Is this Star FIsh Hitchhiker Ok?

[SnowZz]

so i discovered a tiny star fish hitchhiker in my tank. The only problem is i have zoo's and leather cabbage, dont they eat coral and are not reef safe? What would you guys do?

 

[melosu58]

It`s probably an asternia star. They wont bother your corals as I`ve had them in my tank over ten yrs. Do they look like these

 

[Zer0]

Which sea star are we talking about? Mini bristle stars? Asterinas? If you know which one it is, please let us know. If not, try finding it on here:
Xtalreef

and then let us know which one you've found.

Generally, i would say you probably got an Asterina or a Bristle star, of which both or harmless to coral. Their have been few testimonies about asterinas munching on polyps, but very few, and not to mention that the polyps began disappearing when there were giant hoards of the asterinas-and even then when people had tons of them no corals were really harmed. There's a few people here that have tons of asterinas in there reefs and have never had a problem with them.

 

[SnowZz]

yep hes a glass crusing ASTERINA STAR! thanks guys. Another pretty sweet hitchhiker. looks like you have a whole bunch melosu

 

[Mitchell0605]

lol nice Mike.

 

[redneckgearhead]

well i had bought some asterina stars for my tank, shortly after, during a visit to my LFS they informed me that they had eaten over 300 dollars worth of coral and to remove them ASAP if i had or planned on having corals. so as soon as i got home they where removed from my DT. Just sharing my experience.

 

[Zer0]

There are many different kinds of asterinas, and the more common ones are algae eaters that hang out on the glass. But there are definitely different kinds that munch on coral. The best way to tell is if the asterinas you see are just hanging out on the glass or rocks, then they are the good kind. However, if you ever notice small white asterina-like sea stars always hanging out on your coral and polyps, then you should be worried. That's what xtalreef says, so i would go by that since they have experiance in these hitchikers.

 

[melosu58]

I`ve given out also hundreds to people that have asked for some and they have not had any problems either. Usually your brown asternias are the ones that mess with the corals.

 

[redneckgearhead]

yep mine where a brown color. good info to know. I really liked the starfish