Starfish(?) identification please?

[rtgreeno]

My daughter yesterday found a baby starfish in our 20gal nano. I am slightly boggled about it because the last change i made to the tank was adding some DR to the tank about a month ago... other than that i put some LR in about a month - two months ago. We are very excited about this find but have not been able to find anything on google that looks like it. it has rounded arms and is whiteish but has a sharp pointed black star in the middle. it is definately alive because it has moved all over the rock it was found on. its about a lil bigger than a pencil eraser now. please help with spiecies idenity. thank you.

 

[AquaRick]

Looks like Asterina Starfish. Can be a nuisance if there are a lot of them. I've got a few in my tank and don't do anything about them. Others have had an infestation of them and have seen them go after their sps/lps corals. They tend to like zoas. I've seen a few folks have luck wiping them out with a harlequin shrimp.

 

[Wy Renegade]

+1 on the Asterinea ID. Difference appears to be in the species, and species ID is impossible for average hobbiests. Some have an appetite for SPS, some for Zoas, and some for other corals. The most common variety appears to have a appetite for algae. However, as stated they can become a pest still especially on zoas simply by keeping them closed up all the time.

 

[rtgreeno]

so since i only have a FOWLR tank it shouldnt be a problem? or should i consider getting rid of it?

 

[AquaRick]

If you've got a fowlr and no corals etc, you should be fine. For you, the only real reason to remove them would be if you didn't like the look of them etc.