Taking the Asterina risk!?

[Bitcoin Reefer]

I found 3 Asterinas in my refugium. After hours of reading R2R and watching videos, we decided to move them to the display tank. Are we crazy or stupid or both!? They are a 6 legged variety. White with kind of dark spots towards center on top.

we figure if they start messing with coral, it’ll be an excuse to get a Harlequin Shrimp until he runs out of food and we have to give him away.

Wish us luck soldiers!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I've never seen em mess with anything

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

Oh ya, 300 Gallon, mixed reef, 9 months old. First reef tank but have had freshwater tanks and ponds for like 15 years

 

[damsels are not mean]

Oh they're already in the display most likely anyways. I've seen no hard evidence they do harm to any coral. And considering they are in most tanks, You would expect to see more hard evidence.

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

I've never seen em mess with anything

Thanks! Yay!

 

[Alexraptor]

Mine frequently harass zoas, but don't touch anything else. When that happens I tend to send them in exile, either into the mantis or the SPS reef.

 

[Karen00]

Good luck and keep us posted. I'm sure you'll have a lot more before you know it. ;-) I can't speak to whether they bother anything but I know the few tanks I have seen in person with these guys you could hardly see through the glass there were so many of them.

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

Good luck and keep us posted. I'm sure you'll have a lot more before you know it. ;-) I can't speak to whether they bother anything but I know the few tanks I have seen in person with these guys you could hardly see through the glass there were so many of them.

Oh jeeze haha

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Oh jeeze haha

I think it depends on the chemistry of your tank because several months ago I found a few but they've never really multiplied much at all...still only have a few...

 

[G Santana]

I have so many of those deformed stars that I'm looking into getting a handicap sticker for the tank.

They haven't bothered anything.

 

[Karen00]

I have so many of those deformed stars that I'm looking into getting a handicap sticker for the tank.

They haven't bothered anything.

Ya, what is with their mutated look? Do they mostly reproduce by splitting? They always look wonky to me!

 

[fryman]

I have asterinas that look like that and they seem to congregate on areas with film algae. Never seen them bother coral. I've heard some eat zoas but I think it's a particular variety that's less common.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I found 3 Asterinas in my refugium. After hours of reading R2R and watching videos, we decided to move them to the display tank. Are we crazy or stupid or both!? They are a 6 legged variety. White with kind of dark spots towards center on top.

we figure if they start messing with coral, it’ll be an excuse to get a Harlequin Shrimp until he runs out of food and we have to give him away.

Wish us luck soldiers!

Dont do it.
I lost the only zoa colony ive ever lost and could not understand why. One night, I had to turn on lights in room and took a double when I found pair of asterina below who at over 100 heads of my bam Bam.
removed them and back to about 55 heads.
These got to size of a nickel

 

[fryman]

Ya, what is with their mutated look? Do they mostly reproduce by splitting? They always look wonky to me!

Asexual propagation. Basically they spread by splitting themselves or losing a leg, regrowing both parts into two starfish.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Asexual propagation. Basically they spread by splitting themselves or losing a leg, regrowing both parts into two starfish.

+1 to this - it’s called fissiparous reproduction, and they look funny as a result of the difference between the still fully grown leg(s) and the new/regrowing legs. It’s a common reproduction method for some bigger starfish too (such as some Linckia species and Echinaster luzonicus). They frequently look funny too as a result.

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

I have had them eat zoas. Specifically the ones that are a dark grey color on top rather then the usual white.

 

[Chrisv.]

+1 to this - it’s called fissiparous reproduction, and they look funny as a result of the difference between the still fully grown leg(s) and the new/regrowing legs. It’s a common reproduction method for some bigger starfish too (such as some Linckia species and Echinaster luzonicus). They frequently look funny too as a result.

This is how I ended up with a pair of harlequin serpent stars-- one with three legs one with two. I'm sure they would have regrown eventually...but they were like this for at least a year!

 

[Karen00]

Asexual propagation. Basically they spread by splitting themselves or losing a leg, regrowing both parts into two starfish.

That's what I thought. Is that their main method of reproduction or do they reproduce sexually as well?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

That's what I thought. Is that their main method of reproduction or do they reproduce sexually as well?

It is their main method of reproduction, but they do reproduce sexually too.

 

[Karen00]

It is their main method of reproduction, but they do reproduce sexually too.

I always wondered how they reproduced so quickly. I went to a fellow reefers house to buy some corals and the first thing he said was "don't ever put these in your tank". He joked that he started with a couple and suddenly they just exploded in number. His was one of the tanks you could hardly see through the glass. All you could see were wonky legged asterinas. Haha.