What is this?

[Eleni18]

Hello, could someone please tell me what this thing looking like threads or hair is? It's on the live rock and corals and sand. Should I be worried? How do I remove it? Thanks

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Can you get a closer picture? It’s hard to tell from that picture.

 

[Eleni18]

Can you get a closer picture? It’s hard to tell from that picture.

 

[Tahoe61]

Micro brittle star legs?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Micro brittle star legs?

+1 that’s what they look like to me...

 

[Eleni18]

Meaning? critters? good or bad? That many????????

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Those are good! They clean up detritus. Yes, you can have that many lol

 

[Eleni18]

They are everywhere!!!!

 

[45ZoaGarden]

My lfs sells them for $10 a starfish

 

[Eleni18]

My lfs sells them for $10 a starfish

Is that what I sometimes see on the glass, like tiny star-spiders? The rock must be full of them! Do mandarin fish eat these or not?

 

[DSC reef]

Micro brittle star legs?

Agreed, score!

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Brittle starfish have long skinny tentacles and are brown with stripes. Are the ones you see on the glass white?

 

[Eleni18]

Brittle starfish have long skinny tentacles and are brown with stripes. Are the ones you see on the glass white?

greyish stripey like...they are tiny..some are whitish

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Asterina starfish?

 

[Eleni18]

Asterina starfish?

Good? Bad? There must be hundreds. I googled images of micro brittle starfish and they look just like what I see on the glass. Should I get rid of some? Do mandarins or something else eat them?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Good? Bad? There must be hundreds

Is that what they look like?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

They can be good. Some people have problems with them eating soft corals... I can’t say as I’ve only had one and I kicked it out to be safe. But if your softies are doing fine, you’re fine.

 

[muzikalmatt]

Those are definitely micro brittle starfish arms/legs. They live inside the small crevices in your live rock and feed on detritus and leftover food. If you want to be sure, try holding a piece of food near one of the legs and see if it grabs the food. I have a bunch of them in my tank as well, but I've never see that many before. I don't think they'll hurt, if anything, they're a big help keeping things clean especially inside those small crevices you can't get to. If there's a way to capture them you could probably sell them to your LFS or fellow reefers.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Those are definitely micro brittle starfish arms/legs. They live inside the small crevices in your live rock and feed on detritus and leftover food. If you want to be sure, try holding a piece of food near one of the legs and see if it grabs the food. I have a bunch of them in my tank as well, but I've never see that many before. I don't think they'll hurt, if anything, they're a big help keeping things clean especially inside those small crevices you can't get to. If there's a way to get capture them you could probably sell them to your LFS or fellow reefers.

Sledgehammer might work.... lol

 

[Billdogg]

That is an awful big bunch of them and would be an indication that you are probably over feeding and/or allow detritus to accumulate. Their population will wax and the and with the available food supply. IMHO , they are an invaluable part of any healthy reef system.
HTH!