Weird amoeba thing

Brandy Hiller · Jun 17, 2017

Recently bought some live rock from a friend with an established reef of many years and found some interesting critters. This however I have no idea. It moved about an inch in an hour

KJ · Jun 17, 2017

Can you post a better pic of these creatures ,this one is kinda fuzzy?

Tahoe61 · Jun 17, 2017

Kind of looks like an Asterina star to me.

Brandy Hiller · Jun 17, 2017

Sorry thats the best my camera can do. I was trying to get a close up of it.

Brandy Hiller · Jun 17, 2017

Anywho I poked it with my nail and 20 mins later it was gone

ndrwater · Jun 17, 2017

+1 on Asternia
There are literally hundreds of different species.
Some are algae eaters, some are coral eaters. Can be problematic due to rapid reproduction. Some people leave em, I personally remove them.

ReefMaster101 · Jun 20, 2017

looks like an asternia baby starfish their harmless until they breed then become a lot of them. if you have a clam get rid of them right away because if they get on the clam they will kill it how to get rid of them is a harlequin shrimp.

Tahoe61 · Jun 20, 2017

ReefMaster101 said:
looks like an asternia baby starfish their harmless until they breed then become a lot of them. if you have a clam get rid of them right away because if they get on the clam they will kill it how to get rid of them is a harlequin shrimp.

I have never heard of Asterina being predatory to Tridacna. The star fish is not a baby just a product of lateral fission, their primary means of reproduction in the home aquarium.

Brandy Hiller · Jun 20, 2017

Thanks for the info. I have no clue where it went. Are they harmful to corals or no? No way of getting a harlequin shrimp so is there a plan B for getting rid of it?

Tahoe61 · Jun 20, 2017

Hundreds of different types with different eating strategies. The vast majority are probably harmless film and coralline algae eaters, the potential problem with that variety is population explosions. Occasionally a hobbyist will encounter a zoanthids or other coral eater. Other than Harlequin shrimp it's manual removal.