My first hitch-hiker, good or bad?

[Sand dollar]

I have been watching my tank for hitch-hikers for a week and a half and nothing. But today found this poor little guy stuck on my glass cleaner. He looks to be missing a few legs but is moving around okay and I have heard starfish can regenerate legs. Does anyone know if this one is safe with corals ?


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[ezy33]

Asterina Starfish. May eat or irritate corals.


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[Melissajk]

I would get rid of it. I have them in my tank and in one night they ate about 5 zoa heads.

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[carey]

I have had hundreds of those starfish and never ever had any eat coral or cause any other type of mischief. lol

Typically they are harmless, but I always hear people say they eat their corals.........I have no idea other than I have never had any issues with em.

 

[bribo12]

Please don't put a harlequin in to eat them. Once they are all gone, the shrimp will starve unless you buy more stars to feed it. They're harmless I have a ton in my tank as well. 0 coral damage, they eat coralline algae


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[Melissajk]

I was told that some species of asterina starfish will eat coraline alge and some eat corals. I knew about the asterina starfish in my tank for 4 months and no problems. One of the stars got to be the size of a nickel. Then all of a sudden I had more starfish. I found them on my zoas after the lights were turned off. The next morning the zoas were gone. Something ate them. I assumed it was the asterina starfish.

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[Retired_AF]

I have dozens of the things in my tank thanks to my brother-in-law sending me a nice piece of supposedly dried, soaked in bleach and cleaned coral skeleton he got in Okinawa. They sometimes crawl around my corals but I haven't seen any damage from them. Nor have I seen them eating my coralline algae which is unfortunate since I wish they would.

 

[frankieg2]

How do you get rid of them? I have too many in my tank.


Frank,

 

[Sand dollar]

Mine have never really multiplied and haven't messed with any coral so far so I haven't worried about them. I only have 1-2 that I have seen. 1 accidentally got pulled out and dipped on a frag plug. If you really have that many and need to get rid of them you could try a harlequin shrimp, very cool but they only eat starfish so you would have to return it or start buying star fish to keep feeding it after it cleans your tank of these little things. And if you have a starfish you want to keep in your tank the harlequin would eat it.


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