What will it be when it grows up?

[bump3rb33tl3]

Hi there

Picked up some LR several months ago from a lfs. The LR was from Marshall Islands...(or so it is advertised ;-) ) in any case, the LR was packed full of great hitch hikers like weslo's, sponges, gorg's, brain coral, cucumbers, etc...really great rock.

After about a week I noticed a very, very orange starfish about the size of a pencil eraser, perfectly shaped. I forgot about it until a month or so ago when I was moving things around and saw him making his way across a frag plug. He is about the size of a nickel now, still orange, but is starting to show a bit more of its characteristics so I was curious if anyone had an idea of what it would be when he grows up

 

[Texas Reefer]

IDK, but gorgeous! Good luck!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Hi there

Picked up some LR several months ago from a lfs. The LR was from Marshall Islands...(or so it is advertised ;-) ) in any case, the LR was packed full of great hitch hikers like weslo's, sponges, gorg's, brain coral, cucumbers, etc...really great rock.

After about a week I noticed a very, very orange starfish about the size of a pencil eraser, perfectly shaped. I forgot about it until a month or so ago when I was moving things around and saw him making his way across a frag plug. He is about the size of a nickel now, still orange, but is starting to show a bit more of its characteristics so I was curious if anyone had an idea of what it would be when he grows up

wow. Id love to see the rest of that rock.

 

[Baby Ray]

wow. Id love to see the rest of that rock.

Me too!!

 

[Maritimer]

What he's going to be ... is a beautiful sea-star.

You'd probably need a fairly comprehensive field guide to the marine life of the Marshals to get a handle on this fellow - and on whether or not he'll be a welcome guest on your reef. Some stars are scavengers and detritivores, others are predators of corals or of clams.

Salty's right ... that's gotta be some amazing rock! Wish the LFS 'round here would carry rock like that! Ours is mostly "we broke down a customers' tank a month ago" "man-made from volcanic rock", or "free Aiptasia with every purchase!"

~Bruce

 

[scardall]

Maybe this:

Crown sea star (Aquilonastra coronata)

 

[ReeferBee]

Let's the the coral hitchhikers!

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

Here are some of my Marshall Island Hitchhikers

A cucumber

Sea Squirts

Green Weslo

Bad pic, but this Weslo is a blue color. You can also see the thick finger gorg.

My baby star fish

Also had mermaid tail and sprinella, but my tangs made short work of those tasty treats

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

Decided to revive this thread...Im still not certain what kind of starfish this, but think I should get him out of my tank...I came home the other day to find that he had pinned my little flameback angel against a rock. Cant say if it was dead when he got pinned, i just know that it was alive that morning when I left.

So, what do we think this is??

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

This is how I found them

 

[Oceanwave45]

Take a look at this!!
https://www.eeb.ucsc.edu/pacificroc...e sea star identification guide_2015_0416.pdf

 

[John Gemmel]

I'm not the brightest star but I think the fish was dead and the starfish was starting to eat it.. I definitely could be wrong

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

You should research that star. In general, stars with more than five limbs and/or that have raised prongs or spikes are predatory.

Just FYI: If you move him, do not take it out of the water. If it does get exposed to air, place it on it's back when you return it to the water and let it turn itself over on it's own. Air gets into their mouths (it's actually their stomachs) and leads to their death.

I'm not the brightest star but I think the fish was dead and the starfish was starting to eat it.. I definitely could be wrong

+1