Zoa attacked by Asterina Starfish

[kdtorgy]

My new zoa frag was doing well until I found an Asterina starfish attached. Starfish couldn’t have been attached for more than 12 hours. Removed carefully but frag still looks bad after 3 days. Any suggestions on helping it get healthy? I dose ReefEnergy AB+ every other day.

 

[G Santana]

I have hundreds of asterinas in my tank and they have never touched my zoas.
You might want to look at other potential suspects

 

[kdtorgy]

I have hundreds of asterinas in my tank and they have never touched my zoas.
You might want to look at other potential suspects

Thanks for the reply. I know this is a debated topic. I literally picked it off the frag so I know it was an Asterina starfish.

 

[G Santana]

Thanks for the reply. I know this is a debated topic. I literally picked it off the frag so I know it was an Asterina starfish.

I believe that most scavengers will go after decaying flesh so while they may finish the job, they may not have started it.
But, who knows you might have stars that have a pension for zoas

Now in the past, I have had zoas that looked as bad as yours and they made a remarkable come back. Just try to isolate and keep an eye on them.
Good luck.

 

[Lavey29]

I have hundreds of asterinas in my tank and they have never touched my zoas.
You might want to look at other potential suspects

They don't touch my zoas either.

 

[sfin52]

There's multiple species of asterinas. Some are coral eaters some are not.

 

[kdtorgy]

I believe that most scavengers will go after decaying flesh so while they may finish the job, they may not have started it.
But, who knows you might have stars that have a pension for zoas

Now in the past, I have had zoas that looked as bad as yours and they made a remarkable come back. Just try to isolate and keep an eye on them.
Good luck.i

I believe that most scavengers will go after decaying flesh so while they may finish the job, they may not have started it.
But, who knows you might have stars that have a pension for zoas

Now in the past, I have had zoas that looked as bad as yours and they made a remarkable come back. Just try to isolate and keep an eye on them.
Good luck.

Zoa was looking great until starfish got on it. I just moved it to a frag rack to keep it away from most of the other critters. Will help hopefully. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Lavey29]

There's multiple species of asterinas. Some are coral eaters some are not.

True but they say the bad ones are very rare to find in our tanks. Not that it's impossible and the OP may be a rare occurrence.

 

[Heart of Dixie]

The same thing happened to me. I put the frag on the sand and covered it with a glass bowl. The frag is recovering. It’s time to purchase a harlequin shrimp.

 

[kdtorgy]

The same thing happened to me. I put the frag on the sand and covered it with a glass bowl. The frag is recovering. It’s time to purchase a harlequin shrimp.

I have 2 sand sifting stars so not a great option. I guess I could put them in the sump?