Weird starfish? Good or bad?

dazl91 · Jan 20, 2020

Hi all,

I’m new here, as I was having absolutely no luck with any Facebook marine pages.

I was just wondering if anyone could help ID this for me? I have absolutely no idea where it came from, we haven’t added any corals to our 4ft tank for months, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it!

Hopefully he’s not a nasty one, cos I don’t know when I’ll see it again!

Crabs McJones · Jan 20, 2020

Looks like some sort of limpet to me. Not a starfish

dazl91 · Jan 20, 2020

See I was thinking the ‘fluffy’ bits around the base of the shell were legs... I have lots of small limpets in my tank, and while he’s a similar shape it does look quite different. I’d say it was about 2 inches long!

kichimark · Jan 20, 2020

Definitely seems more limpet-like. Can you remove it easily or does it stay on the background super strong? If the latter, it is most likely a limpet.

dazl91 · Jan 20, 2020

Oh I wish I came here last night! I had to go to sleep so I left it, I’ve just looked for it in my tank and it’s disappeared again. I’ll have to try it when I see it next.

dazl91 · Jan 20, 2020

Okay, just noticed all of that coralline is gone. Whatever it is is a coralline monster.

Tahoe61 · Jan 20, 2020

Definitely a Limpet. Cool.

Some types of Limpets can be coral eaters, the Limpets may have become opportunistic feeders.

I would keep it.

dazl91 · Jan 20, 2020

Thank you for your help everyone, I feel dumb now! I’ve only ever seen small white (max 1cm) limpets in my tanks. Should I ask the LFS if they want it? I really like having coralline in my tank, and it’s decimating it!