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Found this tiny white starfish for the first time today, it's about the quarter size of a thumbnail and not yet fully formed, this is so cool, I'm well chuffed!
I think they hitch hike in on LR, yes. Their population seems to ebb and flow with the maturity of tanks, feeding routines, etc. Most are harmless, but I've read of some snacking on soft coral.
those are one of the few that can change sides at the drop of a hat. i've had them for years and they did noting but eat algae and then one day they got a taste for soft corals. no worries. i always wanted a harlequin shrimp, and he took care of that, lickity split!
Harlequins are great, but they are obligate star feeders so you'll need to plan to buy stars as food for them after they erradicate the asterinas. Slippery slope.