Good OR Bad starfish?

[titoav15]

When I saw a couple of these guys i thought it was cool and now i got like 40 of these guys roaming around. So my question is are these starfish good or bad? If good ill keep them, but if bad ill slowly get them all outa there!
Here are some pics of them.
Let me know what you guys think!
Many thanks in advance!!

 

[melosu58]

They are astenia`s. I have had 50-100 for as long as I`ve had my tank (12 yrs) and never had any problem with them. I know some that have had problems but not me. I have people come get them from me to put in their tanks.

 

[Tank2379]

Agree with Mike- I've have these for over 2years in my tank and have tons of them and never had a problem with them-IMO they are good to have as part of your clean up crew...

 

[Fishguy2727]

Good except for certain species. They will usually be on whatever they eat. If they are on rock and glass then they are the good algae eating kind. If they are on top of corals all the time (not just crossing over them) then they are the bad type.

 

[mr_X]

i hear there are 100s of types of asterinas that look somewhat similar. i just think some of them are harmless algae eaters, and others (of the same, or different species) decide to eat living coral tissue.
i keep a harlequin shrimp in the tank at the gym around the corner to keep their population down. they breed faster than he can eat them.

 

[Innovator]

They are rather opportunistic and when food rations are exhausted they will consume what ever is readily available. I've seen tides turn, supposed "good" asterinas for years eventually consume coral tissue. Supply and demand ime. I rather not take the risk as there are other cleanup crew possibilities that provide better and more reliable grazing habits. Just my .03 : p

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree with Innovator. I've noticed that the ones that have a greenish/blue tint to them are the bad guys. That's not very scientific but that's been my experience. I would suggest not taking the chance and removing them. They can and will devour SPS corals.

 

[mrg02d]

I agree with Innovator. I've noticed that the ones that have a greenish/blue tint to them are the bad guys. That's not very scientific but that's been my experience. I would suggest not taking the chance and removing them. They can and will devour SPS corals.

Thats strange...All of mine are colored like that and none seem to hang around the corals. They are usually where the algae is at. I will keep a closer eye on them now though...

Matt

 

[Ziggy953]

Thats strange...All of mine are colored like that and none seem to hang around the corals. They are usually where the algae is at. I will keep a closer eye on them now though...

Matt

I never had a problem with them in my system either. I recently helped take down a tank that was over run with them and they were devouring the SPS in the guys tank. I had to dip every coral several times over the course of a couple weeks to get rid of them. I also did a lot of manual removal. Like anything in our systems there are good and bad versions and each has it's own personality and taste. You just never know.

Keep an eye on yours and if you notice them on your corals best to get rid of them. They typically only mess with smooth flesh SPS corals.

 

[mr_X]

i've never seen asterinas on sps. i have seen them on zoas though. if it was a situation of opportunity, wouldn't they just eat whatever they came across?
i do agree that they are opportunistic, but disagree that you have to run out of algae first. i also disagree that they are sps eaters.

 

[Ziggy953]

i've never seen asterinas on sps. i have seen them on zoas though. if it was a situation of opportunity, wouldn't they just eat whatever they came across?
i do agree that they are opportunistic, but disagree that you have to run out of algae first. i also disagree that they are sps eaters.

A month ago I would have agreed with you but I witnessed what they can and will do to SPS corals. They can and will eat SPS flesh. Just because you or I have not seen it before doesn't mean it isn't true or possible.

 

[mr_X]

ok. i'll rephrase that. i've never heard on any forum () anything regarding asterinas eating sps, nor have i seen it myself.
i've kept small tanks and large tanks. i've also imported thousands of corals, fish, and inverts from wholesalers and collectors for resale and kept them in my home system for extended periods. i had so many asterinas of different color variations. i used to send them out to folks that had harlequin shrimp by the hundreds.
can it happen? possibly.

 

[Innovator]

I've seen posts from other forums in the past with pictures of Asterina in the process of consuming soft corals. I myself have seen them consume (flesh being taken in) xeniids, various sps, zooanthids, and Euphyllia.