of zoanthids.

Divetoday has a point ... they can multiply to plague proportions. When they do, some folks solve the problem with harlequin shrimp.

~Bruce