What is this? (ID plz)

[TonapahNorth]

Found it crawling around my rock quite quickly.

Advice on what to do with it as well.


Tona

When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa

Tonapah's-IM38-build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783

 

[JMMJ13902]

Asteria star fish....I would get rid of them quick, they multiply fast and will eat Zoanthid coral.

 

[Dmmz]

Asterina starfish I have done nothing with the few in my tank

 

[Dmmz]

Jmmj good to know I will remove them but they have not touched my zoa yet so I have been lucky

 

[TonapahNorth]

Well .... While I do not anticipate having any zoas, I do not like the idea of a pest.

Now that I knew what I was looking for, I pulled out 10 total inside of as many minutes. I will keep an eye out. My guess is that I may be infested.

Tona

When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa

Tonapah's-IM38-build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783

 

[TonapahNorth]

And thanks for the rapid reply.
R2R Rapid Response Team to the Rescue!


Tona

When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa

Tonapah's-IM38-build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783

 

[J062682l]

Unused to have thousands of those

 

[J062682l]

* I used to* sorry. I have an I phone with fat fingers and errors are often

 

[TonapahNorth]

So do you just pull them out when you see them? Is there a better way?


Tona

When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa

Tonapah's-IM38-build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783

 

[NanaReefer]

That is a shame Please research before accepting a few opinions. Most Asternia Star Fish (white in color) are harmless algae eaters. I personally have at least 25+ in my 26g. Have never seen them eating or even resting on my zoa's or any other corals. Always find them on the rock & tank walls. Doing what they do best, Eating algae

See all those lil white stars on the back wall eating the algae but NOT the zoa's

Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.

 

[JMMJ13902]

That is a shame Please research before accepting a few opinions. Most Asternia Star Fish (white in color) are harmless algae eaters. I personally have at least 25+ in my 26g. Have never seen them eating or even resting on my zoa's or any other corals. Always find them on the rock & tank walls. Doing what they do best, Eating algae

See all those lil white stars on the back wall eating the algae but NOT the zoa's

Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.

You need to search this forum to see what other people say about these suckers eat their high end zoas, they tend to like named/designer Zoanthid only....I've lost cars, red hornets and many other zoas that I think they are too darn harmful to me.....but do a search for this keyword "Asterina eating zoas" and see what kind of results you get.

 

[Djannel]

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111649

 

[Dylan J.]

If you search in to it, there are different species of asterina starfish. Some are just algae eaters as claimed and others have the taste for zoanthids. To play it safe its best to get rid of them and pull them all out of the tank. If you want a better way of not pull them out yourself, a harlequin shrimp eats starfish and will search the tank out for the lil guys, But they will eat ALL starfishes and ONLY starfishes so once the food source is gone then either u must return it to the pet store, sell it on a local forum, or even buy starfishes to satisfy its hunger :xd:

 

[TonapahNorth]

Good to know. This noob thanks you all.

Tona


Tona

When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa

Tonapah's-IM38-build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783

 

[evolved]

Asteria star fish....I would get rid of them quick, they multiply fast and will eat Zoanthid coral.

Not necessarily. There are dozens of different species and they all visually look the same. And their diets are also not the same.

You need to search this forum to see what other people say about these suckers eat their high end zoas, they tend to like named/designer Zoanthid only....I've lost cars, red hornets and many other zoas that I think they are too darn harmful to me.....but do a search for this keyword "Asterina eating zoas" and see what kind of results you get.

Sure, some do eat zoanthids. But I would suggest you do some research in scientific arenas, and not just anecdotal forum knowledge.

If you search in to it, there are different species of asterina starfish. Some are just algae eaters as claimed and others have the taste for zoanthids. To play it safe its best to get rid of them and pull them all out of the tank. If you want a better way of not pull them out yourself, a harlequin shrimp eats starfish and will search the tank out for the lil guys, But they will eat ALL starfishes and ONLY starfishes so once the food source is gone then either u must return it to the pet store, sell it on a local forum, or even buy starfishes to satisfy its hunger :xd:

Agree with this, minus the part about it being best to remove them. You can remove if you wish, but it's not necessarily best. If you have the film-algae grazing variety, they can be a nice CUC member.

 

[TonapahNorth]

Agree with this, minus the part about it being best to remove them. You can remove if you wish, but it's not necessarily best. If you have the film-algae grazing variety, they can be a nice CUC member.

Can you tell which variety this is based on the photo?


Tona

Non Nobis, Domine, Non Nobis Sed Nomini Tuo Da Glorium

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783

 

[evolved]

You can't visually ID, unfortunately.

 

[TonapahNorth]

Are varieties of asterina mostly identified by behavior? By then, it may be too late. Bottom line, I understand your technical point that they may not be bad for your system; however, is it best to err on the side of caution and remove them?

There are CUC members that are more distinctive and less damaging - I can usually tell what snails look like for example
Usually lol



Tona

Non Nobis, Domine, Non Nobis
Sed Nomini Tuo Da Glorium

Tonapah's IM38 - https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783

 

[evolved]

Are varieties of asterina mostly identified by behavior? By then, it may be too late. Bottom line, I understand your technical point that they may not be bad for your system; however, is it best to err on the side of caution and remove them?

Pretty much.
They reproduce by lateral fission too, so it can be hard to eradicate them by manual removal. You can do it, but you'll have to be on the lookout for a while.

 

[NanaReefer]

You need to search this forum to see what other people say about these suckers eat their high end zoas, they tend to like named/designer Zoanthid only....I've lost cars, red hornets and many other zoas that I think they are too darn harmful to me.....but do a search for this keyword "Asterina eating zoas" and see what kind of results you get.

Although an awesome forum this is not the only place to acquire valid scientific proof.