Uh-oh help part 2

[NicoleIrene]

Well, it certainly is fun finding new critters that hitchhiked into my tank. Not so fun finding out they are pests (I am looking at you aptasia!).

Are these starfish pests? Please tell me they are good, I don't have the heart to kill them. They are only the size of my pinky nail!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Asterina starfish. Pest, but are generally harmless. They reproduce like crazy though.

 

[NicoleIrene]

Asterina starfish. Pest, but are generally harmless. They reproduce like crazy though.

Of course gawddangit

 

[Crabs McJones]

Of course gawddangit

They're not horrible. I have quite a few in my tank. Pull em out s
As you seenthem

 

[Electricianreefer]

I'm pretty new and had the same issue, Asterina hitchhiked into my new tank. I'm not a fan of killing them but I think I may come to regret it.

 

[NicoleIrene]

They're not horrible. I have quite a few in my tank. Pull em out s
As you seenthem

My daughter and I are arguing over whether to get the peppermint shrimp to control the aptasia, but I didn’t want it to eat the starfish. Which, apparently, it might not matter....

 

[WWIII]

My daughter and I are arguing over whether to get the peppermint shrimp to control the aptasia, but I didn’t want it to eat the starfish. Which, apparently, it might not matter....

Peppermint shrimp won't eat the starfish. A harlequin shrimp would. You can go a long time without having to make a decision on whether or not to "address" the starfish population.

 

[NicoleIrene]

Peppermint shrimp won't eat the starfish. A harlequin shrimp would. You can go a long time without having to make a decision on whether or not to "address" the starfish population.

Good to know! I’ll get my daughter the peppermint shrimp. Can I add to a tank only cycled for 2 weeks?

 

[WWIII]

Good to know! I’ll get my daughter the peppermint shrimp. Can I add to a tank only cycled for 2 weeks?

I personally would give it a bit more time. They can be hit or miss on survival in my experience. Some don't seem to do very well even in an established tank, then others (even from the same "batch") will live a couple years happy as a, well, shrimp. I would probably wait a couple more weeks to make sure you have no ammonia spikes and mr. Shrimp will thank you!

 

[BestMomEver]

Well, it certainly is fun finding new critters that hitchhiked into my tank. Not so fun finding out they are pests (I am looking at you aptasia!).

Are these starfish pests? Please tell me they are good, I don't have the heart to kill them. They are only the size of my pinky nail!

I would ditch them... fast. I have had the little white ones and they seem ok. But the other day, I spotted a brown/grey one as it made a trench up the trunk of one of my SPS. There was a white line where he ate down to the skeleton. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't witnessed it. Now I through them all out.

 

[oceaninabox12345]

My daughter and I are arguing over whether to get the peppermint shrimp to control the aptasia, but I didn’t want it to eat the starfish. Which, apparently, it might not matter....

Get Aptasia X in the meantime. It worked amazingly well for me, and never killed anything else.

 

[BestMomEver]

Get Aptasia X in the meantime. It worked amazingly well for me, and never killed anything else.

AptasiaX for the big ones and peppermint shrimp for the small ones.

 

[WWIII]

Does she have aiptasia too? Never heard of people using aiptasia x to kill asterina? Or are we skim reading?

I mean it probably would kill asterina, but not what I would recommend to use. You can manually remove them if it's only a few right now.

 

[NicoleIrene]

Does she have aiptasia too? Never heard of people using aiptasia x to kill asterina? Or are we skim reading?

I mean it probably would kill asterina, but not what I would recommend to use. You can manually remove them if it's only a few right now.

I got lucky and have both

 

[WWIII]

I got lucky and have both

Only way to truly become a reefer! ;-)

 

[WWIII]

If you can take the rock out with the aiptasia on it while there's only a few and put it in a bowl or bucket to treat that may be helpful. Kinda a pain as they close up, but if my tank were small enough and the aiptasia were few enough, I would utilized this method to help curb them spreading. In tank treatment is fine, but they can release spores to create more of thise beautiful glass anemones.

Don't feel bad, we've all been there. Just part of it, unfortunately.

 

[Captain Quint]

Peppermints will eat small Aiptasia, smaller than them, but not larger ones. They may lose interest after discovering fish food in the tank as well.