Star fish

[gilly69]

so I have about a dozen of these little white starfish. Is there something that will eat these or do I have to go in and pull them out. They seem little they multiply pretty good just want to keep them under control. Thanks for any advice.

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[ImACoolguy]

Asterina stars probably.


Caleb

 

[Sniperhank]

There is a creature that will eat them...all of them...but then it will starve. If you want rid if them, siphon them out during water changes. They won't hurt anything and many would love to have them in their system.


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[agfish12]

Harlequin shrimp eat starfish exclusively. Maybe a lfs will let you loan one haha


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[Reefing Madness]

Nothing wrong with the grey Asterina Stars, they won't hurt anything.

 

[gilly69]

Thanks for the help.

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[agfish12]

They can multiply very quickly however so be sure to watch their numbers


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[Marty.h]

I have them in my tank a good part of the clean up crew in my opinion however if you had the Zoa eating type I would advise a harlequin if you had loads but you would have to soon move them on as they soon decimate a large population.

Either as said vac them out or leave them be.

 

[melosu58]

I have hundreds. They do a good job of eating algae off the glass. Nothing wrong with them.

 

[Gregcoyote]

They are a sign of good reef water. Easy to remove if you get too many.


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[gilly69]

I guess if there's no harm in having a few I'll leave them. Glad to knowits a good sign for the tank. I've only had it set up for about a year and a half now

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[Istrom]

Bumble bee shrimp will eat them for their suction cups, but they also accept meaty foods. The only problem is that they are so small, the shrimp rarely get an inch long, so most of them get eaten by other tank inhabitants (like that condy anemone)

 

[54seaweed]

bumble bee shrimp will be eaten by any fish over a inch in size don't waist your money .
some of these stars are safe but some like to eat soft coral and lps , These little stars may look cute but multiply like rabbits , the best creature to remove these little annoying stars is your siphon hose just suck them out and dump them in a garden preferably a vegetable garden as salt water and these little stars make good nutrient rich soil for next years garden

 

[mr_X]

In my experience, it's not the color of the asterina that makes it a coral eater or not, it's timing and environmental changes. You could keep thousands of them for years in a coral packed tank and they may touch nothing, until all of the sudden, one day they may be munching on palys. It may never happen, but as stated, they are easy enough to remove if the need arises.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Do you think all asterisk stars are the same species, or is there a variety of types? Is your theory that they change life style based on environmental factors? Interesting.


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[mr_X]

There may be a variety of types, but the ones in my systems have been many different colors- some white, some gray, some multicolored...and they all decided to become carnivorous in an instant, all at the same time. It had to be environmental.

 

[melosu58]

And I agree with Doug. I do not keep my back glass clean. And the majority of asternia stars stay on that back glass eating the trash that is on it.