What is this little guy?

[Steve Jones]

My daughter spotted this little guy in the tank this AM. Looks like a starfish hitched his way in? Any idea exactly what it is?

 

[Duke4Life]

Possibly asteria

 

[KingBlingTX]

Definitely looks like Asterina Starfish imo.

 

[twilliard]

Yes indeed that is a asternia

 

[Baby Ray]

Asternia star. Some people claim they eat coral and others don't. I personally have had no problems with them. I think that they will eat dead or dying coral and people just blame it on them.

 

[Steve Jones]

Asternia star. Some people claim they eat coral and others don't. I personally have had no problems with them. I think that they will eat dead or dying coral and people just blame it on them.

Yeah - that's what I've read so far on them. Still new to this hobby so I start researching every time I hit something new like this. Seems that Harlequin shrimp are the biological control of choice. Any down side to adding this shrimp if I get too infested and have to look that way?

 

[ScottMyers123]

If you decide to get the Harlequin shrimp you will have to continue to provide starfish for it when it eats all the asteria stars.

 

[Baby Ray]

Harlequin shrimp will eat all the asternia stars in a month or less if you don't have that many. After that, you would have to feed it a chocolate chip star once a month or so. They only eat life stars and you can't keep an asternia star population large enough to sustain one.

 

[Steve Jones]

If you decide to get the Harlequin shrimp you will have to continue to provide starfish for it when it eats all the asteria stars.

Yeah - read that too. Hopefully won't have to get to that.

 

[Baby Ray]

Yeah - read that too. Hopefully won't have to get to that.

The shrimp will kill your population in now time.

 

[NewbieSeth]

I noticed a very small one about a month ago in my tank. 2 weeks later there was one about twice his size. Pretty cool and I've only ever seen them on the glass. Keeping an eye on them though

 

[Zoey]

Ive got loads in my tank and ive found the darker coloured ones like to hang around my zoas, the paler white coloured ones are all over the tank. if you're worried about the starfish it will be fine in your sump.

 

[Bpb]

There are tons of species of asterinas and they all look nearly identical. It's very hard to tell the coral eaters apart from the algae eaters. How do I tell? If it's eating a coral it gets removed. If it's not eating a coral it stays. You need a starfish predator to control them. Manual removal is impossible. They're like aiptasia or mushrooms and can completely regenerate from a tiny piece. I've only had to remove a couple. Usually when they get bigger like nickel or dime sized do I catch them munching on coral, and it's usually sps or Zoas. The tiny ones have been harmless